“Three-dimensional characterization of collagen remodeling in cell-seeded collagen scaffolds via polarization second harmonic generation” is the paper published by FORTH – iQonic partner specialised in research on fundamental and applied issues related to materials science and technology and laser interactions with matter – in collaboration with the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI).

Optics applies to several sectors apart from industry and manufacturing, including Biomedicine and it’s extremely interesting to discover how studies and results achieved within the iQonic project will have an impact also in this field.

This paper explains the use of non-linear imaging microscopy to characterize the structural properties of porous collagen-GAG scaffolds (CGS) seeded with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), as well as human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). 3D polarization-dependent second harmonic generation (PSHG) was utilized to monitor collagen-based scaffold remodeling and determine collagen fibril orientation up to 200 µm inside the scaffold. Researchers demonstrated that polarization-dependent second harmonic generation can provide a novel way to quantify the reorganization of the collagen architecture in CGS simultaneously with key biomechanical interactions between seeded cells and CGS that regulate the formation of vessel-like structures inside 3D tissue constructs.

This publication is open access.

Link to the publication.