Effect of hydrophobic elastin ligands on the stress-strain properties of elastin fibers.

Alkyl sodium sulfates as well as sodium oleate previously shown to bind to insoluble elastin markedly decrease the tensile strength of fibers of ligament elastin. This effect correlates with the increasing number of carbon atoms in the detergent molecules. These data support previously proposed models which emphasize the importance of hydrophobic bonding to the elastic properties of this connective tissue protein.