Simultaneous hydrogen and heavier element isotopic ratio images with a scanning submicron ion probe and mass resolved polyatomic ions.

In situ microanalysis of solid samples is often performed using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with a submicron ion probe. The destructive nature of the method makes it mandatory to prevent information loss by using instruments combining efficient collection of secondary ions and a mass spectrometer with parallel detection capabilities. The NanoSIMS meets those requirements with a magnetic spectrometer but its mass selectivity has to be improved for accessing opportunities expected from polyatomic secondary ions.

High-resolution quantitative imaging of mammalian and bacterial cells using stable isotope mass spectrometry.

Background: Secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is an important tool for investigating isotopic composition in the chemical and materials sciences, but its use in biology has been limited by technical considerations. Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS), which combines a new generation of SIMS instrument with sophisticated ion optics, labeling with stable isotopes, and quantitative image-analysis software, was developed to study biological materials.

Results: The new instrument allows the production of mass images of high lateral resolution (down to 33 nm), as well as the counting or imaging of several isotopes simultaneously.

Microscopic distribution of iodine radioisotopes in the thyroid of the iodine deficient new-born rat: insight concerning the Chernobyl accident.

Unlabelled: Thyroid cancer markedly increased in children exposed to iodine radioisotopes following the Chernobyl accident. This increase exceeded predictions based on dose estimates to the whole organ. We sought to investigate whether iodine deficiency may have influenced the pattern of microscopic distribution of radioiodines, which may be important to interpretation of the observed effects.