Overview
Dr Thomas Villani at Rutgers University created Visikol for Plant Biology at the beginning as a direct replacement for Hertwig’s solution, which had been used for more than a century to make plant samples transparent for microscopic visualization.
Hertwig’s solution had a flaw in that it is a controlled narcotic in the US and many other nations, making acquisition difficult.
As a result, Dr Villani created the Visikol for Plant Biology reagent, which works similarly to Hertwig’s solution in that all a researcher needs to do is submerge their sample in the reagent and wait for it to become transparent.
For routine botanical quality control and educational purposes, a researcher can easily examine complex morphological features by making a plant sample transparent.
Protocol
- Use the user’s standard staining procedure if using a staining protocol before clearing with Visikol for Plant Biology
- Add enough Visikol for Plant Biology to cover the sample completely after placing it on a glass microscope slide. Place the sample on a cover slip, then wait 10 minutes to a few hours (waxier plant leaves will take considerably longer to clear). By pretreating the sample with ethanol to dehydrate it or by using KOH to remove the waxy cuticle, clearing can be hastened
Image Credit: Visikol Inc.
Key features
A tool for research
Researchers from thousands of universities have benefited from the use of Visikol for Plant Biology in their research on plants. Whole tissues can be made transparent, enabling in-depth research on morphology and development as well as the study of disease vectors and infection pathways. A flexible tool, Visikol for Plant Biology works with a variety of staining techniques.
Image Credit: Visikol Inc.
Peer reviewed
It has been proven that Visikol for Plant Biology works just as well in clearing a variety of botanical species as chloral hydrate does. The Botanical Society of America’s publication Applications in Plant Sciences has featured this work.
Image Credit: Visikol Inc.
Applications
- Easily study complex morphological features for routine botanical quality control and educational purposes
- Analyzing disease vectors and infection pathways