Mueller, G. F. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Leonardo: a toolset to correct sample-induced artifacts in light sheet microscopy images

Selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM, also known as light sheet fluorescence microscopy) is the method of choice for studying morphogenesis and function in biological specimens over extended periods, as it permits gentle and rapid volumetric imaging. In inhomogeneous samples, however, sample-induced artifacts, including light absorption, scattering, and refraction, can impact the image quality, particularly as the focal plane gets deeper into the sample. Here, we present Leonardo, the first toolbox designed to address the major sample-induced artifacts by using two modules: (1) DeStripe removes stripe artifacts in SPIM caused by light absorption while preserving fine sample structures; (2) Fuse reconstructs a single high-quality image from dualsided illumination and/or dual-sided detection, while eliminating blur and optical distortions caused by light scattering and refraction. The efficacy of Leonardo is validated on a wide range of biological samples, from minimally invasive experiments on sensitive specimens (translucent embryonic and optically opaque larval zebrafish) to cleared mouse samples up to two centimeters in size. We provide model code and a Napari-based graphical user interface, enabling the SPIM community to easily apply Leonardo to advance light sheet imaging of inhomogeneous and complex specimens.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2025

Isotropic, aberration-corrected light sheet microscopy for rapid high-resolution imaging of cleared tissue

Light sheet microscopy is the ideal technique for multiscale imaging of large and cleared tissues, and it is desirable to achieve the highest possible isotropic resolution across the entire sample. However, isotropic resolution for a centimeter-sized sample has only been achieved with slow and often aberrated, axially scanned light sheets, resulting in a low resolution of several micrometers. Here, we introduce a compact, high-speed light sheet fluorescence microscope with isotropic sub-micron resolution optimized for cleared tissue. We introduce three major opto-mechanical innovations using off-the-shelf optics to achieve an isotropic resolution of 850 nm across samples up to 1 cm3 and refractive indices ranging from 1.33 to 1.56, using mechanical tiling with a field of view of 800 {micro}m x 800 {micro}m. We show that combining an air objective and a meniscus lens achieves an axially swept light sheet with sub-micron diffraction-limited resolution and aberration correction. The effective field of view is increased 2-fold by correcting the field curvature of the light sheet with a concave mirror in the remote focusing unit. Furthermore, the imaging speed is enhanced 10-fold by adapting the light sheets motion with a closed-loop feedback, reaching 100 frames per second while maintaining isotropic resolution across the large field of view. Finally, we showcase the performance of our light sheet system for imaging from subcellular up to centimeter scale in cleared zebrafish, mouse cochlea, and mouse brain using various clearing methods.

developmental biology↗