AimsThis study aimed to assess the feasibility of using virtual slides to create 3D histopathological reconstructions to aid in the study of the biology of DCIS . Methods4µm thick serial sections of formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue from three cases were cut and mounted onto glass slides, stained with haematoxylin and eosin, then scanned. The three image stacks comprised 30, 115 and 100 scanned sections creating a similar number of virtual slides. The virtual slides were registered using custom 3D software to create 3D tissue volumes. The volumes were annotated to highlight distinct features and 3D visualisations (segmentations) were created to study these features in 3D. ResultsThe most time-intensive step was the manual annotation of virtual slides 3D histopathological reconstructions were created of a) DCIS surrounded by adjacent invasion; b) pure DCIS and c) a 'normal' lobule. Conclusion3D in silico reconstructions of DCIS were created and more extensive studies can now be done within a realistic timescale. We have identified structural similarities between a benign lobule and DCIS which support the view that much DCIS, apparently in a 'duct' is contained within and expanded lobule. This method has the potential to provide insights into the biology of DCIS.Word count: 194

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Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have attracted a great deal of attention due to their potential for use in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, their production typically requires the use of the relatively toxic cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) leading to continued demand for protocols to detoxify them for in vivo applications. In this study, a robust and facile protocol for the displacement of CTAB from the surface of AuNRs using phospholipids is presented. After the displacement, CTAB is not detectable by NMR spectroscopy, surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, or using pH‐dependent ζ‐potential measurements. The phospholipid functionalized AuNRs demonstrated superior stability and biocompatibility (IC50 > 200 µg mL−1) compared to both CTAB and polyelectrolyte functionalized AuNRs and are well tolerated in vivo. Furthermore, they have high near‐infrared (NIR) absorbance and produce large amounts of heat under NIR illumination, hence such particles are well suited for plasmonic medical applications.