Work

Emerging and transformative applications of tissue clearing technology in neuroscience research

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Refractive index (RI)-matching-based tissue clearing techniques render intact biological tissues optically transparent, enabling 3D in situ interrogation of nervous systems from whole-brain to single-cell scales. We systematically evaluate three mainstream clearing strategies (hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and hydrogel-based) and summarize their promising applications in neural circuit tracing, tumor research, stem cell therapy, and artificial intelligence (AI) integration. Here, we report that this technology has evolved from a niche imaging tool to an integrated multimodal biotechnological platform. Despite core challenges, including inherent physicochemical trade-offs, optical limits, multi-omics integration biases, and insufficient clinical standardization, future advances in multimodal integration, AI algorithms, and targeted in vivo clearing will drive life science research from static structural mapping toward systematic dissection of dynamic biological processes.

Source: Cell Reports Physical Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103607

Authors: Man-Yu Chen, Xuan Yin, Haoling Zhang, Lizhou Song, Hu Zhao, Wangzheqi Zhang

Institutions: Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Second Military Medical University, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques

Subfield: Biophysics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $5,620