Coherent X-Ray Imaging of Collagen Fibril Distributions within Intact Tendons

The characterization of the structure of highly hierarchical biosamples such as collagen-based tissues at the scale of tens of nanometers is essential to correlate the tissue structure with its growth processes. Coherent x-ray Bragg ptychography is an innovative imaging technique that gives high res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biophysical journal 2014-01, Vol.106 (2), p.459-466
Main Authors: Berenguer, Felisa, Bean, Richard J., Bozec, Laurent, Vila-Comamala, Joan, Zhang, Fucai, Kewish, Cameron M., Bunk, Oliver, Rodenburg, John M., Robinson, Ian K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Animals
Collagen
Fibrillar Collagens - metabolism
Fusion
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Molecular Imaging - methods
Rats
Systems Biophysics
Tendons
Tendons - metabolism
X-Ray Diffraction
X-Rays
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Summary:The characterization of the structure of highly hierarchical biosamples such as collagen-based tissues at the scale of tens of nanometers is essential to correlate the tissue structure with its growth processes. Coherent x-ray Bragg ptychography is an innovative imaging technique that gives high resolution images of the ordered parts of such samples. Herein, we report how we used this method to image the collagen fibrillar ultrastructure of intact rat tail tendons. The images show ordered fibrils extending over 10–20 μm in length, with a quantifiable D-banding spacing variation of 0.2%. Occasional defects in the fibrils distribution have also been observed, likely indicating fibrillar fusion events.
ISSN:0006-3495
1542-0086
DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2013.12.016