Abstract
<h3>Background</h3> Ionizing radiation may indiscriminately and adversely affect tissues during exposure. As collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, its exposure to ionizing radiation is inevitable. To date, there has been limited comprehensive evaluation of the biophysical properties of individual collagen fibrils exposed to clinically relevant doses of ionizing radiation. <h3>Objective</h3> To assess the effects of ionizing radiation at diagnostic and therapeutic levels on the biophysical properties of collagen at the nanoscale. <h3>Study Design</h3> <i>In vitro</i> acellular type I collagen scaffolds (rat tail origin) were irradiated at two relevant dose levels (diagnostic regime D = 50 µGy and therapeutic regime D = 70 Gy (single fraction)) in hydrated and dehydrated states. Alterations in the biophysical properties of these scaffolds were assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) (imaging, nanoindentation) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. <h3>Results</h3> Preliminary analysis demonstrated changes in Young's modulus for all samples treated with both diagnostic and therapeutic dose levels, suggesting the presence of internal crosslinking modifications. These hypothesized changes will be further evaluated by fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and dielectric analysis. No changes were detected in the infrared spectrum, suggesting no denaturation of the protein structure. A neural network for texture analysis is in development for AFM image processing and dose correlation quantification. <h3>Conclusion</h3> In this exploratory project, we demonstrated that diagnostic and therapeutic levels of radiation can alter Young's modulus of individual collagen fibers. Evaluation of irradiated collagen changes may prove important in managing oral diseases such as squamous cell carcinoma and radiation-induced mucositis and caries. Additional imaging and image processing studies are ongoing to further characterize the response of collagen to radiation. <b>Statement of Ethical Review</b> Ethical Review or exemption was not warranted for this study
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
