Tissue clearing and its application in dental research

Abstract

For both animal and human tissues, translucence is an intrinsic property that gives them a milky appearance. This optical property arises due to the combined effects of light absorption and scattering and becomes the main impediment of deep imaging. To overcome these obstacles, the tissue-clearing technique has experienced a resurgence over the past century and evolved from its initial use in neuroscience to encompass various samples due to the emergence of various clearing methods. Notably, these techniques unveil both macroscopic and microscopic details, offering valuable insights into tissue structures. In particular, the oral cavity is structured with both soft and hard tissues at the macroscopic level and is rich in neurovascular networks microscopically, providing a suitable application environment for tissue-clearing techniques. Currently, tissue-clearing techniques have provided a powerful tool for research on the dental pulp neurovascular system, oral tissue regeneration, dental implants, and maxillofacial surgical treatments. Hence, this review aims to give a general introduction to tissue-clearing techniques and focus on their remarkable applications in dental research. At last, we will discuss the integration of tissue-clearing methods with other techniques such as labeling and microscopy, hoping to offer valuable insights for the development of tissue-clearing techniques in both bioscience and materials science.

Keywords

3D imaging / biomaterials / stomatology / tissue-clearing techniques

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2024 The Author(s). BMEMat published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Shandong University.