Macro Photography with Lightsheet Illumination Enables Whole Expanded Brain Imaging with Single-cell Resolution.

Abstract

Macro photography allows direct visualization of the enlarged whole mouse brain by a combination of lightsheet illumination and expansion microscopy with single-cell resolution.  Taking advantage of the long working distance of a camera lens, we imaged a 3.7 cm thick, transparent, fluorescently-labeled expanded brain. In order to improve 3D sectioning capability, we used lightsheet excitation confined as the depth of field of the camera lens. Using 4x sample expansion and 5x optical magnification, macro photography enables imaging of expanded whole mouse brain with an effective resolution of 300 nm, which provides the subcellular structural information at the organ level.