Magnify is a universal molecular anchoring strategy for expansion microscopy
Abstract
Expansion microscopy enables nanoimaging with conventional microscopes by physically and isotropically magnifying preserved biological specimens embedded in a crosslinked water-swellable hydrogel. Current expansion microscopy protocols require prior treatment with reactive anchoring chemicals to link specific labels and biomolecule classes to the gel. We describe a strategy called Magnify, which uses a mechanically sturdy gel that retains nucleic acids, proteins and lipids without the need for a separate anchoring step. Magnify expands biological specimens up to 11 times and facilitates imaging of cells and tissues with effectively around 25-nm resolution using a diffraction-limited objective lens of about 280 nm on conventional optical microscopes or with around 15 nm effective resolution if combined with super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging. We demonstrate Magnify on a broad range of biological specimens, providing insight into nanoscopic subcellular structures, including synaptic proteins from mouse brain, podocyte foot processes in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human kidney and defects in cilia and basal bodies in drug-treated human lung organoids.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 02, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1038/s41587-022-01546-1
Entities
People
- Aleksandra Klimas
- Alison L. Barth
- Amjad Horani
- Brendan R. Gallagher
- Christopher I. Moore
- Donna B. Stolz
- Emma F. Dibernardo
- Franca Cambi
- Piyumi Wijesekara
- Simon C Watkins
- Sinda Fekir
- Steven L. Brody
- Xi Ren
- Yongxin Zhao
- Zhangyu Cheng