High-resolution confocal and light-sheet imaging of collagen 3D network architecture in very large samples

Grigorii Timin; Michel C Milinkovitch

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106452

High-resolution confocal and light-sheet imaging of collagen 3D network architecture in very large samples

iScience. 2023 Mar 20;26(4):106452. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106452. eCollection 2023 Apr 21.

Authors

Grigorii Timin^{1

2}, Michel C Milinkovitch^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Artificial & Natural Evolution (LANE), Department of Genetics & Evolution, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
² SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

Although notoriously difficult, imaging collagen network architecture, a key element affecting tissue mechanical properties, is of paramount importance in developmental and cancer biology. Here, we introduce a simple and robust method of whole-mount collagen staining with the 'Fast Green' dye that provides unmatched visualization of collagen 3D network architecture, via confocal or light-sheet microscopy, compatible with solvent-based tissue clearing and immunostaining.

Keywords: Cell biology; Microstructure; Molecular biology.