The natural opacity of most biological tissues typically limits the resolution of microscopic investigations using visible light at depths greater than 100 µm. Tissue clearing is the chemical process of rendering tissues transparent in order to improve resolution and imaging depth in thicker tissues, which can enable better 3D visualizations than can be achieved using other approaches such as slicing and digitally reconstructing thinner sections of tissue. There are several different categories of tissue clearing strategies, and dozens of specific protocols that have been published, all with the end goal of bringing tissue components to a common refractive index (RI). If you are new to tissue clearing, figuring out where to start and which clearing techniques to try can be daunting; the following tips can help you narrow down your options to find the best technique for your application.
Read more on Labcompare.