New microscopies, biomaterials: Two new axes for Morphologie

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Morphologie(2016)100,187—188

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EDITORIAL

New microscopies, biomaterials: Two new axes for Morphologie

Nouvelles microscopies, biomatériaux : deux axes nouveaux pour Morphologie

Morphology is nowadays the subject of an extraordinary development due to the appearance of new techniques, particularlyinthemicroscopicﬁeld.Everyyear,newtypes of microscopy emerge and push down the old admitted dogmas:the ErnstAbbe’sprinciple, whichstatedthat the

Figure1 Ramanimagingofarticularcartilageandsubchondralboneinahumanfemoralhead,viewedonanepi-illuminatedblock.

Thedifferentlayersareeasilyidentifiedwith,fromlefttoright,bonemarrow(m),bone(b),calcifiedcartilagelayer(c)uncalcified articularcartilage(a).Theframehighlightstheanalyticalarea.A.Distributionofwater,abundantinthemarrowanduncalcified cartilage.B.Phosphategroupspresentinmineralizedboneandinhighamountinthecalcifiedcartilage;C.—CH2groupsofthe collagen.Thelook-uptable(LUT)ismentioned:theareasrichinthegivenmoleculesorspeciesareinred,theareascontaining lesscomponentsareinblue-black.

ImagerieRamanducartilageetdel’ossous-chondraldansunetêtefémoralehumaine,blocvuenépi-éclairage.Lesdifférentes couchessontaisémentidentifiablesavec,delagaucheversladroite,lamoelleosseuse(m),l’os(b),lacouchedecartilagecalcifié (c),lecartilagearticulairenoncalcifié(a).Lecadreillustrelazoned’analyse:A:distributiondel’eau,présentemajoritairement danslamoelleetlecartilagearticulaire;B:distributiondesphosphates,localisésdansl’osetlecartilagecalcifié;C:cartographie desgroupements—CH2ducollagène.Latabledecorrespondance(LUT)figureen-dessous.Lesrégionsrichesenmoléculesouen groupementchimiquessontenrouge,cellespauvresenbleu-noir.

limitresolutionoftheopticalmicroscopeisphysicallyﬁxed at 200nm is now abandoned since the discovery of new laserapplications(EricBetzig,StefanW. HellandWilliam E. Moerner, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014). In addition, the considerable improvements in computer science and

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188 Editorial theavailability of more andmore powerfulmachines has

led to the application to microscopy of physical princi- plesthatweredescribed manyyearsagobutcouldnotbe appliedpractically until now. This is the case, for exam- ple,for Raman imagingbased ona spectroscopicanalysis of samples, which can produce molecular maps of a tissue (Fig. 1). Chandrashekhara Raman investigated some effects of the ‘‘Molecular Diffraction of Light’’ in 1928, whichgainedhimthe1930NobelPrizeinPhysics.Allthese microscopictechniquesareoftenreportedasanacronymin theliterature(e.g.ESEM[environmentalscanningelectron microscopy], FIB[focused ion beam], SIM[structuredillu- minationmicroscopy], dSTORM [directstochastical optical reconstruction microscopy], PALM [photo-activated local- izationmicroscopy],SAM[scanningacousticmicroscope]... andMorphologiewillwelcome syntheticreviewsonthese emergingtechnologiesandtheirapplicationsinbiologyand medicine.These new methods arealso becomingpopular inabranchofmedicalsciencethathasconsiderablydevel- opedsince2000’:biomaterials.Biomaterialsarespecialized devices for repairing a given tissue or a function in the humanbodyandtheyhavegainedaconsiderableinterest.

Thenumberofpapers,intheliteratureisgrowingexponen- tially.Thisisduetoanincreasingdemandofbiomaterialsin allmedicalspecialitiestorepairthehumanbody:eyewith synthetic lenses, teeth with dental implants, joints with prostheses,boneswithceramicsubstitutes,vessels,valves andeventheheartincardiology...Withallthesetypesof

biomaterials, the prerequisite is to develop devices that are both compatiblewiththe human ﬂuids, resistant and biomimetic.Thepreclinicalstudies(preparationandanimal studies)aregreatconsumersofmicroscopic techniquesto evaluate theinterface between biomaterialandcells and also their cyto and biocompatibility responses. The clini- calpapers,inturn,aregreatconsumersofmedicalimaging methodstoanalyzetheplacementandlong-termevolution ofbiomaterialsinthebody.Morphologiewillwelcomesuch transversepapersonbiomaterialscombininganatomicand microscopic methods. Reviews on microscopic techniques andbiomaterialswillbepresentedinthenextissuesofour journal.Wehopethatthesetwodirectionswillinterestour readersastheyofteninvolvealargepanelofmorphological methods.

Disclosure of interest

The author hasnot supplied hisdeclaration of competing interest.

D.Chappard Groupeétudesremodelageosseuxetbiomatériaux (GEROM)—LHEA,IRIS-IBSinstitutdebiologieensanté,CHU d’Angers,universitéd’Angers,49933Angerscedex,France E-mailaddress:[email protected] Availableonline28July2016