Second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon fluorescence (TPF) contrast imaging in biomaterial analysis

Collagen hydrogels are natural biomaterials that comprise 3D networks of high water content and have viscoelastic properties and biocompatibility similar to native tissues. Consequently, these materials play an important role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for quite some time. Second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon fluorescence (TPF) contrasts transpire as valuable label-free spectroscopic probes for analysis of these biomaterials and this presentation will report the structural, mechanical and physicochemical parameters leading to the observed optical SHG and TPF effects in synthesized 3D collagen hydrogels. We will present results regarding understanding the dependency of collagen fiber formation on ion types, new results regarding strengthening of these biomaterials with a nontoxic chemical cross-linker genipin and polarization selection of collagen fibers’ orientations.