Utilization of potato starch suspension for MR-microimaging in ex vivo mouse embryos

Tomokazu Tsurugizawa; Takuma Kumamoto; Yoshichika Yoshioka

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105694

Utilization of potato starch suspension for MR-microimaging in ex vivo mouse embryos

iScience. 2022 Nov 30;25(12):105694. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105694. eCollection 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Tomokazu Tsurugizawa^{1

2

3

4

5}, Takuma Kumamoto⁶, Yoshichika Yoshioka^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
² Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan.
³ Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishinbashi, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Japan.
⁵ Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), Osaka University and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita 565-0871, Japan.
⁶ Developmental Neuroscience Project, Department of Brain & Neurosciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo 156-8506, Japan.

Abstract

Magnetic resonance (MR) microimaging of the mouse embryo is a promising tool to noninvasively investigate the microstructure of the brain of a developing mouse. The proton-free fluid is used for the liquid surrounding the specimen in MR microimaging, but the potential issue of image quality remains due to the air bubbles on the specimen and the retained water proton in the curvature of the embryo. Furthermore, the specimen may move during the scanning, resulting in motion artifact. Here, we developed the new concept of the ex vivo microimaging protocol with the robust method using the potato starch-containing biological polymers. Potato starch suspension with PBS significantly reduced T1 and T2 signal intensity of the suspension and strongly suppressed the motion of the embryo. Furthermore, potato starch-PBS suspension is stable for long-time scanning at room temperature. These results indicate the utility of potato starch suspension for MR microimaging in mouse embryos.

Keywords: Biological sciences; Developmental biology; Embryology.