3D super-resolution deep-tissue imaging in living mice

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy enables the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of dynamic nanoscale structures in living cells, offering unique insights into their organization. However, 3D-STED imaging deep inside biological tissue is obstructed by optical aberrations and light sc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Velasco, MGM, Zhang, M, Antonello, J, Yuan, P, Allgeyer, ES, May, D, M'Saad, O, Kidd, P, Barentine, AES, Greco, V, Grutzendler, J, Booth, MJ, Bewersdorf, J
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Optical Society of America 2021
Description
Summary:Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy enables the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of dynamic nanoscale structures in living cells, offering unique insights into their organization. However, 3D-STED imaging deep inside biological tissue is obstructed by optical aberrations and light scattering. We present a STED system that overcomes these challenges. Through the combination of two-photon excitation, adaptive optics, red-emitting organic dyes, and a long-working-distance water-immersion objective lens, our system achieves aberration-corrected 3D super-resolution imaging, which we demonstrate 164 µm deep in fixed mouse brain tissue and 76 µm deep in the brain of a living mouse.