Vergessen Sie Supermikroskope, die Gewebeexpansion des MIT macht die Bildgebung im Nanomaßstab erschwinglich

A classical way to image nanoscale structures in cells is with high-powered, expensive super-resolution microscopes. 

As an alternative, MIT researchers have developed a way to expand tissue before imaging it — a technique that allows them to achieve nanoscale resolution with a conventional light microscope.

In the newest version of this technique, the researchers have made it possible to expand tissue 20-fold in a single step. 

This simple, inexpensive method could allow nearly any biology lab to perform nanoscale imaging.

At the resolution achieved by this technique, which is around 20 nanometers, scientists can see organelles inside cells and clusters of proteins.

With a 20-fold expansion, researchers can use a conventional light microscope to resolve about 20 nanometers. 

This allows them to see cell structures like microtubules and mitochondria, as well as clusters of proteins.

In the new study, the researchers set out to perform a 20-fold expansion with only a single step. 

This meant that they had to find a gel that was both extremely absorbent and mechanically stable so that it wouldn’t fall apart when expanded 20-fold.

This discovery has the potential to completely change how we use microscopes and what the future holds.