Fluorescence study on the aggregation of collagen molecules in acid solution influenced by hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

The effect of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) on the aggregation of collagen molecules with collagen concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/mL was studied by fluorescence techniques. On one hand, both the synchronous fluorescence spectra and fluorescence emission spectra showed that there was no change in the fluorescence intensity of collagen intrinsic fluorescence when 30% HPMC was added, while it decreased obviously when HPMC content ≥50%. From the two-dimensional fluorescence correlation analysis, it was indicated that collagen molecules in 0.25 and 0.5 mg/mL collagen solutions were more sensitive to HPMC than those in 1.0 mg/mL collagen solution. On the other hand, the pyrene fluorescence and the fluorescence anisotropy measurements indicated that HPMC inhibited the collagen aggregation for 0.25 and 0.5 mg/mL collagen, but promoted it for 1.0 mg/mL collagen. The atomic force microscopy images further confirmed the effect of HPMC on collagen with different initial states.