Exclusion of dextrans by meshworks of collagenous fibres

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Abstract
Insoluble collagen from human dermis was equilibrated in a physiological medium with mixtures of 3H2O and fluorescein-conjugated dextrans of different MW. Dextrans of MW greater than 105 were excluded from a volume of 3.82 .+-. 0.87 ml (SD)/g of collagen; dextrans of lower MW occupied a larger volume. The apparent excluded volume was proportional to the weight of the collagen. Dansylated albumin behaved similarly to dextran; the polymeric collagen from rat skin exhibited a much larger excluded volume than the insoluble collagen. The volume available to the plasma proteins in human dermis was limited by insoluble collagen as well as by the glycosaminoglycans of the tissue.