0000000000764592
AUTHOR
Markku Hauta-kasari
Changes in collagen cross-linking of articular cartilage are revealed by spectral reflectance imaging
Excessive cross-linking of collagen during aging may contribute to degeneration of articular cartilage. Traditionally, the amount of cross-links is derived by using destructive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). However, a sensitive, non-destructive method could help to evaluate tissue integrity, including cross-links. We increased collagen cross-linking in bovine articular cartilage by controlled threose incubation. During the incubation, optical spectral reflectance images of the samples were captured and related to HPLC results using regression analysis. Significant correlations with reflectance and cross-links were observed. When further developed the optical method may enab…
Nondestructive fluorescence-based quantification of threose-induced collagen cross-linking in bovine articular cartilage.
Extensive collagen cross-linking affects the mechanical competence of articular cartilage: it can make the cartilage stiffer and more brittle. The concentrations of the best known cross-links, pyridinoline and pentosidine, can be accurately determined by destructive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We explore a nondestructive evaluation of cross-linking by using the intrinsic fluorescence of the intact cartilage. Articular cartilage samples from bovine knee joints were incubated in threose solution for 40 and 100 h to increase the collagen cross-linking. Control samples without threose were also prepared. Excitation-emission matrices at wavelengths of 220 to 950 nm were acquir…