title: Three-dimensional non-destructive soft-tissue visualization with X-ray staining micro-tomography.
abstract: Low inherent contrast in soft tissues has been limiting the use of X-ray absorption micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to access high-resolution structural information of animal organs. The staining agents used in micro-CT to improve the contrast fail in providing high-quality images of whole organs of animals due to diffusion problems of the staining agent into the sample. We demonstrate a staining protocol that incorporates a biochemical conditioning step prior to exposure to the staining agent that succeeds in overcoming the diffusion problems, thus quickly providing high-quality micro-CT images of whole organs of mammals. Besides of yielding non-distorted three-dimensional information at the same spatial resolution accessible in histological sections, micro-CT images of whole organs stained by our method enable easy screening of slices along any direction of the volume thus demonstrating new possibilities of structural analysis in biomedical science.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department &Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany.|Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, 13083-970, Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Martins
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de S e Silva
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department &Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany.|Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, OX110DE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zanette
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department &Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany.|Department of Radiology, Technische Universität München, 81675 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Noël
authors.affiliation: Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, 13083-970, Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mateus B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Technische Universität München, 81675 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kimm
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department &Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany.|Department of Radiology, Technische Universität München, 81675 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media