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A wonderful dance between laser and cells: How to extract pure cells without damage?
At the forefront of biomedical research, Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) technology is like a deft dancer, extracting specific cells lightly and accurately, opening up new avenues for research in various life sciences. A new chapter. This technology not only provides in-depth exploration of microscopic biological structures, but also demonstrates its unparalleled application potential in fields such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics.
Technical Principles
Laser capture microdissection is a method for directly observing and precisely collecting target tissue cells under a microscope. By using lasers, the researchers were able to cut away the surrounding, unnecessary cells, leaving behind pure target cells for further analysis. The advantage of this technology is that it maintains the integrity and biological functions of cells and can perform analysis of DNA, RNA and proteins.
Extraction Process
The laser is focused on the tissue on the microscope slide, and the user can pre-set the cutting path and use the laser to cut the desired part.
The use of lasers has opened up new technologies for contact-free microcutting, such as gravity-assisted microcutting (GAM) and laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). These technologies can further improve purity and collection efficiency, ensuring that the extracted cells are not scorched or damaged.
Steps
When performing laser capture microdissection, you first need to select the cells to be analyzed under a microscope using a specific software interface. The process typically uses an ultraviolet pulsed laser to cut, combined with an infrared laser to heat and melt the adhesive that holds the cells in place. With the development of technology, today's LCM systems have been able to achieve a high degree of automation and can extract target cells from slices in real time.
Diverse Applications
Laser capture microdissection not only allows the extraction of specific cells, but also enables the analysis of cell-free structures such as amyloid plaques.
Today, LCM technology has been widely used in the analysis of various biological samples, including blood smears, cell cultures, solid tissues and other samples. Even historical tissue samples that have been frozen or paraffin-embedded can be collected. In addition, LCM can also be applied to the extraction of living cells and other microorganisms, providing rich information and data for scientific research, showing unparalleled potential.
Future Outlook
With the rapid advancement of science and technology, laser capture microdissection technology is moving towards higher efficiency, wider application range and more rigorous precision. With the further development of automation and intelligence, cell extraction will become simpler and more efficient in the future, which will have a revolutionary impact on disease diagnosis, personalized medicine, gene therapy and other fields.
In this era of rapid technological change, laser capture microdissection provides a new tool to explore the mysteries of life. How do you think it can change our understanding and application of biology?
