Principal Investigator:
Romulo Hurtado, Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Research in Surgery
Background & Unmet Need
- Visualizing cellular structures in the global context of intact organs is critical for deciphering organ function
- However, imaging intact organs is impacted by the following challenges:
- Biological tissues are not transparent and scatter light
- Biological tissues are naturally auto-fluorescent
- These challenges limit the depth of imaging accessible by light microscopy techniques, and make it hard to resolve signal from noise during fluorescent imaging
- Unmet Need: Methods to enable improved light penetration and reduced autofluorescence of biological tissues
Technology Overview
- The Technology: Two complementary techniques to address current imaging limitations of 3D tissue
- Atacama Clear: Makes tissue optically transparent, enabling 3D imaging of whole organs
- Atacama Quench: Eliminates tissue autofluorescence to improve signal-to-noise ratio
- PoC Data:
- Atacama Clear: 50% greater signal-to-noise ratio than CUBIC during imaging of 1mm murine heart sections
- Atacama Quench: 10x more blood vessel signal compared to TrueBlack during immunostaining of a murine brain section
- Tissue preparation protocols are easy to follow and do not require the use of toxic solvents
Technology Applications
- Optical clearing of tissues for superior 3D imaging of intact biological tissues
- Elimination of autofluorescence to enable visualization of biological markers in basic science and clinical imaging studies
Technology Advantages
- Atacama Clear does not require use of toxic solvents or dehydration with common alcohols
- Atacama Clear clears tough fibrous tissue and preserves fluorescent reporter protein signals
- Atacama Quench eliminates autofluorescence throughout the fluorescent light spectrum
- Atacama Quench preserves tissue integrity and is compatible with follow-up IF studies
Publications
Resources
Intellectual Property
Patents
- US Application: US20210404918A1. "Optical clearing and auto-fluorescence quenching solutions and method of use for enhanced microscopy imaging of biological tissues." Published Dec 30, 2021.
- EP Application: EP3884329A1. "Optical clearing and auto-fluorescence quenching solutions and method of use for enhanced microscopy imaging of biological tissues." Published Sep 29, 2021.
- Additional PCT Application Filed: WO2022251410A1. "Optical clearing and auto-fluorescence quenching solutions and method of use for enhanced microscopy imaging of biological tissues." Published Dec 1, 2022.
Cornell Reference
- 8280
Contact Information
For additional information please contact
Jamie Brisbois
Manager, Business Development and Licensing
Phone: (646) 962-7049
Email: jamie.brisbois@cornell.edu