A comparison of different methods for pretreatment of bones. I

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Abstract
The different methods of treating bones are surveyed. The results of all experiments made in Uppsala to evaluate these methods are given. It is shown that the total of inorganic carbon is completely useless in this connection. The aim is to use the collagen but usually the treatments suggested in the literature were not satisfactory for every sample, usually because there is contamination present which could not be removed. After the matrix of the bones has been broken down and most of the contamination removed it is advisable to use collagen's property of dissolution in hot water. The EDTA treatment is apparently safe if the collagen is washed carefully to remove all EDTA used. The HCl treatment finally used has given accurate dates for bones in good condition. Since contamination with fulvic acid may be possible another step is suggested to remove this from collagen. Dialysis with a suitable membrane or Sephadex separation (as suggested by Haynes) may be used, to separte the molecules according to size. The two fractions obtained with the HC1 treatment, soluble and insoluble, should be purified separately and compared with each other until further tests of the suggested method are available.

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