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Probing the 3D structure of cornea-like collagen liquid crystals with polarization-resolved SHG microscopy
Abstract : This work aims at characterizing the three-dimensional organization of liquid crystals composed of collagen, in order to determine the physico-chemical conditions leading to highly organized structures found in biological tissues such as cornea. To that end, we use second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, since aligned collagen structures have been shown to exhibit intrinsic SHG signals. We combine polarization-resolved SHG experiments (P-SHG) with the theoretical derivation of the SHG signal of collagen molecules tilted with respect to the focal plane. Our P-SHG images exhibit striated patterns with variable contrast, as expected from our analytical and numerical calculations for plywood-like nematic structures similar to the ones found in the cornea. This study demonstrates the benefits of P-SHG microscopy for in situ characterization of highly organized biopolymers at micrometer scale, and the unique sensitivity of this nonlinear optical technique to the orientation of collagen molecules.
Cited literature [21 references]
https://hal-polytechnique.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01421625
Contributor : Denis Roura <>
Submitted on : Thursday, December 22, 2016 - 3:56:22 PM
Last modification on : Thursday, July 22, 2021 - 9:12:02 AM
Long-term archiving on: : Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - 9:45:55 AM
Contributor : Denis Roura <>
Submitted on : Thursday, December 22, 2016 - 3:56:22 PM
Last modification on : Thursday, July 22, 2021 - 9:12:02 AM
Long-term archiving on: : Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - 9:45:55 AM
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