Confocal laser scanning microscopy: a flexible tool for simultaneous polarization and three-dimensional fluorescence imaging of archaeological compact bone

    Authors

    C. Maggiano; T. Dupras; M. Schultz;J. Biggerstaff

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Archaeol. Sci.

    Keywords

    Microscopy; Archaeology; Fluorescence; Polarization; Histology; Bone; HISTOLOGICAL AGE ESTIMATION; CORTICAL BONE; IN-VITRO; TETRACYCLINE; ORIENTATION; SECTIONS; COLLAGEN; OSTEONS; HYDROXYAPATITE; RECONSTRUCTION; Anthropology; Archaeology; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    Wide-field polarized light and epifluorescence microscopy have been used to enhance analysis of archaeological bone tissue, providing information on bone formation, modeling, pathology, preservation, age estimation, and biomechanics. Though valuable, these techniques are limited by their inability to remove out-of-focus light and view multiple levels of a sample, restricting our understanding of the three-dimensional (3-D) microarchitecture of compact bone. Modem technological advances, such as microscopic computerized tomography, allow increasing resolution in 3-D bone imaging, but do not allow fluorescence labeling or polarized-light analysis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a valuable tool for 3-D histology. However, its application to the study of compact bone is lacking, especially in archaeological and forensic sciences. The current study investigated CLSM as a tool for fluorescence and polarized-light microscopy of archaeological compact bone in order to demonstrate its advantages. Standard techniques and CLSM are compared in their suitability for imaging well preserved archaeological bones from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. CLSM's high resolution, multi-channel, two- and three-dimensional capabilities augment the flexibility and creativity of compact bone imaging and have the potential to increase the accuracy of quantitative medical and anthropological histomorphometric techniques. CLSM is specifically suggested as a useful tool for the investigation of ancient bone fluorescence caused by the presence of tetracycline and/or other fluorochromes. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Archaeological Science

    Volume

    36

    Issue/Number

    10

    Publication Date

    1-1-2009

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    2392

    Last Page

    2401

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000270001900034

    ISSN

    0305-4403

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