Scientists from Scripps Research have introduced a new method for cleaning tissue that makes biological samples transparent.
The new method has been called hybrid: it combines elements of the two main early approaches to cleaning fabrics. And, according to the authors, it is more practical and scalable.
This is a simple and versatile method of cleaning tissue, it helps to examine large parts of the body or even a whole animal.
Li Ye, Ph.D., assistant professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research
Solvents are used to clean fabrics.removal of molecules that make tissue opaque (such as fat). At the same time, most proteins and structures are preserved. Scientists typically use genetically encoded or antibody-linked fluorescent beacons to mark active genes or other molecules of interest. If we apply the new method, then these beacons can be observed not individually, but in aggregate.
The authors of the new work suggested usinga consistent combination of organic solvents and water-based detergents. And also hydrogels, also made from water, to protect certain molecules in tissues.
You just need to use all the ingredients and wait until it works. I believe that this method is practical and quite scalable.
Li Ye, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research
During the experiment, the researchers teamed upwith the laboratory of John Teiyaro, PhD, Associate Professor of Immunology and Microbiology. Together, they first imaged cells infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Now the authors are working on various applications of the new method, in particular, on the ability to track nerve pathways in the body.
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