Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) microscopy enables one to collect a homogeneous population of cells from tissue sections, providing an enriched cell population for quantitative analysis. The Arcturus PixCell II LCM System integrates a laboratory microscope with a low-energy laser and transfer film in a convenient, one step, aim-and-capture procedure.  Protocols using this technique are designed so that biological molecules such as RNA and DNA remain intact for molecular analyses.  A schematic representation of the laser capture microdissection process is shown in Figure 1 (from Arturus Inc.; http://www.arctur.com).

First, the area of the specimen of interest is identified through the microscope or video monitor.   A small plastic "collection" cap coated with a special thermoplastic film on its lower surface is placed on the tissue slide to be microdissected.  When the targeted cells are identified, a low-power infrared laser pulse melts and anneals the cap film to the cells on the tissue section. After collecting the needed number of cells, the cap is lifted onto an extraction adapter, extracting buffer is added and the solution containing the extracted cells is transferred into a 0.5 ml microfuge tube for processing and analyses.   An archival workstation allows photographic documentation of every step.