ClearLight Diagnostics Licenses Exclusive Intellectual Property Rights from Stanford University for SPED microscopy and RNA Interrogation Technology in CLARITY Processed Tissue Samples
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ClearLight Diagnostics, LLC (ClearLight), a developer of a next generation tissue processing and 3D imaging platform for research and diagnostic applications, announced today that it has signed an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Stanford University. The license agreement provides exclusive intellectual property rights covering inventions relating to a new microscopy approach called SPED (SPherical-aberration-assisted Extended Depth-of-field) light sheet microscopy as well as for a new RNA interrogation technology developed for multiplexed, volumetric visualization of both long and short RNAs in a variety of intact tissues.
SPED is a conceptually distinct microscopy approach which turns spherical aberration into an advantage by combining the large volumetric field of view of an extended depth of field with the optical sectioning of light sheet microscopy, thereby eliminating the need to physically scan the detection objective for volumetric imaging while maintaining spatial resolution. At the core of SPED light sheet microscopy is a unique and scalable method for extending the depth of field, by building upon the optical mechanisms that induce spherical aberrations.
The RNA interrogation technology licensed by ClearLight is a versatile, high- content, and scalable molecular phenotyping technology of intact tissues that retains RNAs in clarified tissue, coupled with amplification tools for multiplexed detection. Nucleic acid labeling in CLARITY processed tissue may represent an important scientific and clinical opportunity, enabling detection of not only diverse coding RNA variants but also non-coding RNAs. The resulting technology enables measurement of activity- dependent transcriptional signatures, cell-identity markers, and diverse non-coding RNAs in rodent and human tissue volumes.
"We are excited to add these important technologies to our portfolio related to the 3 dimensional interrogation and imaging of tissue samples," said Sarah McCurdy, CEO of ClearLight. "We continue to develop a set of valuable tools and capabilities to support our product development of the CLARITY process."
Founded by Karl Deisseroth M.D., Ph.D., ClearLight is developing a product platform based on the CLARITY lipid-clearing technique developed by Dr. Deisseroth and colleagues at Stanford University. This technique enables the transformation of tissue into a nanoporous, hydrogel-hybridized form that is crosslinked to a three-dimensional network of hydrophilic polymers. The process produces a fully assembled, intact tissue, which is permeable to macromolecules and optically transparent, thus allowing for robust three-dimensional imaging of subcellular components (DNA, RNA and protein) and heterogeneous cellular interactions within the tumor microenvironment. This technology, paired with the development of a tissue imaging platform that includes the revolutionary microscopy method, COLM (CLARITY Optimized Light-sheet Microscopy) will enable unprecedented depth and acceleration of image collection from lipid-cleared samples interrogated with biomolecules.
About ClearLight Diagnostics
ClearLight Diagnostics is a technology development company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative technologies to significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases with an initial focus in oncology. Visit www.clearlightdx.com.
Contact:
Sarah McCurdy
[email protected]
(510) 470-5042
SOURCE ClearLight Diagnostics
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