All-optical histology using two photon laser scanning microscopy and ablation with ultrashort pulses

This dissertation discusses the use of ultrashort laser pulses to image and manipulate tissue for the purpose of three-dimensional histological reconstruction of extended brain structures. Two photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM) and ultrashort pulsed laser ablation are used to provide in situ three-dimensional imaging through thick preparations of fixed tissue. Surface regions of fixed tissue are first imaged using TPLSM. The imaged regions are then removed by ablation with amplified, ultrashort laser pulses, thereby exposing a previously underlying tissue region for imaging. This process of imaging and ablation proceeds iteratively until the desired tissue volume has been processed.; First, the principles, design, and construction of a two photon laser scanning microscope are discussed, followed by a discussion of the physical mechanisms of tissue ablation with ultrashort laser pulses. The compatibility of tissue ablation using ultrashort pulses with subsequent histological analysis, particularly with fluorescent microscopy, is evaluated. Tissue ablation with ultrashort laser pulses is found to produce ablated tissue surfaces that are smooth to within a micrometer. Intrinsic fluorescence as well as immunoreactivity are found to be resilient to the ablation process. The all-optical histological technique is demonstrated on brain tissue from rats and mice, including tissue from embryonic mouse as early at E15. The ablation process is shown to preserve both macroscopic and microscopic structures within tissue.; To facilitate the all-optical histological analysis of neuronal vasculature and its relative distribution to surrounding neuronal tissue, a fluorescent gel perfusion technique is developed that provides a temperature-stabilized fluorescent label of the neuronal vasculature. The use of immunohistochemistry to label specific cell populations throughout an 800 micrometer-thick tissue section is demonstrated. Additionally, the immersion of fixed tissue in high concentration sucrose solution is used to extend the imaging depth of TPLSM to beyond 1 mm in fixed neuronal tissue. Finally, the use of spherical aberration correction to improve imaging resolution for TPLSM deep within fixed tissue is demonstrated.