Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

4.6K
Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
4.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

In vivo tissue clearing with tartrazine and other dye molecules.

Communications biology·2026
Same author

Two-photon 3D imaging of optically stimulated neural activity at 100 Hz.

Light, science & applications·2026
Same author

Kinetics of Transient Tissue Transparency via Refractive Index Engineering (T3RIE) for In Vivo Optical Imaging.

Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2026
Same author

Tartrazine Clears Live Cells while Preserving Viability at High Refractive Indices and Osmolality.

Bioconjugate chemistry·2026
Same author

Continuous monitoring of blood-interstitial fluid intercompartmental molecular kinetics in freely moving animals.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Improving positively tuned voltage indicators for faster kinetics and higher contrast.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 14, 2025

Agarose-based Tissue Mimicking Optical Phantoms for Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy
09:25

Agarose-based Tissue Mimicking Optical Phantoms for Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

Published on: August 22, 2018

12.4K

Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules.

Zihao Ou1,2, Yi-Shiou Duh3,4, Nicholas J Rommelfanger2,5

  • 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 5, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Strongly absorbing molecules can make live animals optically transparent by matching tissue refractive indices. This breakthrough enables deep tissue imaging in biology and medicine.

More Related Videos

An Intra-Tissue Radiometry Microprobe for Measuring Radiance In Situ in Living Tissue
09:10

An Intra-Tissue Radiometry Microprobe for Measuring Radiance In Situ in Living Tissue

Published on: June 2, 2023

577
The Use of Ex Vivo Whole-organ Imaging and Quantitative Tissue Histology to Determine the Bio-distribution of Fluorescently Labeled Molecules
08:07

The Use of Ex Vivo Whole-organ Imaging and Quantitative Tissue Histology to Determine the Bio-distribution of Fluorescently Labeled Molecules

Published on: December 24, 2016

9.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 14, 2025

Agarose-based Tissue Mimicking Optical Phantoms for Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy
09:25

Agarose-based Tissue Mimicking Optical Phantoms for Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

Published on: August 22, 2018

12.4K
An Intra-Tissue Radiometry Microprobe for Measuring Radiance In Situ in Living Tissue
09:10

An Intra-Tissue Radiometry Microprobe for Measuring Radiance In Situ in Living Tissue

Published on: June 2, 2023

577
The Use of Ex Vivo Whole-organ Imaging and Quantitative Tissue Histology to Determine the Bio-distribution of Fluorescently Labeled Molecules
08:07

The Use of Ex Vivo Whole-organ Imaging and Quantitative Tissue Histology to Determine the Bio-distribution of Fluorescently Labeled Molecules

Published on: December 24, 2016

9.5K

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Optics
  • Biophysics
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Optical imaging is crucial for biology and medicine.
  • Light scattering in live tissue limits imaging depth and resolution.
  • Existing optical clearing methods face challenges in efficacy and biocompatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the counterintuitive phenomenon of achieving optical transparency in live animals using strongly absorbing molecules.
  • To elucidate the physical mechanisms underlying this optical clearing effect.
  • To demonstrate a practical method for enhancing deep tissue visualization.

Main Methods:

  • Dissolving strongly absorbing molecules in aqueous solutions.
  • Utilizing Kramers-Kronig relations to explain refractive index modification.
  • Testing optical clearing efficacy in live mouse models.
  • Visualizing deep-seated structures and biological activities.

Main Results:

  • Strongly absorbing molecules, when dissolved, can alter the refractive index of water.
  • This modification allows the aqueous medium to match the refractive index of high-index tissue components like lipids.
  • A live mouse body was rendered reversibly transparent, enabling visualization of internal structures.
  • The approach proved effective for imaging a range of deep-seated biological features.

Conclusions:

  • Strongly absorbing molecules offer a novel strategy for achieving optical transparency in biological tissues.
  • The Kramers-Kronig relations provide the theoretical basis for this refractive index matching.
  • This technique offers a straightforward and reversible method for deep tissue optical imaging.
  • Future optical clearing agents should prioritize strongly absorbing molecular properties.