Analysis of forward and backward Second Harmonic Generation images to probe the nanoscale structure of collagen within bone and cartilage
J. Biophoton. 2015-09-09; 8(11-12): 993-1001
DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201500150
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Houle MA(1), Couture CA(1), Bancelin S(1), Van der Kolk J(2), Auger E(1), Brown
C(3), Popov K(2), Ramunno L(2), Légaré F(4).
Author information:
(1)Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunication, 1650 boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, QC, J3X 1S2, Canada.
(2)University of Ottawa, Department of Physics, MacDonald Hill, 150 Louis Pasteur, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
(3)University of Oxford, Botnar Research Center, NDORMS, UK.
(4)Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunication, 1650 boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, QC, J3X 1S2, Canada.
Collagen ultrastructure plays a central role in the function of a wide range of
connective tissues. Studying collagen structure at the microscopic scale is
therefore of considerable interest to understand the mechanisms of tissue
pathologies. Here, we use second harmonic generation microscopy to characterize
collagen structure within bone and articular cartilage in human knees. We analyze
the intensity dependence on polarization and discuss the differences between
Forward and Backward images in both tissues. Focusing on articular cartilage, we
observe an increase in Forward/Backward ratio from the cartilage surface to the
bone. Coupling these results to numerical simulations reveals the evolution of
collagen fibril diameter and spatial organization as a function of depth within
cartilage.
© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.