22 Mar Expansion Microscopy at BIC

We are glad to announce that our staff has been able to apply Expansion Microscopy (ExM) in cultured cells and tissue. ExM is a new technique developed by Ed Boyden in 2015, that overcomes the resolution limits of conventional light microscopy. This technique consists in an isotropic expansion of cells of around 4 folds up to 10 folds (see Boyden’s lab protocols), to resolve structures with light microscopy preserving the nanoscale detail. After fluorescent labeling, crosslinking, and embedding in an acrylamide gel, cell content is digested and expanded. The whole protocol takes three to four days to complete and it is pretty easy to perform. You can then use confocal microscopy or our lattice light sheet microscope with water immersion objectives to acquire expanded images at super-resolution level.

As an example of the power of this technique, we have been able to resolve pre- and post-synaptic compartments in neuronal cultures by conventional confocal microscopy, at the same level that STED microscopy (see picture).  Contact us to know more and to try this amazing technique.