Laser biophotonics

The first issue of the Quantum Electronics journal for 2021 is dedicated to laser biophotonics and features primarily the papers based on invited reports delivered at the International Symposium 'Optics and Biophotonics 2020' (https://sfmconference. org/files/20-sfm-program-5-10-20-total.pdf), which is part of the famous international conference Saratov Fall Meeting (SFM) held annually in Saratov (Russia). All collected papers report on new possibilities of implementation of laser technologies in biomedical applications, and represent the main current research directions in the field of laser biophotonics in our country and partially abroad. These directions include, first of all, laser-induced modification of biological tissues and enhancement of photochemical processes in them. The paper by A.V. Belikov et al. (St. Petersburg, Moscow) considers the application of laser at a wavelength of 1.54 μm operating in the region of generation of microsecond pulse packets for destruction of cataracts. A.G. Shubnyy et al. (Moscow) proposed a novel approach to laser tattoo removal. The paper by N.Yu. Ignatieva et al. (Moscow) studies laserinduced modification of sclera collagen matrix aiming at modification of its hydraulic permeability. The paper by M.E. Shvachkina et al. (Saratov, Tomsk) reports on enhancement of photochemical processes riboflavin/UV photo crosslinking of scleral collagen using tissue optical clearing.