Japanese researchers have developed a technology capable of detecting skin structure degradation before visible damage appears, according to infohub.kz.
An international team of scientists led by Hiroshima University has created a method that detects deep changes in human collagen at the earliest stages. The findings were published in the journal ACS Nano.
The researchers found that collagen begins to lose its molecular organization long before its fibers thin or break. Traditional imaging methods only capture visible damage to the protein framework, missing initial microscopic changes. To detect hidden disruptions, the authors combined optical imaging with chiroptical spectroscopy. They used synchrotron-radiation vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism (SR-VUVCD) and multi-dimensional vibrational circular dichroism with a quantum cascade laser (MultiD-QCL-VCD).
Experiments showed that collagen volume in tissue can remain unchanged while its internal architecture and chirality are already being destroyed. Lead author Ali Haider compared this to changing the order of words in a book before its pages are damaged. The project also involved specialists from Kyushu University, Kumamoto University, Ehime University, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany, the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, and the University of Glasgow in the UK. Professor Katsuya Inoue noted that the new approach will help track skin aging, wound healing, and assess the effectiveness of medical procedures before irreversible consequences occur.