Minimizing shrinkage of acute brain slices using metal spacers during histological embedding.

ABSTRACT: The morphological structure of neurons provides the basis for their functions and is a major focus of contemporary neuroscience studies. Intracellular staining of single cells in acute slices is a well-established approach, offering high-resolution information on neuronal morphology, complementing their physiology. Despite major technical advances, however, a common histological artifact often precludes precise morphological analysis: shrinkage of the sampled tissue after embedding for microscopy. Here, we describe a new approach using a metal spacer, sandwiched between two coverslips to reduce shrinkage of whole-mount slice preparations during embedding with aqueous mounting medium under a coverslip. This approach additionally allows imaging the slices from both sides to obtain better qua

SUBMITTER: Bolduan F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7544706 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature