Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy

Abstract Microscopy is a key technique to visualize and understand biology. Electron microscopy (EM) facilitates the investigation of cellular ultrastructure at biomolecular resolution. Cellular EM was recently revolutionized by automation and digitalisation allowing routine capture of large areas a...

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Main Authors: B. H. Peter Duinkerken, Ahmad M. J. Alsahaf, Jacob P. Hoogenboom, Ben N. G. Giepmans
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-12-01
Series:npj Imaging
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44303-024-00059-7
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author B. H. Peter Duinkerken
Ahmad M. J. Alsahaf
Jacob P. Hoogenboom
Ben N. G. Giepmans
author_facet B. H. Peter Duinkerken
Ahmad M. J. Alsahaf
Jacob P. Hoogenboom
Ben N. G. Giepmans
author_sort B. H. Peter Duinkerken
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Microscopy is a key technique to visualize and understand biology. Electron microscopy (EM) facilitates the investigation of cellular ultrastructure at biomolecular resolution. Cellular EM was recently revolutionized by automation and digitalisation allowing routine capture of large areas and volumes at nanoscale resolution. Analysis, however, is hampered by the greyscale nature of electron images and their large data volume, often requiring laborious manual annotation. Here we demonstrate unsupervised and automated extraction of biomolecular assemblies in conventionally processed tissues using large-scale hyperspectral energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) imaging. First, we discriminated biological features in the context of tissue based on selected elemental maps. Next, we designed a data-driven workflow based on dimensionality reduction and spectral mixture analysis, allowing the visualization and isolation of subcellular features with minimal manual intervention. Broad implementations of the presented methodology will accelerate the understanding of biological ultrastructure.
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spelling doaj-art-c9b8f4dd120d4cc38148bdfb0f3913db2025-08-20T02:35:40ZengNature Portfolionpj Imaging2948-197X2024-12-01211910.1038/s44303-024-00059-7Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopyB. H. Peter Duinkerken0Ahmad M. J. Alsahaf1Jacob P. Hoogenboom2Ben N. G. Giepmans3Department of Biomedical Sciences, University Groningen, University Medical Centre GroningenDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University Groningen, University Medical Centre GroningenDepartment of Imaging Physics, Delft University of TechnologyDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University Groningen, University Medical Centre GroningenAbstract Microscopy is a key technique to visualize and understand biology. Electron microscopy (EM) facilitates the investigation of cellular ultrastructure at biomolecular resolution. Cellular EM was recently revolutionized by automation and digitalisation allowing routine capture of large areas and volumes at nanoscale resolution. Analysis, however, is hampered by the greyscale nature of electron images and their large data volume, often requiring laborious manual annotation. Here we demonstrate unsupervised and automated extraction of biomolecular assemblies in conventionally processed tissues using large-scale hyperspectral energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) imaging. First, we discriminated biological features in the context of tissue based on selected elemental maps. Next, we designed a data-driven workflow based on dimensionality reduction and spectral mixture analysis, allowing the visualization and isolation of subcellular features with minimal manual intervention. Broad implementations of the presented methodology will accelerate the understanding of biological ultrastructure.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44303-024-00059-7
spellingShingle B. H. Peter Duinkerken
Ahmad M. J. Alsahaf
Jacob P. Hoogenboom
Ben N. G. Giepmans
Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
npj Imaging
title Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
title_full Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
title_fullStr Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
title_full_unstemmed Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
title_short Automated analysis of ultrastructure through large-scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
title_sort automated analysis of ultrastructure through large scale hyperspectral electron microscopy
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s44303-024-00059-7
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