Modelo para formação de fibrilas de colágeno e análise das suas propriedades mecânicas

Abstract

Type I collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the human body, it plays a structural role and is present in bones, skin and tendons. These molecules have the ability to self-assemble to form elastic structures known as fibrils. Although we know how collagen fibers are formed, the organization process of these proteins in the intermediary structure is still not fully understood. We used a model based on DLA (Diffusion Limited Aggregation) combined with na additional movement of diffusion over the surface of the structure to try to understand the formation of elastic fibers composed of collagen molecules. This algorithm allowed generating elongated structures, with linear behavior in their mass to length ratio and very compact, for a high diffusion value on the surface of the fibers. Using a probabilistic mechanical model, we were able to analyze the mechanical properties of the generated fibrils, so that we identified that the maximum supported force grows with the increase of allowed movements of the diffusion surface up to a certain point where the force seems to be constant. We also observed that fibril rupture occurs through an avalanche process with welldefined regimes.