Purity ≥99% by SDS-PAGE, free of pepsin and proteoglycans. Collagen is an inert, rigid protein found predominantly in skin, ligaments, bones and teeth. Its most distinctive attribute, essential to a transmitter of mechanical force, is inelasticity. Its fundamental structural unit is tropo-collagen, a molecular rod about 2600A in length and 15A in diameter and 300,000 molecular weight. In tendons these macromolecules, grouped as collagen fibrils, run parallel to the axis. In skin the fibrils are interlaced and branched. Highly purified type II collagen. Used for the induction of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in experimental animals. Suitable for use as an antigen in immunological protocols. Applications: Suitable for use as a standard for collagen analysis by SDS-gel, substrate for MMP-1, MMP-8, and MMP-13; and as an antigen for immunizing animals for the induction of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in certain species and strains of experimental animals.