Embed, image, rinse and repeat: a new hydrogel for light microscopy
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have led an international collaboration to develop a new cell imaging hydrogel that enables small organisms to be observed without damaging them.
Most materials used to embed samples for microscopy weren’t originally designed for this purpose. They can take a long time to set and be toxic to the samples. It can also be difficult to retrieve the samples from the gels afterwards – high temperatures or aggressive chemicals are often needed.
Dr Marco Marcello commented: “We’ve developed a special hydrogel that allows us to view small living organisms under a microscope and then easily recover them alive using water. The hydrogel also enables the capture of clear images of samples with any light microscope, including super-resolution platforms.”
Using microscopy facilities at the Centre for Cell Imaging, the collaboration also included colleagues from EMBL (Germany), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Glasgow.
In line with the principles of the Technician Commitment, the contributions of two technicians from the Centre of Cell Imaging was recognised with authorship.
The paper ‘A biocompatible supramolecular hydrogel mesh for sample stabilization in light microscopy and nanoscopy’ is published in Scientific Reports.