Reversible Covalent End-Capping of Collagen Model Peptides.

The combination of supramolecular aggregation of collagen model peptides with reversible covalent end-capping of the formed triple helix in a single experimental set-up yielded minicollagens, which were characterized by a single melting temperature. In spite of the numerous possible reaction intermediates, a specific synthetic collagen with a leading, middle and trailing strand is formed in a highly cooperative self-assembly process.