Redesigned Scale Objective Lens from Carl Zeiss for Brain Research

Imaging to depth of 5.6 mm in brain tissue now possible

Jena, 28 November 2011
The completely redesigned plan-apochromatic 20x/1.0 VIS-IR objective lens from Carl Zeiss now makes it possible to acquire 3D images of nerve cells down to depths of 5.6 mm in intact tissue using a confocal laser scanning or multiphoton microscope, without having to section the brain. This permits the three-dimensional visualization of the branches of individual nerve cells and the imaging of their connections.

Maximum intensity projection of an image stack through the intact brain of a 7 week old transgenic mouse taken on a ZEISS LSM 780 NLO Multiphotron microscope and the new objective lens. Various neuronal populations are visualized up to 5.6 mm deep in the brain. Image courtesy of Hiroshi Hama, Fumijoshi Ishidate, Atsushi Miyawaki, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan

In untreated tissue, the penetration depth now achievable is five to ten times more than that of a multiphoton microscope featuring traditional optics.

Using the microscope to visualize and track nerve cells deep into the brain is an important step in the decoding of the brain circuitry. The new objective lens from Carl Zeiss now brings this goal considerably closer to realization. Carl Zeiss has designed the plan-apochromatic 20x/1.0 VIS-IR objective lens for the clearing method known as Scale developed by Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan. A special water-based reagent solution transforms the sheath substance of the nerve cells into a transparent matrix without impairing the signals from fluorescent marker and tracer substances.

“I am very impressed by the new possibilities,” says Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki, whose results have been published in Nature Neuroscience and provoked broad interest in the neurosciences. In one of the most important research projects in the field of brain research, the Connectome project, the objective lens will help scientists obtain a better understanding of brain connectivity.

A prototype of the objective lens was presented at Neuroscience 2011 in Washington D.C. After concluding system tests, it will then become available for ZEISS confocal and multiphoton microscopes in 2012.

Contact for the press
Dr. Jochen Tham, Carl Zeiss, Microscopy,
Phone: +49 36 41 64-3949, Email: tham@zeiss.de

www.zeiss.de/press

Carl Zeiss
The Carl Zeiss Group is a leading group of companies operating worldwide in the optical and opto-electronic industries. Carl Zeiss offers innovative solutions for the future-oriented markets of Medical and Research Solutions, Industrial Solutions, Eye Care and Lifestyle Products. During fiscal year 2009/10 the group of companies generated revenues of around EUR 2.98 billion. From fiscal year 2010/11 onward, eyeglass lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss Vision will be integrated as an autonomous business group (revenues of EUR 880 million in fiscal year 2009/10). The Carl Zeiss Group now has approximately 24,000 employees, including more than 10,000 in Germany. The Carl Zeiss business groups hold leading positions in their markets. Carl Zeiss AG, Oberkochen, is fully owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).

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The Carl Zeiss Microscopy business group is part of the Carl Zeiss Group. Carl Zeiss Microscopy is the world’s only one-stop supplier of light and electron microscopy systems. It has a comprehensive product portfolio which supports research and routine applications in life sciences. Materials research in industry and academia is another key area. The product range includes light microscopy, 3D microscope systems and spectrometers – each with its own software solutions. The wide range of particle beam systems ranges from scanning electron microscopes to innovative helium ion microscopes. In their use, customers are supported by an extensive global support and service network. Carl Zeiss Microscopy is headquartered in Jena, Germany. Other production and development sites are located in Oberkochen, Göttingen and Munich as well as in the UK and the USA. The joint business group has a global workforce of 2,500 employees.

Carl Zeiss Microscopy