Laser-based dissection with cellular resolution, on Histological preparations.
This technology can harvest the cells of interest directly or can isolate specific cells by cutting away unwanted cells to give histologically pure enriched cell populations. A laser is coupled into a microscope and focuses onto the tissue on the slide. By movement of the laser (optical scanning) or the sample (stage scanning), the laser beam focus follows a trajectory which is predefined by the user. While scanned, the beam cuts out the targets, separating them from the adjacent tissue. After the cutting process, an extraction process has to follow if an extraction process is desired (several methods available). Pulsed lasers (usually ultraviolet, 355 or 361 nm) are commonly used for the cutting of the tissues, although any pulsed laser with the right properties can be used, including visible or IR. A higher ablation efficiency is usually achieved with the use of a photosentitive polymer substrate/layer (e.g. PEN/PET) that can be ablated reliably with low laser intensities, and is also used to favour cells/tissues adhesion and subsequently carry away the ablated cells.