Second-harmonic generation investigation of collagen thermal denaturation
Journal
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE
Journal Volume
6442
ISBN
0819465550
Date Issued
2007-08-31
Author(s)
Chen, Wei Liang
Sun, Yen
Lin, G. Chih
So, Peter T.C.
Abstract
Using the technique of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy we obtained large area image of type I collagen from rat tail tendon as it is heated from 40°C to 70°C for 0 to 180 minutes. The high resolution images allowed us to investigate the collagen structural change. We observed that heating the tendon below the temperature of 54°C does not produce any change in the averaged SHG intensity. At the heating temperature of 54°C and above, we find that increasing the heating temperature and time leads to decreasing SHG intensity. As the tendon is heated above 54°C, a decrease in the SHG signal occurs uniformly throughout the tendon, but the regions where the SHG signal vanishes form a tiger-tail like pattern. By comparing the relative SHG intensities in small and large areas, we found that the denaturation process responsible for forming the tiger-tail like pattern occurs at a higher rate than the global denaturation process occurring throughout the tendon. Our results show that second-harmonic generation microscopy is effective in monitoring the thermal damage to collagen and has potential applications in biomedicine.
Subjects
Collagen | Second harmonic generation (SHG) | Thermal denaturation
Type
conference paper