Today, thanks to innovations in microscopy, views of the interior of cells and other nanoscale structures are now possible. This is particularly the case for expansion microscopy or ExM. This innovative method super-resolution imaging makes it possible to obtain unprecedented images of the interior of our cells. It relies on physical rather than optical magnification.
Thanks to this new microscopy technique, the infinitely small is much more accessible to scientists. The advent of this new method of microscopy will make it possible to carry out major advances in neuroscience, pathology and other biological or medical fields. Today the Mr. Zhao’s biophotonics laboratory has become a pioneer in the field of super-resolution imaging of biological samples using expansion microscopy.
During this revolutionary process, the samples are integrated into a inflatable hydro gel which expands homogeneously to increase the distance between the molecules. Following this physical expansion, it is then possible to observe the tissues with higher resolution.
Expansion microscopy makes it possible to see images in high definition
Expansion microscopy is much more efficient than current high resolution imaging techniques which are mostly very expensive. But the researchers even managed to visualize biological structures at the nanometer scale with this new technique.
In an article titled « Magnify is a universal molecular anchoring strategy for expansion microscopy »researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University have described a new protocol dubbed Magnify.
Magnify is a variant of expansion microscopy which uses a new hydrogel formula. This hydrogel invented by Professor Zhao’s team is much more efficient than the previous ones. It retains a broader spectrum of biomolecules, offers a wider application to a variety of fabrics and increases the rate of expansion up to 11 times linearly, or approximately 1,300 times the original volume.
Magnify enables tissue observation without removing biomolecules
Magnify can become a powerful and accessible tool for the community biotechnology. It enabled them to overcome longstanding challenges with expansion microscopy. Magnify allows in particular to preserve biomolecules inside tissues such as proteins, nucleus fragments or carbohydrates. The fact of keep the different biological components intact within expanded samples is a first in microscopy.
Most current processes require elimination of many biomolecules which may contain valuable research information. Previous protocols in expansion microscopy required the use of enzymes that facilitated cell expansion, but also digested proteins. At the end of the operation, the scientists obtained images showing the empty slots of lost molecules. Thanks to Magnify, they can now simultaneously observe proteins, lipids and carbohydrates.
SOURCE : SCITECHDAILY
