Characterization of degradation effects on wood ultrastructure by non-linear imaging

Abstract

The characterization of deterioration processes in wooden artifacts is crucial for assessing their state of conservation and ensuring their preservation. Advanced imaging techniques are currently being explored to study the effect of chemical changes on the structural and mechanical properties of wood. Combined second harmonic generation and two-photon excited fluorescence (SHG/TPEF) imaging is a recently introduced non-destructive method for the analysis of cellulose-based samples. The study of age-related wood degradation based on nonlinear signal variation is a promising avenue. This work involves nonlinear multimodal analysis of naturally aged and dendrochronologically dated spruce samples. SHG/TPEF imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) were used to demonstrate the influence of molecular deterioration and rearrangement of biopolymers on the fluorescence emitted by lignin and the second harmonic signal generated by cellulose. Imaging based on spectral filter detection and time-resolved analysis of the nonlinear fluorescence signal was used to delineate and potentially quantify ageing-induced morpho-chemical changes in the ultrastructure of wood cells. The analysis of cell structures by optical sectioning revealed variations between wood samples of different ages and different cell structures.