Polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation in tendon upon mechanical stretching.

ABSTRACT: Collagen is a triple-helical protein that forms various macromolecular organizations in tissues and is responsible for the biomechanical and physical properties of most organs. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is a valuable imaging technique to probe collagen fibrillar organization. In this article, we use a multiscale nonlinear optical formalism to bring theoretical evidence that anisotropy of polarization-resolved SHG mostly reflects the micrometer-scale disorder in the collagen fibril distribution. Our theoretical expectations are confirmed by experimental results in rat-tail tendon. To that end, we report what to our knowledge is the first experimental implementation of polarization-resolved SHG microscopy combined with mechanical assays, to simultaneously monitor the biomec

SUBMITTER: Gusachenko I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3341536 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature