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Birefringence and Second Harmonic Generation on Tendon Collagen Following Red Linearly Polarized Laser Irradiation

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Abstract

Regarding the importance of type I collagen in understanding the mechanical properties of a range of tissues, there is still a gap in our knowledge of how proteins perform such work. There is consensus in literature that the mechanical characteristics of a tissue are primarily determined by the organization of its molecules. The purpose of this study was to characterize the organization of non-irradiated and irradiated type I collagen. Irradiation was performed with a linearly polarized HeNe laser (λ = 632.8 nm) and characterization was undertaken using polarized light microscopy to investigate the birefringence and second harmonic generation to analyze nonlinear susceptibility. Rats received laser irradiation (P = 6.0 mW, I = 21.2 mW/cm2, E ≈ 0.3 J, ED = 1.0 J/cm2) on their healthy Achilles tendons, which after were extracted to prepare the specimens. Our results show that irradiated samples present higher birefringence and greater non-linear susceptibility than non-irradiated samples. Under studied conditions, we propose that a red laser with polarization direction aligned in parallel to the tendon long axis promotes further alignment on the ordered healthy collagen fibrils towards the electric field incident. Thus, prospects for biomedical applications for laser polarized radiation on type I collagen are encouraging since it supports greater tissue organization.

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Acknowledgments

D. F. T. Silva would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for scholarship. Also MSc. Diego José Rátiva Millán, Dr. Renato Evangelista de Araújo and Dr. Silvia Cristina Núñez are gratefully acknowledged for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduation Program in Biophotonics Applied to Health Sciences, Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), São Paulo, SP, 01504-001, Brazil

    Daniela Fátima Teixeira Silva

  2. Departamento de Física, CCEN-UFPE, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil

    Anderson Stevens Leonidas Gomes

  3. Instituto de Biologia, IB-UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, 13084-971, Brazil

    Benedicto de Campos Vidal

  4. Centro de Lasers e Aplicações, IPEN-CNEN/SP, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Daniela Fátima Teixeira Silva & Martha Simões Ribeiro

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  1. Daniela Fátima Teixeira Silva
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  2. Anderson Stevens Leonidas Gomes
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  3. Benedicto de Campos Vidal
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  4. Martha Simões Ribeiro
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Correspondence to Daniela Fátima Teixeira Silva.

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Associate Editor James Tunnell oversaw the review of this article.

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Silva, D.F.T., Gomes, A.S.L., de Campos Vidal, B. et al. Birefringence and Second Harmonic Generation on Tendon Collagen Following Red Linearly Polarized Laser Irradiation. Ann Biomed Eng 41, 752–762 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-012-0720-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-012-0720-3

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