Nonlinear-optical photothermal modification of collagen

摘要

We report on a novel mechanism of tissue modification. We demonstrate that if the train of ultrashort laser pulses has sufficient average power, multiphoton absorption can result in a significant heating of a localized area of a collagen-rich tissue leading to its photothermal modification. We propose a simple model describing the effect of local heating and derive a simple way of estimating the contribution of this mechanism for different parameters of incident radiation. Microscopic confocal imaging studies complement the spectroscopic studies to ensure the minimal destruction of surrounding areas of a tissue.