Nature Biotechnology Research Briefing Highlights the Impact of Hybrid Solid–Liquid Optics
The impact of hybrid solid–liquid optics on the field of light-sheet microscopy continues to gain recognition.
A recent Nature Biotechnology Research Briefing, titled “Affordable centimeter-scale 3D microscopy with sub-micrometer resolution,” highlights the significance of the HySIL (hybrid solid–liquid optics) framework developed by Dr. Raju Tomer and collaborators.
The article discusses how HySIL addresses longstanding challenges in volumetric imaging by combining inexpensive long-working-distance air objectives with hybrid solid–liquid optics. This innovative approach enables scalable, submicrometer-resolution imaging of centimeter-scale samples while maintaining compatibility across a wide range of tissue-clearing methods.
Traditionally, achieving high-resolution imaging of large cleared tissues has required expensive immersion objectives with limited working distances and compatibility with only specific immersion media. HySIL overcomes these limitations by using a refractive framework with index-matched components that improves light collection, corrects aberrations, and expands imaging flexibility across diverse sample preparation methods.
The Nature Biotechnology editorial team highlighted the broader impact of this approach in the accompanying Research Briefing:
“The authors take an interesting approach to tackle the limitations of light-sheet microscopy. They pair a solid optical element with a refractive index-matched liquid to form a continuous optical system, enabling a long-working-distance air objective to achieve high resolution. The implementation makes light-sheet microscopy more scalable and less costly.”
— Editorial Team, Nature Biotechnology
As highlighted in the Research Briefing, this approach has the potential to make advanced 3D imaging more affordable, scalable, and accessible to researchers worldwide, supporting applications ranging from organ-scale biology to 3D histopathology and expansion microscopy.
The innovations described in the HySIL work have helped shape the development of the award-winning SLICE™benchtop light sheet microscope, bringing high-performance light-sheet imaging to a broader scientific community.
We are proud to see Dr. Raju Tomer and collaborators’ innovative work continue to receive recognition from the broader scientific community and highlighted by Nature Biotechnology.
Read the full Research Briefing here: Affordable centimeter-scale 3D microscopy with submicrometer resolution
Read the original HySIL publication here: Hybrid solid−liquid optics enable scalable, high-resolution light-sheet microscopy across diverse immersion media
