Figure 3. HSM-AD is capable of wide-field characterization of sub-organ distribution patterns of injected nanoparticles.

(a–c) Millimeter-scale fields of view of histological sections of kidney. Photographed (a), acquired with near diffraction-limited resolution with a hyperspectral dark-field camera (b), and analyzed by HSM-AD (c) to reveal variable nanoparticle uptake within the fine anatomical structures. (d–f) As in conventional histology, micro-anatomical features of the kidney including glomeruli, Bowman’s spaces, proximal convoluted tubule (PCT), and distal convoluted tubule (DCT) networks can be clearly identified in HSM-AD images (d). The ability to distinguish such histological details enables region of interest (ROI) analysis to quantify sub-organ accumulation of LGNRs (e,f). Quantification of the relative LGNR signal in glomeruli (red ROI), PCT (yellow ROI), and DCT (blue ROI) regions (e) revealed that the vast majority (~13-fold greater than in either tubule network) of renal LGNR uptake is localized within glomeruli (f). This is likely due to the size-dependent inability of LGNRs to traverse the ultrafiltration barrier formed by endothelial cells within glomerular capillaries. All quantitative data are represented as mean ± s.e.m. for each ROI type, as calculated from 4 unique fields of view acquired at 40x magnification.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16352.026