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Author Spotlight: Non-Invasive Imaging of Complex Bio-Structures Using Polarization-Sensitive Two-Photon Microscopy
Published on: September 8, 2023
Polarization microscopy for characterizing fiber orientation of ocular tissues
Ning-Jiun Jan1, Jonathan L Grimm2, Huong Tran1
1Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ; UPMC Eye Center, Eye and Ear Institute, Ophthalmology and Visual Science Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ; The Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Abstract:
Characterizing the collagen fiber orientation and organization in the eye is necessary for a complete understanding of ocular biomechanics. In this study, we assess the performance of polarized light microscopy to determine collagen fiber orientation of ocular tissues. Our results demonstrate that the method provides objective, accurate, repeatable and robust data on fiber orientation with µm-scale resolution over a broad, cm-scale, field of view, unaffected by formalin fixation, without requiring tissue dehydration, labeling or staining. Together, this shows that polarized light microscopy is a powerful method for studying collagen architecture in the eye, with applications ranging from normal physiology and aging, to pathology and transplantation.
