Three-dimensional non-destructive soft-tissue visualization with X-ray staining micro-tomography

Author(s)

Silva, Juliana Martins de S. e ^{[1, 2]} ; Zanette, Irene ^{[3, 2]} ; Noel, Peter B. ^{[2, 4]} ; Cardoso, Mateus B. ^[1] ; Kimm, Melanie A. ^[4] ; Pfeiffer, Franz ^{[2, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Brazilian Synchrotron Light Lab, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Tech Univ Munich, Dept Phys, Lehrstuhl Biomed Phys, D-85748 Garching - Germany

^[3] Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE, Oxon - England

^[4] Tech Univ Munich, Dept Radiol, D-81675 Munich - Germany

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 5, SEP 25 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 25

Abstract

Low inherent contrast in soft tissues has been limiting the use of X-ray absorption micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to access high-resolution structural information of animal organs. The staining agents used in micro-CT to improve the contrast fail in providing high-quality images of whole organs of animals due to diffusion problems of the staining agent into the sample. We demonstrate a staining protocol that incorporates a biochemical conditioning step prior to exposure to the staining agent that succeeds in overcoming the diffusion problems, thus quickly providing high-quality micro-CT images of whole organs of mammals. Besides of yielding non-distorted three-dimensional information at the same spatial resolution accessible in histological sections, micro-CT images of whole organs stained by our method enable easy screening of slices along any direction of the volume thus demonstrating new possibilities of structural analysis in biomedical science. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/12190-9 - Understanding the activity of functionalized nanoparticles against virus using coherent diffraction imaging
• Grantee: Juliana Martins de Souza e Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor