Researchers Develop Sugar Solution That Turns Tissues Transparent

A group of Japanese researchers have developed a new sugar solution that turns tissues transparent in three days without altering its chemical composition or shape.

The world of science and medicine is constantly evolving as scientists and researchers develop new and innovative techniques and medications. In one such spectacular new development, a team of Japanese researchers from RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology has created a new sugar solution that makes tissues transparent in a matter of three days without altering either its chemical composition or its shape.

Researchers of the new development also confirmed that when this solution was used with fluorescence microscopy, it provided detailed images of the brain at resolutions that have never been obtained before.

Researchers from Japan and USA have in the past tried developing solutions and techniques that could make biological samples transparent to enable researchers to get a better understanding of what lies deep down inside biological structures like the brain.

Unfortunately, most of these techniques have limitations as they change the chemical composition of the tissue as well as morphologically damage the sample. Moreover, they include time consuming procedures, reveals Dr. Taleshi Imai, lead author of the study, in a press statement.

Dr. Imai, who developed this new solution with colleagues Drs. Meng-Tsen Ke and Satoshi Fujimoto, says that their new solution, named "SeeDB" overcomes these limitations.
Researchers revealed that they used the solution to make mouse embryos and brains transparent in just three days, without damaging the shape of the samples or altering the fluorescent dyes they had injected in them. They were able to see the neuronal circuitry inside a mouse brain using a customized fluorescence microscope without any  mechanical sectioning of the brain.

"Because SeeDB is inexpensive, quick, easy and safe to use, and requires no special equipment, it will prove useful for a broad range of studies, including the study of neuronal circuits in human samples," explain the authors.

Source: http://www.hngn.com