The project is about a new method for tissue clarification and staining. Tissue clarification means that biological tissue is made transparent with a chemical process, similar to how a drop of oil on a piece of white paper makes it transparent at this point.
Tissue clarification found its way into biological research about 15 years ago. First, mouse brains were treated with it in order to study nerve cells and their extensions in their spatial arrangement.
We now also use it to examine human tissue, such as surgical specimens from cancer operations, to see whether the tumor has been completely removed. In general, in all of these investigations, the
cells of interest are previously stained.
Since all chemicals must first penetrate the tissue, these 3D approaches generally take a long time.
This obviously limits their practical applicability, especially in the clinic. We now want to shorten these periods of time by using high-frequency ultrasound, ie all reactions take place in vessels that
be set into microscopic vibrations by ultrasound in the megahertz range.
In cooperation with the PCT company, we want to develop a device for biological-medical research that uses high-frequency ultrasound to significantly accelerate the clarification and staining of biological tissue, if possible also for use in the clinic.