PPT Slide
In an effort to determine which spectral changes in the aortas were associated with collagen and elastin composition changes, a set of sample mixtures of collagen I, III, and elastin was prepared using pure lyophilized standards.
The reflectance spectra of the 15 mixtures were compared to the reflectance spectra of the 36 aorta sections by mean-centering the spectra of the mixtures and the spectra of the aortas. The difference spectra between each standard sample spectrum and the mean spectrum of the standard samples were calculated. Likewise, the difference spectra between each aorta section spectrum and the mean spectrum of the aorta sections was also calculated. The aorta difference spectra were then averaged for the control, low dose, and high dose Ang II groups. Finally, the difference spectra of the standards and the averaged aorta sections were correlated. In this way the effects of other components of the aortas was minimized.