Open AccessRP-CARS: label-free optical readout of the myelin intrinsic healthiness
Author(s) -
Giuseppe de Vito,
Ilaria Tonazzini,
Marco Cecchini,
Vincenzo Piazza
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.013733
Subject(s) - myelin , raman scattering , optics , polarization (electrochemistry) , anisotropy , scattering , refractive index , raman spectroscopy , materials science , degree of polarization , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , optoelectronics , chemistry , neuroscience , biology , central nervous system
Here we present a method based on Rotating-Polarization Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (RP-CARS) imaging to assess the myelin health status in mouse sciatic nerves. Differently from the existing techniques, our method is based on the readout of intrinsic molecular architecture rather than on the image analysis, relying on the fact that healthy myelin is characterized by a high degree of molecular order. We exploit RP-CARS imaging to demonstrate that the degree of spatial anisotropy of the CARS signal displays a strong correlation with the g-ratio (a well-known image-based index of myelin damage) in a chemical-damage model and therefore that the former is a good indicator for the local myelin health status.