Soluble elastins, their preparation and characterization.

We followed amino acid composition, sugar content, immunological reactivity and thermal coacervation of elastin-derived peptides in order to show whether the preparation procedure influenced the properties. Insoluble elastin was prepared by alkaline hydrolysis (N-elastin) or cyanogen bromide cleavage (C-elastin) of bovine ligamentum nuchae. The insoluble elastins were solubilized in oxalic acid, phosphoric acid or trifluoroacetic acid. The differences in properties were found in the case of trifluoroacetic hydrolysis only in comparison with soluble elastin-derived peptides prepared by oxalic or phosphoric acids hydrolysis. Trifluoroacetic acid probably breaks down the structure markedly including the antigenic determinants, which results in a low reactivity with antibodies. The ability of these peptides to form coacervates is also decreased.