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New Strategies for Cellular‐Scale Imaging of Bone and Cartilage
Author(s) -
Williams Rebecca
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.12.2
Subject(s) - microscopy , biomedical engineering , confocal microscopy , confocal , light sheet fluorescence microscopy , materials science , cartilage , electron microscope , optics , anatomy , scanning confocal electron microscopy , medicine , physics
Confocal microscopy can be used to obtain detailed, 3D‐resolved images of cells inside bone and cartilage. However the high scattering coefficients of dense connective tissues often necessitate tissue sectioning for resolving cellular scale detail inside. Multiphoton microscopy enables clearer imaging and greater depth penetration into these tissues and the related technique of second harmonic generation enables acquisition of collagen images at the single‐fibril level in 3D and in some cases in vivo. New improvements in clearing technologies and optical methods such as light sheet microscopy continue to advance the depth in to which dense tissues can be imaged using highly‐specific fluorescent probes. Concurrently, improvements in X‐ray computed tomography, the standard method for 3D medical assessment of bone morphology and lesions, have led to resolutions rivaling those obtained with optical microscopy, in some cases with specifically targeted electron dense contrast agents. Different techniques excel for different specific questions to be addressed within this diverse and powerful imaging landscape.