Healing process study in murine skin superficial wounds treated with the blue LED photocoagulator EMOLED
Year: 2015
Authors: Rossi F., Cicchi R., Tatini F., Bacci S., Alfieri D., De Siena G., Pavone FS., Pini R.
Autors Affiliation: Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara”, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, I-50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy;
National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, Largo E. Fermi 6, I-50125, Florence, Italy;
European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Department of Human Anatomy, Histology, and Legal Medicine, Section of Histology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, I-50139, Florence, Italy;
Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, I-50139, Florence, Italy;
Light4Tech Firenze S.r.L., Via Pisana 316, I-50018 Scandicci (FI) Italy
Department of Physics, University of Florence, Via Giovanni Sansone 1, I-50019, Sesto
Fiorentino, Italy
Abstract: A faster healing process was observed in superficial skin wounds after irradiation with the EMOLED photocoagulator. The instrument consists of a compact handheld photocoagulation device, useful for inducing coagulation in superficial abrasions. In this work we present the results of an in vivo study, in a murine model. Two superficial wounds were produced on the back of 12 mice: one area was left untreated, the other one was treated with EMOLED. Healthy skin was used as a control. The animals were sacrificed 3 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 6 day after treatment. The treatment effects on back skin was monitored by visual observations, histopathological analysis, immuno-histochemical analysis, and nonlinear microscopic imaging performed at each follow up time, finding no adverse reactions and no thermal damage in both treated areas and surrounding tissues. In addition, a faster healing process, a reduced inflammatory response, a higher collagen content, and a better-recovered skin morphology was evidenced in the treated tissue with respect to the untreated tissue. These morphological features were characterized by means of immuno-histochemical analysis, aimed at imaging fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, and by SHG microscopy, aimed at characterizing collagen organization, demonstrating a fully recovered aspect of dermis as well as a faster neocollagenesis in the treated regions. This study demonstrates that the selective photothermal effect we used for inducing immediate coagulation in superficial wounds is associated to a minimal inflammatory response, which provides reduced recovery times and improved healing process.
Conference title: European Conference on Biomedical Optics – ECBO 2015
Place:
KeyWords: Cell culture; Coagulation; Collagen; Fibroblasts; Laser applications; Laser tissue interaction; Recovery, Collagen organizations; Histochemical analysis; Histopathological analysis; Inflammatory response; Microscopic imaging; Morphological features; Photothermal effects; Visual observations, Tissue