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Rapid and prodium iodide-compatible optical clearing method for brain tissue based on sugar/sugar-alcohol
Tingting Yu1, Yisong Qi1, Jianru Wang1
1Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, ChinabHuazhong University of Science and Technology, MoE Key Laboratory for.
Journal of Biomedical Optics
|March 13, 2016
Summary
Rapid optical clearing agents like sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose quickly render mouse brain tissue transparent, enhancing imaging depth. These agents offer a faster alternative to existing methods for large-volume tissue imaging.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Imaging
- Materials Science
Background:
- Existing optical clearing methods for large-volume tissues are complex and time-consuming.
- There is a need for rapid and efficient optical clearing agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To screen for and evaluate rapid optical clearing agents for biological tissues.
- To assess the efficacy of sugar-based agents for enhancing tissue transparency and imaging depth.
Main Methods:
- Molecular dynamical simulation was used to screen potential clearing agents.
- Experimental validation involved applying sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose to mouse brain samples.
- Evaluated improvements in optical clearing, imaging depth, fluorescence preservation, and sample deformation.
Main Results:
- Sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose achieved rapid optical clearing of mouse brain samples within 1-2 minutes.
- These agents increased imaging depth by approximately threefold.
- Sorbitol and sucrose enhanced fluorescence intensity for green fluorescent protein (GFP) and propidium iodide (PI).
- Fructose enhanced PI fluorescence but slightly decreased GFP fluorescence.
- Minimal and uniform sample shrinkage was observed in both horizontal and longitudinal directions.
Conclusions:
- Sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose are effective rapid optical clearing agents.
- These agents significantly improve imaging depth and fluorescence preservation in mouse brain samples.
- The developed method offers a faster and simpler approach for optical clearing in biological imaging.
