THERMAL MODELING OF LASER CAPTURE MICRODISSECTION

A first-order thermal analysis is applied to Laser Capture Microdissec tion (LCM), a new microscope technique for routine targeting and extra ction of specific cells from tissue sections for subsequent multiplex molecular analysis. In LCM a polymer film placed in contact with the t issue is focally activated by a pulsed IR laser beam and is melted and bonded to adjacent targeted cells. A three-dimensional finite-element model is used to predict the thermal transients within the polymer, t he captured tissue, and its macromolecules. The simulations allow a co mparison of models for the physical process of LCM with the experiment al data on the dependence of the transfer spot size on laser power. Th e validated physical model and the thermal simulations permit optimiza tion of the complex LCM parameter space for a wide variety of configur ations and applications. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America OCIS code s: 140.6810. 160.6840, 170.1530, 170.4730, 350.5340.