Abstract
(Chemical Equation Presented) Three strands of natural collagen are linked by covalent bonds prior to their folding into a triple helix. We report on a synthetic collagen in which the strands are pendent on a rigid macrocyclic scaffold of C 3 symmetry. The scaffold confers substantial conformational stability upon the collagen triple helix and makes its folding independent of concentration, both desirable attributes for exploring and exploiting synthetic collagens. © 2006 American Chemical Society.