3Helix Collagen Hybridizing Peptides now available worldwide from Ilex Life Sciences!

Since 2015, 3Helix, Inc. has pioneered innovative Collagen Hybridizing Peptides (CHPs) technology. CHPs are short peptides that selectively target damaged and remodeling collagen for applications in therapeutics, cosmetics, drug delivery systems, and life science research.

Applications:

• Cell invasion - reveal collagen turnover: Gain direct evidence of protease mechanisms by imaging degraded collagen in complex 3D settings. This robust method bypasses synthetic hydrogels and genetic modification, overcoming key assay limitations. Such clarity is vital for understanding cancer metastasis and finding new therapies against invasive diseases. More on cell invasion...
• Histopathology - unlock new insights in tissue damage: CHPs precisely detect and quantify denatured collagen, a hallmark of disease. CHPs are applicable to nearly all tissue types and a wide range of medical areas. More on histopathology...
  
• Mechanical damage - quantifying structural collagen damage: CHPs precisely detect and quantify denatured collagen to detect molecular level subfailure damage to collagen in mechanically stretched tendon fascicles. More on mechanical damage...
• Collagen identification - detecting collagen in SDS-PAGE gels: CHPs enable facile, sensitive, and specific collagen detection in SDS-PAGE gels by its triple-helical hybridization with SDS/heat-denatured collagen during electrophoresis. This simple method avoids Western blot steps (e.g., membrane transfer, blocking), saving time, effort, and materials. More on collagen identification...
• Collagen quantification - fluorescent quantification of total collagen: Total collagen staining with CHPs is made possible with a step-by-step guide with an Image-J / FIJI imaging protocol. More on collagen quantification...
  

Advantages:

• More informative, reliable and convenient than zymography, DQ collagen, SHG, and TEM.
• High affinity and unparalleled specificity to collagen with essentially no nonspecific binding.
• Applicable to all types of collagen from all species, relying on collagen's secondary structure instead of any defined sequence for binding.
• Suitable for both frozen and paraffin-embedded sections with no need for antigen retrieval.
• A non-antibody approach with no species restrictions against any co-staining antibody.
• Small size (2% of IgG by MW) enabling facile tissue penetration and whole specimen staining without sectioning.
• Stable in solution under 4 °C, eliminating the need to aliquot for storage.