PLoS ONE (Apr 2010)

Formalin-induced fluorescence reveals cell shape and morphology in biological tissue samples.

  • Ulrich Leischner,
  • Anja Schierloh,
  • Walter Zieglgänsberger,
  • Hans-Ulrich Dodt

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010391
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 4
p. e10391

Abstract

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Ultramicroscopy is a powerful tool to reveal detailed three-dimensional structures of large microscopical objects. Using high magnification, we observed that formalin induces fluorescence more in extra-cellular space and stains cellular structures negatively, rendering cells as dark objects in front of a bright background. Here, we show this effect on a three-dimensional image stack of a hippocampus sample, focusing on the CA1 region. This method, called FIF-Ultramicroscopy, allows for the three-dimensional observation of cellular structures in various tissue types without complicated staining techniques.