Journal Article

Label-free automated three-dimensional imaging of whole organs by microtomy-assisted photoacoustic microscopy

Hsu, Hsun-Chia, Shung, K. Kirk, Wang, Lidai, Shi, Junhui, Zhou, Qifa, Wong, Terence T. W., Zhang, Chi, Maslov, Konstantin I., Zhang, Ruiying, Chen, Ruimin, Wang, Lihong V.

2017

Overview

Three-dimensional (3D) optical imaging of whole biological organs with microscopic resolution has remained a challenge. Most versions of such imaging techniques require special preparation of the tissue specimen. Here we demonstrate microtomy-assisted photoacoustic microscopy (mPAM) of mouse brains and other organs, which automatically acquires serial distortion-free and registration-free images with endogenous absorption contrasts. Without tissue staining or clearing, mPAM generates micrometer-resolution 3D images of paraffin- or agarose-embedded whole organs with high fidelity, achieved by label-free simultaneous sensing of DNA/RNA, hemoglobins, and lipids. mPAM provides histology-like imaging of cell nuclei, blood vessels, axons, and other anatomical structures, enabling the application of histopathological interpretation at the organelle level to analyze a whole organ. Its deep tissue imaging capability leads to less sectioning, resulting in negligible sectioning artifact. mPAM offers a new way to better understand complex biological organs. The state-of-the-art three-dimensional biomedical imaging often requires specific tissue preparation that may alter the physical properties of the specimen causing loss of information. Here Wong et al. develop a microtomy-assisted photoacoustic microscopy that allows imaging of biological samples without labelling agents and with reduced sectioning.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 631/1647/245 / 631/1647/328 / Animals / Axons / Blood vessels / Brain - cytology / Clearing / Deoxyribonucleic acid / DNA / Equipment Design / Formaldehyde / Hemoglobin / Histology / Humanities and Social Sciences / Image acquisition / Imaging techniques / Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods / Kidney - cytology / Lipids / Lung - cytology / Mice / Microscopy / Microscopy - instrumentation / Microscopy - methods / Microtomy / Molecular Imaging - methods / multidisciplinary / Nuclei / Nuclei (cytology) / Organs / Paraffin / Paraffin Embedding / Photoacoustic microscopy / Photoacoustic Techniques - instrumentation / Photoacoustic Techniques - methods / Ribonucleic acid / RNA / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Sectioning / Sepharose / Tissue Embedding - methods / Ultraviolet Rays