Rohit Bhargava, an IIT Delhi graduate in assistance with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed stainless staining that provides a new tool for clinicians and researchers for better diagnosis of cancer.

Till today, prepared biopsy samples are stained and examined under a light microscope but Bhargava used infrared spectroscopic imaging for microscopy. He has reported the development of label-free chemical imaging to provide the same information as molecular stains.

Instead of using stains, the new method measures the chemical constitution of cells and tissues directly. The outcome is that molecular stains can be reproduced without staining the tissue but by using the intrinsic molecular contrast of the tissue and computation. The study relies on computation instead of staining to provide biopsy images.

“Infrared and optical imaging seemed to be distinct modes for getting important data in pathology. This study shows a close link between the two, allowing the user to choose the best method to address their needs,” Bhargava commented in a university statement.

“The development of this approach promises to have immediate and long-term impact in changing pathology to a multiplexed molecular science -- in both research and clinical practice,” the authors noted.

By Lizitha