Award for technology that allows more accurate imaging of tissue structures

INTARG is an annual international invention and innovation fair. In this year's edition, held May 24-26 in Katowice, Medical University of Warsaw was awarded a gold medal for the project "Optically clearing and tissue expanding solution, its application and method of cleansing and expanding tissues." Its authors are Dr. Pawel Matryba, Prof. Jakub Gołąb and Jacek Tomczuk of the Department of Immunology MUW.

Our scientists have developed a chemical solution called ISEE (Improved Segmentation with Benign Expansion), which, when applied to any animal tissue, leads to so-called optically clearing of the tissue as well as moderate and reproducible tissue volume expansion of about 60-70%. As a result, the tissue becomes transparent and fully conducts the light of the laser microscope, which makes it possible to examine thick slices of it.

A major advantage of the ISEE solution is its simplicity of use - apply and wait about 15 minutes - and its non-toxicity - it was developed on the basis of four readily available chemical reagents. The solution can find application in any tissue structure imaging laboratory. Very importantly, it has been verified so far that tissue expansion with ISEE does not deform the tissue. After its application, tissue cells are not only highly visible and easy to count, but also have their real shape and position relative to other tissue elements.

The project was evaluated by an international jury, taking into account the level of novelty, market demand for the product, comparison with global counterparts, level of sophistication - TRL technical readiness level, implementation and commercialization opportunities, economic and social effects.
 

INTARG 2023 Certificate

During the fair, the inventions of our scientists were presented by the MUW Technology Transfer Center team.