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PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Phys.
Sec. Medical Physics and Imaging
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2025.1479573
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances of Synchrotron Radiation-Based X-Ray Imaging in Biomedical Research View all 6 articles
Optimising sample preparation to enhance Contrast-to-Noise ratio in X-ray Phase contrast Tomography White Matter (WM) Imaging of the Central Nervous System
Provisionally accepted
Michela Fratini 1,2*
Lorenzo Massimi 1*
Francesco Brun 3
Darren Batey 4
Inna Bukreeva 1
Alberto Mittone 5
Alberto Bravin 6
Elena Longo 7
Giuliana Tromba 7 Federico Giove 8,9 Silvia Cipiccia 10
Alejandra Sierra 11- 1 Institute of Nanotecnology, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
- 2 NaN Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- 3 Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
- 4 Diamond Light Source (United Kingdom), Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
- 5 Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, United States
- 6 University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- 7 Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
- 8 Centro Fermi - Museo storico della fisica e Centro studi e ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Lazio, Italy
- 9 Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS), Rome, Lazio, Italy
- 10 University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
- 11 University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland
The choice of fixative is critical in X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) because it affects tissue preservation, contrast enhancement and compatibility with other imaging techniques.A careful selection and optimization of fixatives can lead to significant improvements in the quality and accuracy of imaging results, which is especially important when studying complex biological systems such as those involved in neurodegeneration, where it is crucial to maintain the fine details of the Grey Matter (GM) and White Matter (WM) structures. Dehydration with ethanol and xylene is commonly used as it effectively removes water while minimising structural alterations Dehydration with ethanol and xylene is commonly used as it effectively removes water while minimising structural alterations. Using perfusion in ethanol and dehydration in xylene as a secondary fixative can increase the contrast, thereby improving the visibility of myelinated fibers without using a contrast agent. In this paper we discuss an optimised fixation method to significantly enhance the contrast and boost the signal to noise ratio (SNR) in XPCT images of WM in the central nervous system (CNS).
Keywords: White matter (WM), Central Nervous System, Xylene, X ray Phase contrast tomography, Advanced imaging techniques
Received: 12 Aug 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fratini, Massimi, Brun, Batey, Bukreeva, Mittone, Bravin, Longo, Tromba, Giove, Cipiccia and Sierra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Michela Fratini, Institute of Nanotecnology, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
Lorenzo Massimi, Institute of Nanotecnology, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
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