Knowledge Center
Practical guides and technical insights for reproducible brain tissue sectioning, histology, and quantitative imaging — written by the SHANGTONG team for life-science researchers.
Sectioning & Histology
A practical guide for reproducible neuroanatomy, histology and electrophysiology.
How to match the sectioning method to your downstream assay.
A five-step guide to matching vibratome specifications to your brain-tissue workflow.
An objective comparison of the two main non-freezing sectioning approaches.
Visualising cell bodies and cytoarchitecture with cresyl violet and related dyes.
Revealing complete dendritic trees and spines in individual neurons.
Trade-offs between thick, medium and thin sections across applications.
Fixatives, perfusion and timing for optimal preservation.
How the blade drives section quality, and how to keep it sharp.
Diagnosing and preventing the most frequent staining problems.
Clean, consistent dissection and orientation for reproducible sections.
Vibratome selection and technique for viable acute slices and stable recordings.
Choosing between fresh and fixed tissue sectioning: viability, settings, thickness and storage trade-offs.
The real sectioning range of a vibratome and how to match thickness to your application.
Immunostaining & Imaging
Reliable protein localisation from good sections to validated controls.
Minimising background and photobleaching for clean fluorescence images.
Converting stained sections into shareable, analysable digital images.
A buyer’s guide to throughput, imaging quality and quantification.
Connecting vibratome sectioning, scanning and analysis into one reproducible workflow.
Comparing digital whole-slide review with manual microscopy for throughput, objectivity and sharing.
Turning visual information into objective, reproducible numbers.
Rendering tissue transparent for volumetric imaging of intact brains.
Analysis & Quantification
Aligning sections to a reference atlas for region-based analysis.
Unbiased quantitative estimates of cell number and density.
Quantifying dendritic length, branching and spine density.
When to count by eye, when to automate, and how to validate a rigorous counting workflow.
How automated atlas registration maps sections to reference regions for consistent quantitative analysis.
Electrophysiology
Keeping living tissue healthy for stable recordings.
Instrument Care
Daily, weekly and periodic care for reliable sectioning.
Human Tissue
Ethical, traceable handling that protects tissue quality.
Reproducibility
Standardising the pipeline for results others can repeat.
In Vivo & Preclinical Imaging
A buyer’s guide to imaging modes, sensitivity, throughput and software.
Choosing the right in vivo detection mode for your study.
Longitudinal tumor growth, metastasis and treatment-response monitoring with bioluminescence workflows.
A calibrated workflow for turning bioluminescence images into comparable, statistical data.
Practical answers to common small animal imaging questions on signal depth, sensitivity, workflow and buying.
Sourcing & Procurement
A practical framework for verifying manufacturer quality, compliance and support.
A five-step scorecard for lab equipment supplier evaluation: expertise, quality systems, support, compliance and price.