Abstract
Laser-based microdissection facilitates the isolation of specific cell populations from clinical or animal model tissue specimens for molecular analysis. Expression microdissection (xMD) is a second-generation technology that offers considerable advantages in dissection capabilities; however, until recently the method has not been accessible to investigators. This protocol describes the adaptation of xMD to commonly used laser microdissection instruments and to a commercially available handheld laser device in order to make the technique widely available to the biomedical research community. The method improves dissection speed for many applications by using a targeting probe for cell procurement in place of an operator-based, cell-by-cell selection process. Moreover, xMD can provide improved dissection precision because of the unique characteristics of film activation. The time to complete the protocol is highly dependent on the target cell population and the number of cells needed for subsequent molecular analysis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 457-467 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Nature protocols |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology