Hydrogen peroxide-induced degradation of type I collagen fibers of tilapia skin

•This paper is about degradation of type I collagen fibers of tilapia skin which was induced by hydrogen peroxide.•Tilapia skin was used to produce gelatin and hydrogen peroxide was used in gelatin extraction.•We can confirm that why hydrogen peroxide can accelerate conversion from collagen fibers to gelatin and change of collagen fibers structure by the research.

In this study, we examined the changes in the mechanical properties, ultra-microscopic structure, and infrared and X-ray diffraction spectra of tilapia skin collagen fibers undergoing hydrogen peroxide-induced degradation. Our results showed that in the presence of hydrogen peroxide the strength and puncture resistance of fish skin collagen fibers decreased exponentially with respect to heating time. Furthermore, this change in mechanical behavior could be fitted satisfactorily with the exponential function Y = 851.0e−0.001x (R2 = 0.996). Scanning electron microscopy showed that there were three stages of degradation of fish skin collagen fibers: (1) dissolution of the outer membrane layer of the fiber bundle, (2) loosening and rupture of the fiber bundle, and (3) untwisting and exposure of microfibers. The X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy data showed that the heating weakened the intermolecular forces, yet the undissolved collagen still maintained its triple helical structure.

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