iDISCO vs. SmartBatch+ Workflow

Thinking about using iDISCO?

A highly streamlined workflow distinguishes SmartBatch+ tissue clearing and labeling from homebrew approaches like iDISCO. SmartBatch+ allows you to process batches of up to 12 mouse brains in as little as 1 day with minimal hands-on time.

Forget dehydration and rehydration series

The SmartBatch+ workflow consists of all-aqueous reagents, avoiding time-consuming and laborious dehydration and rehydration steps.

Label-free endogenous fluorescence

Fluorescent proteins that would typically be quenched by iDISCO solvents are instead preserved with SHIELD. Consequently, with SmartBatch+, immunolabeling is not strictly necessary to visualize fluorescent proteins.

Explore a rainbow of clear, vivid endogenously-tagged fluorophores in various sample and tissue types with our highly compatible tissue clearing technology. Effectively process spine, liver, lung, skin, and much more.

Fast, uniform immunolabeling

Where immunolabeling is required, SmartBatch+ leverages stochastic electrotransport technology to enable rapid labeling of large samples. Whole rat brains can be labeled in 2-3 days in contrast to the several months required with passive techniques like iDISCO.

Unlike iDISCO labeling, SmartBatch+ also ensures that targets are uniformly labelled throughout the sample. We are constantly validating antibodies for popular targets related to neuroscience, cancer, development, and disease.

Recent publications citing SmartBatch+

A parabrachial hub for need-state control of enduring pain

Nitsan Goldstein, Amadeus Maes, Heather N. Allen, Tyler S. Nelson, Kayla A. Kruger, Morgan Kindel, Albert T. M. Yeung, Nicholas K. Smith, Jamie R. E. Carty, Lavinia Boccia, Niklas Blank, Emily Lo, Rachael E. Villari, Ella Cho, Erin L. Marble, Michelle Awh, Yasmina Dumiaty, Melissa J. Chee, Rajesh Khanna, Christoph A. Thaiss, Bradley K. Taylor, Ann Kennedy & J. Nicholas Betley

Journal:
Nature
Publication Date:
Research Area:
Neural Circuits
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain
Products Cited:
SHIELD, EasyIndex, SmartBatch+, SmartSPIM, CRO Services
Brain tumors induce widespread disruption of calvarial bone and alteration of skull marrow immune landscape

Abhishek Dubey, Erika Yamashita, Biljana Stangeland, Imane Abbas, David Fooksman, Robert A. Harris, Gregory M. Palmer, Wade R. Koba, Jinghang Zhang, Benjamin T. Himes, Olivia R. Lu, Winson S. Ho, Raoul V. Kuiper, Derek Huffman, Zhiping Wu, Yutaka Uchida, Masaru Ishii, Rachel L. Welch, Alexander F. Fiedler, David Reynolds, S. A. Mohieb Hosainey, Kostantin Dobrenis, Qinge Ye, Kevin Fisher, Nathaniel Killian, E. Richard Stanley, Emad Eskandar & Jinan Behnan

Journal:
Nature Neuroscience
Publication Date:
Research Area:
Cancer
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain, Bone
Products Cited:
SHIELD, EasyIndex, SmartBatch+, SmartSPIM
Three-dimensional quantification of oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus reveals sex- and subregion-specific differences in two genetic mouse models of autism

Aishwarya Patwardhan, Siyao Li, Jessica Chen, Katrina Y. Choe

Journal:
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
Publication Date:
Tissue Species:
Mouse
Tissue Type:
Brain
Products Cited:
SHIELD, EasyIndex, SmartBatch+, SmartSPIM

Speak to an expert about your application

Do you have questions about your specific project or application, or just want to learn more about our technology? Reach out to our dedicated team of expert technicians and PhD scientists. We look forward to helping you expedite new discoveries.

Further reading

LifeCanvas Portraits: Dr. Mike Taormina

Dr. Mike Taormina uses SmartSPIM light sheet microscopy to rapidly image whole mouse brains, streamlining workflows at the Allen Institute.