Summary
Published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (2020), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Edwards, Steven J., et al. High-Resolution Imaging of Tumor Spheroids and Organoids Enabled by Expansion Microscopy
High-Resolution Imaging of Tumor Spheroids and Organoids Enabled by Expansion Microscopy
Research Overview
Light microscopy is the workhorse for studying structure and function in 3D cell cultures, but preparing those cultures for imaging is often destructive — physical sectioning can throw away the 3D information the culture was grown to provide. This study explored expansion microscopy as an alternative and compared it with a simple immersion clearing protocol.
The result is a practical method for imaging spheroids, organoids, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells at high resolution without losing spatial organization. Expanded samples are highly transparent, which sharply reduces light scatter and absorption and allows high-resolution imaging over extended volumes, and their hydrogel-like nature supports homogeneous labeling throughout the sample.
Key Discoveries
- Expansion microscopy compared against simple immersion clearing for 3D cultures
- Practical protocol for imaging spheroids, organoids, and infiltrating immune cells without sectioning
- Expanded samples are highly transparent, enabling high-resolution imaging over extended volumes
