Synchrotron FT-IR spectroscopy of human bones. The effect of aging

Abstract

The Synchrotron micro-FT-IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the structural changes of human bones, which are produced upon irradiation. It was observed that after irradiation with a dose of 40 Gy up to 119 Gy the band at 1660 cm-1, which corresponds to the absorption of the Amide I group (-NH-CO-) and indicates that the collagen exists in α-helix, shows considerable changes upon irradiation resulting that the collagen looses its structure from α-helix to random coil. Considerable changes were also observed in the region of the spectra between 900 cm-1 and 1200 cm-1 where the phosphate groups (v3PO43-) of hydroxyapatite absorb. These bands change in intensity and shape. These findings show that the irradiation of human bones leads to damage of the main components of bone tissues. © 2007 Springer.