Application of ultra-fast laser radiation for processing of biological tissue: mass spectrometry of ablated species

In recent years, due to the demonstrated high accuracy and reproducibility of the surgical procedures with fs pulses, the potential of using fs laser sources as a conventional tool for many surgical applications has increased. Moreover, the laser parameters can be so chosen as to modify the tissue in different ways. Future use of lasers in different fields in medicine will be related with the outcome efficiency of the laser treatment procedures. By studying the process of laser tissue interaction we intend to be able to make qualitative improvements to different type of medical applications of lasers. In this study we examined the ablation process of biological samples (tooth and bone) while varying the laser parameters (pulse duration, wavelength, fluence). The mass spectra of organic molecules at λ=193 nm and λ=800 nm were compared. We considered the laser intensity effects on the mass distribution of biological samples. The analysis of the ion species produced by short-pulse laser ablation showed that fs laser ablation is more effective than the ns laser ablation. This article provides a description of our understanding of the process of laser-tissue interaction based on mass spectrometry studies.