Novel Methods for 3D Imaging and Quenching Tissue Autofluorescence

Principal Investigator: 

Romulo HurtadoAssistant 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

Image of Use of Atacama Quench to diagnose fibrosis in a human kidney biopsy.

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

Jamie Brisbois, Ph.D.

For additional information please contact

Jamie Brisbois
Manager, Business Development and Licensing
Phone: (646) 962-7049
Email: jamie.brisbois@cornell.edu