Type Vi Collagen
Type VI collagen is a beaded microfibrillar collagen that forms a fine filamentous network in the extracellular matrix rather than the thick striated fibrils built by types I and III. Each molecule is a heterotrimer of three distinct alpha chains carrying unusually short triple helical domains flanked by large globular von Willebrand factor A domains, and these globular ends drive assembly into antiparallel dimers, then tetramers, then the characteristic beaded filaments.
In tissue it sits in the pericellular matrix immediately around chondrocytes, adipocytes, muscle fibres and skin fibroblasts, where it anchors cells to the surrounding interstitial matrix and binds hyaluronan, biglycan and type IV collagen. It is a minor collagen by mass in most tissues, which is why it is a specialty rather than a commodity material.
Commercially the substance is sold either as a purified protein for research and cosmetic use, presented as a lyophilised powder or a chilled acid solution, or as a hydrolysed peptide fraction of cartilage or placental matrix in which type VI is a declared component. The intact protein is soluble in dilute acetic acid and in neutral buffers at low ionic strength, and it is heat sensitive: warming above roughly 40 degrees Celsius unfolds the helical domains, so it is handled cold and stored frozen.
We source bulk Type Vi Collagen from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Guangdong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Protein
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White lyophilised powder or clear colourless acid solution |
| Purity by SDS-PAGE | ≥ 90% type VI collagen |
| Identification | Conforms by immunoblot with anti type VI collagen antibody |
| Protein Content | ≥ 95% on a dry basis |
| Hydroxyproline | ≥ 7.0% |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 8.0% |
| Residue on Ignition | ≤ 2.0% |
| pH of Solution | 2.5 to 4.0 in dilute acetic acid |
| Endotoxin | ≤ 1.0 EU/mg |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | ≤ 0.5 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 0.5 mg/kg |
| Bioburden | ≤ 100 cfu/g |
| Storage | Minus 20 degrees Celsius, protected from moisture |
Common Markets Grades
Two distinct tiers are traded. A purified research or cosmetic grade is characterised by electrophoretic purity, usually stated as 90 to 95 percent minimum by densitometry, and by endotoxin level; it is sold lyophilised in milligram to gram quantities or as a sterile filtered solution in dilute acid, and is shipped and stored frozen. Recombinant material expressed in mammalian or insect cell culture is offered in the same format where an animal free claim is required.
The second tier is a hydrolysed peptide preparation derived from cartilage or placental extracellular matrix, sold in kilogram quantities as a spray dried or freeze dried powder, in which type VI collagen is one declared constituent alongside types I and II. This grade is specified as a protein hydrolysate, on assay, hydroxyproline and molecular weight distribution, rather than on electrophoretic purity, and it is the form used in supplements and skin care.
Applications
- Cell culture coatings and three dimensional matrices, where a type VI network supports adhesion of chondrocytes, myoblasts and adipocytes
- Skin care serums and creams, where the hydrolysed peptide grade is used as a humectant and matrix signalling ingredient
- Joint and cartilage supplements, where cartilage derived hydrolysate is sold on its mixed collagen profile including type VI
- Tissue engineering scaffolds, blended with type I collagen to reproduce a pericellular environment
- Research reagents for matrix biology, muscular dystrophy and adipose tissue studies, where the purified protein is the substrate
- Antibody and immunoassay development, as the antigen or capture protein in matrix turnover assays
- Wound care and regenerative device prototypes, as a minor matrix component in a collagen composite
- Analytical reference material for collagen typing by electrophoresis and mass spectrometry
China Manufacturers of Type Vi Collagen
Top Type Vi Collagen manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Purified type VI collagen sold for research or as a cosmetic raw material is not a food ingredient and is not covered by any food additive clearance. In the United States its use in cosmetics falls under the general cosmetic provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which place responsibility for safety on the manufacturer, and material intended for laboratory use is labelled as not for human or animal consumption. Devices and regenerative products incorporating it are regulated as medical devices or biologics rather than as ingredients.
Where the hydrolysed peptide grade is sold for food or supplement use, it is handled as hydrolysed collagen: a food ingredient rather than an additive, with no E number. It is made under the European Union hygiene rules for collagen and gelatine intended for human consumption, which set requirements on the raw material, its traceability and the approval of the processing establishment. Bovine sourced material carries specified risk material controls under the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy framework. In the United States such hydrolysates are used on the basis of GRAS conclusions and, where sold as supplements, under the dietary supplement framework. Codex has issued no standard specific to type VI collagen.
Manufacturing Process
The purified protein is recovered from a collagen rich tissue such as placenta, cartilage or skin. The tissue is minced, washed and extracted at low temperature in a neutral salt buffer or in dilute acetic acid containing protease inhibitors. Limited pepsin digestion is often used to clip the telopeptides of the interstitial collagens and solubilise the microfibrillar fraction without destroying the globular domains that define type VI. The extract is fractionated by differential salt precipitation, since types I, II and VI drop out at different sodium chloride concentrations, then further purified by ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography under cold conditions. The purified fraction is dialysed against dilute acid, sterile filtered and either shipped as a chilled solution or lyophilised. Recombinant material follows a cell culture route instead, with the alpha chains co-expressed and the assembled protein captured from the culture supernatant by affinity and ion exchange chromatography.
The hydrolysed peptide grade takes a simpler route. Cartilage or placental matrix is cleaned, given an alkaline and acid pretreatment to strip non collagenous protein, extracted in hot water to gelatinise the collagen, and hydrolysed with a food grade protease. The liquor is filtered, decolourised on activated carbon, ultrafiltered to the target molecular weight, concentrated under vacuum and spray or freeze dried.
