The absorbent material in disposable diapers can expand tissue samples, making more structure visible under light microscopes. Karen Hopkin reports.   

Think about the tools used by biologists. Perhaps test tubes and microscopes come to mind. But what about diapers? No, it’s not that investigators are too engrossed in their work to take bathroom breaks. Turns out the absorbent material in disposable diapers can be used to physically expand biological specimens, and make them easier to see with a microscope.

 

Researchers at MIT wanted to take a closer look at the connections that form between neurons in an intact brain—close enough so they could see the actual molecules those nerve cells use to interact. That level of detail is beyond the resolution of conventional light microscopes. But what if the structures of interest could somehow be made bigger?

 

That’s where the diapers come in.  

 

Researchers found that they could infuse their tissue samples with acrylate, the super-absorbent stuff in throwaway diapers. The chemical forms a molecular mesh to which the tissue can anchor. Then, when the researchers add water, the acrylate swells. And so does the sample, which makes minute structures more visible. The technique is described in the journal Science. [Fei Chen, Paul W. Tillberg and Edward S. Boyden, Expansion Microscopy]  

 

The researchers have used the acrylate swelling—or Huggies enhancement or even Pampers amplification, if you will—to peer into the brains of mice, fruit flies and zebrafish. Now, whether this nifty nappie maneuver will expand our understanding of life’s smallest cellular mysteries…well, Depends.