Morpho-mechanics of human collagen superstructures revealed by all-optical correlative micro-spectroscopies

Year: 2019

Authors: Mercatelli R., Mattana S., Capozzoli L., Ratto F., Rossi F., Pini R., Fioretto D., Pavone F.S., Caponi S., Cicchi R.

Autors Affiliation: Natl Res Council CNR INO, Natl Inst Opt, Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Phys & Geol, Via Alessandro Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; Natl Res Council CNR IFAC, Inst Appl Phys Nello Carrara, Via Madonna Piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Natl Res Council CNR ICCOM, Inst Chem Organometall Cpds, Ctr Electron Microscopy Laura Bonzi CeME, Via Madonna Piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CEMIN Ctr Excellence Innovat Nanostruct Mat, Via Alessandro Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Florence, Dept Phys, Via Giovanni Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Perugia, Inst Mat, Natl Res Council CNR IOM, Unit Perugia,Dept Phys & Geol, Via A Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.

Abstract: In every biological tissue, morphological and topological properties strongly affect its mechanical features and behaviour, so that ultrastructure, composition and mechanical parameters are intimately connected. Overall, it is their correct interplay that guarantees the tissue functionality. The development of experimental methods able to correlate these properties would open new opportunities both in the biological and the biomedical fields. Here, we report a correlative study intended to map supramolecular morphology, biochemical composition and viscoelastic parameters of collagen by all-optical microscopies. In particular, using human corneal tissue as a benchmark, we correlate Second-Harmonic Generation maps with mechanical and biochemical imaging obtained by Brillouin and Raman microspectroscopy. The study highlights how subtle variations in supramolecular organization originate the peculiar mechanical behavior of different subtypes of corneal lamellae. The presented methodology paves the way to the non-invasive assessment of tissue morphomechanics in biological as well as synthetic materials.

Journal/Review: COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY

Volume: 2      Pages from: 117-1  to: 117-10

More Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from Tuscany Region and EU FP7 BiophotonicsPlus Project ?LITE? (Laser Imaging of The Eye), from the Italian Ministry of Health (GR-2011-02349626), from the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (Flagship Project NANOMAX), from EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant H2020-ICT-2016-1 732111 PICCOLO, grant 15HLT01-MetVBadBugs-Call EMPIR 2016, and grant 654148 Laserlab-Europe). The authors wish to thank Alessandro Ruzza from ?Fondazione Banca degli occhi del Veneto-Onlus? for providing corneal tissues and Luca Menabuoni and Alex Malandrini from Nuovo Ospedale S. Stefano, Prato, Italy, for their clinical advice on corneal tissue.
KeyWords: collagen, SHG microscopy, Brillouin light scattering, Raman microscopy
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0357-y

ImpactFactor: 4.165
Citations: 52
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-11-24
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)

Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here