Abstract
The ultrastructural organization of elastin has been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens coupled with optical diffraction analyses.
Purified elastin results from a composite assembly of interwoven branched and twisted thread-like entities of decreasing diameter. The ultimate filamentous component is a rope-like structure each with an overall diameter of 3.5–4.0 nm consisting of paired filaments of indefinite length each 1.5 nm in width and periodically linked longitudinally at a varying distance of 3.5 to 4.5 nm depending on the degree of stretch.
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Gotte, L. (1977). Recent Observations on the Structure and Composition of Elastin. In: Sandberg, L.B., Gray, W.R., Franzblau, C. (eds) Elastin and Elastic Tissue. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 79. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-9093-0_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-9093-0_10
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