Isolation and characterization of a fluorescent material in bovine achilles tendon collagen

A fluorescent material in bovine achilles tendon collagen was isolated and characterized by ultraviolet spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and nmr spectroscopy. The data suggest that the compound is a 3-hydroxypyridinium derivative with three amino acid side chains. The name “pyridinoline” is proposed. Pyridinoline is a novel type crosslink of collagen.