title: Stochastic electrotransport selectively enhances the transport of highly electromobile molecules.
abstract: Nondestructive chemical processing of porous samples such as fixed biological tissues typically relies on molecular diffusion. Diffusion into a porous structure is a slow process that significantly delays completion of chemical processing. Here, we present a novel electrokinetic method termed stochastic electrotransport for rapid nondestructive processing of porous samples. This method uses a rotational electric field to selectively disperse highly electromobile molecules throughout a porous sample without displacing the low-electromobility molecules that constitute the sample. Using computational models, we show that stochastic electrotransport can rapidly disperse electromobile molecules in a porous medium. We apply this method to completely clear mouse organs within 1-3 days and to stain them with nuclear dyes, proteins, and antibodies within 1 day. Our results demonstrate the potential of stochastic electrotransport to process large and dense tissue samples that were previously infeasible in time when relying on diffusion.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Sung-Yon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Jae Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bakh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Heejin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohn
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Luzdary
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruelas
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hubbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Meg
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCue
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Vassallo
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 02147;
authors.forename: Philipp J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of technology, Cambridge, MA 02142 khchung@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Kwanghun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000737:chemistry*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D016062:Porosity
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D004396:Coloring Agents
keywords: CLARITY; molecular transport; stochastic electrotransport; tissue clearing; tissue labeling