Concentration‐dependent specimen shrinkage in iodine‐enhanced microCT. Issue 2 (30th May 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vickerton, Paula; Jarvis, Jonathan; Jeffery, Nathan
• Is Part Of: Journal of anatomy. Volume 223:Issue 2(2013:Aug.)
• Page Start: 185
• Page End: 193
• Publication Date: 2013-05-30
• Subjects: Anatomy -- Periodicals; 571.3
• DOI: 10.1111/joa.12068
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8782

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="joa12068-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Iodine potassium iodide (I₂KI) solution can be employed as a contrast agent for the visualisation of soft tissue structures in micro‐computed tomography studies. This technique provides high resolution images of soft tissue non‐destructively but initial studies suggest that the stain can cause substantial specimen shrinkage. The degree of specimen shrinkage, and potential deformation, is an important consideration when using the data for morphological studies. Here we quantify the macroscopic volume changes in mouse skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and cerebellum as a result of immersion in the common fixatives 10% phosphate‐buffered formal saline, 70% ethanol and 3% glutaraldehyde, compared with I₂KI staining solution at concentrations of 2, 6, 10 and 20%. Immersion in the I₂KI solution resulted in dramatic changes of tissue volume, which were far larger than the shrinkage from formalin fixation alone. The degree of macroscopic change was most dependent upon the I₂KI concentration, with severe shrinkage of 70% seen in solutions of 20% I₂KI after 14 days' incubation. When using this technique care needs to be taken to use the lowest concentration that will give adequate contrast to minimise artefacts due to shrinkage.</p> </abstract>