Wavelength-dependent optical properties of melanosomes in retinal pigmented epithelium and their changes with melanin bleaching: a numerical study
Open accessAbstract
In this paper, we present the first numerical study on full metrics of wavelength-dependent optical properties of melanosomes in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells. T-matrix method was used to simulate the spheroidal shapes of mature melanosomes, and the complex refractive index was calculated by a subtractive Kramers-Kronig relation for melanin. The validity of the method was first confirmed by Mie theory, and corroborated by a comparison between visible light and near infrared (NIR) optical coherence tomography (OCT) on human retinal imaging. We also studied the changes of melanosome optical properties due to melanin bleaching by numerically reducing the absorption of melanin. This study implies a unique approach to detect melanin changes specifically in RPE by a spectroscopic contrast of optical coherence tomography.
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The melanosome scattering coefficient is an order of magnitude greater than the absorption coefficient across the 400 to 1600 nm spectrum.
“Despite melanin being a strong absorber, the melanosome scattering coefficient is an order of magnitude greater than the absorption coefficient across the 400 to 1600 nm spectrum.27,28”
From Effect of skin color on optical properties and the implications for medical optical technologies: a review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
Scattering and absorption in the skin tend to decrease with increasing wavelength.
“Scattering and absorption in the skin tend to decrease with increasing wavelength.27–29”
From Effect of skin color on optical properties and the implications for medical optical technologies: a review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
Melanosomes affect scattering in the 600 nm to 700 nm range, and due to their high refractive index, their scattering coefficient is at least one order of magnitude higher than their absorption coefficient at 650 nm, even though melanin is a strong absorber.
“Melanosomes also effect scattering in the 600 nm to 700 nm range and, due to their high refractive index in comparison to their surroundings, their scattering coefficient is at least one order of magnitude higher than their absorption coefficient at 650 nm, even though melanin is a strong absorber [17].”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Authors
- Song, W., Zhang, L., Ness, S., & Yi, J.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Venue
- Biomedical Optics Express
- Publisher
- Optica Publishing Group
- Published
- 2017-08-07
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 3966
- ISSN
- 2156-7085 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5611916
- OpenAlex
- W2742341105
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 1.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Biomedical Optics Express (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Boston Medical Center (BMC)
- BU-Joslin pilot program
- Evans Medical Foundataion
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1KL2TR001411, 1UL1TR001430, 5R01CA183101)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Optical Coherence Tomography Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Keywords
- melanosomes, retinal pigment epithelium, wavelength-dependent optical properties, complex refractive index, Kramers-Kronig relations, T-matrix method, spheroidal particles, optical coherence tomography, near-infrared imaging, melanin absorption
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