Polarized IR microscopic imaging of articular cartilage.

The objective of this spectroscopic imaging study is to understand the anisotropic behavior of articular cartilage under polarized infrared radiation at 6.25 microm pixel resolution. Paraffin embedded canine humeral cartilage-bone blocks were used to obtain 6 microm thick tissue sections. Two wire grid polarizers were used to manipulate the polarization states of IR radiation by setting them for various polarizer/analyzer angles. The characteristics of the major chemical components (amide I, amide II, amide III and sugar) of articular cartilage were investigated using (a) a polarizer and (b) a combination of a polarizer and an analyzer. These results were compared to those obtained using only an analyzer. The infrared anisotropy (variation in infrared absorption as a function of polarization angles) of amide I, amide II and amide III bands correlates with the orientation of collagen fibrils along the tissue depth in different histological zones. An 'anisotropic flipping' region of amide profiles indicates the possibility of using Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIRI) to determine the histological zones in cartilage. Cross-polarization experiment indicates the resolution of overlapping peaks of collagen triple helix and/or proteoglycan in articular cartilage.