Polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation microscopy in biological tissues

Abstract

Collagen is the major component of the extracellular matrix in mammals and plays a central role in the architecture of biological tissues. This structural protein is characterized by triple helical domains and shows a highly structured macromolecular organization. Fibrillar collagen types self-assemble to form fibrils that may further assemble to form fibers or lamellas depending of the tissue (tendon, cornea, skin, arteries, bones…).