3D and Multimodal X-Ray Microscopy Reveals the Impact of Voids in CIGS Solar Cells.

Small voids in the absorber layer of thin-film solar cells are generally suspected to impair photovoltaic performance. They have been studied on Cu(In,Ga)Se cells with conventional laboratory techniques, albeit limited to surface characterization and often affected by sample-preparation artifacts. Here, synchrotron imaging is performed on a fully operational as-deposited solar cell containing a few tens of voids.

Cadmium and Zn hyperaccumulation provide efficient constitutive defense against Turnip yellow mosaic virus infection in Noccaea caerulescens.

To understand the role of Zn and Cd in anti-viral defence, Zn/Cd hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens plants grown with deficient (0.3 µM), replete (10 µM) and excess (100 µM) Zn and Cd (10 µM Zn + 1 µM Cd) were infected with Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV). Gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics analyses demonstrated direct TYMV effects on photosynthetic light reactions but N.

High-energy interference-free K-lines synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy of rare earth elements in hyperaccumulator plants.

Synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis (µXRF) is a nondestructive and highly sensitive technique. However, element mapping of rare earth elements (REEs) under standard conditions requires care, since energy-dispersive detectors are not able to differentiate accurately between REEs L-shell X-ray emission lines overlapping with K-shell X-ray emission lines of common transition elements of high concentrations. We aim to test REE element mapping with high-energy interference-free excitation of the REE K-lines on hyperaccumulator plant tissues and compare with measurements with REE L-shell excitation at the microprobe experiment of beamline P06 (PETRA III, DESY).

Combining micro- and portable-XRF as a tool for fast identification of virus infections in plants: The case study of ASa-Virus in Fraxinus ornus L.

Plant viruses can affect micro- and macro-nutrients homeostasis in woody plants, with fluctuation in the concentration of some elements at the leaf level due to the pathogen activity and/or the plant physiological response to the infection.Leaves of Fraxinus ornus L. (flowering ash) were sampled for three consecutive years in the city of Hamburg (Germany), from both trees showing the typical symptoms of the ash shoestring associated virus infection (ASaV+) and healthy trees (ASaV-).

X-ray diffraction with micrometre spatial resolution for highly absorbing samples.

X-ray diffraction with high spatial resolution is commonly used to characterize (poly)crystalline samples with, for example, respect to local strain, residual stress, grain boundaries and texture. However, the investigation of highly absorbing samples or the simultaneous assessment of high-Z materials by X-ray fluorescence have been limited due to the utilization of low photon energies. Here, a goniometer-based setup implemented at the P06 beamline of PETRA III that allows for micrometre spatial resolution with a photon energy of 35 keV and above is reported.

Gadolinium and Bio-Metal Association: A Concentration Dependency Tested in a Renal Allograft and Investigated by Micro-Synchrotron XRF.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate gadolinium (Gd) and bio-metals in a renal allograft of a patient who was shortly after transplantation repeatedly exposed to a Gd-based contrast agent (GBCA), with the purpose of determining whether Gd can be proven and spatially and quantitatively imaged. Further elemental associations between Gd and bio-metals were also investigated.

Materials And Methods: Archival paraffin-embedded kidney tissue (eight weeks after transplantation) was investigated by microscopic synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µSRXRF) at the DORIS III storage ring, beamline L, at HASYLAB/DESY (Hamburg, Germany).

Sublethal and lethal Cd toxicity in soybean roots specifically affects the metabolome, Cd binding to proteins and cellular distribution of Cd.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants were exposed to various Cd concentrations from background and low non-toxic (0.

Synchrotron XFM tomography for elucidating metals and metalloids in hyperaccumulator plants.

Visualizing the endogenous distribution of elements within plant organs affords key insights in the regulation of trace elements in plants. Hyperaccumulators have extreme metal(loid) concentrations in their tissues, which make them useful models for studying metal(loid) homeostasis in plants. X-ray-based methods allow for the nondestructive analysis of most macro and trace elements with low limits of detection.

Assessing Cellular Uptake of Exogenous Coenzyme Q into Human Skin Cells by X-ray Fluorescence Imaging.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging is a highly sensitive non-invasive imaging method for detection of small element quantities in objects, from human-sized scales down to single-cell organelles, using various X-ray beam sizes. Our aim was to investigate the cellular uptake and distribution of Q, a highly conserved coenzyme with antioxidant and bioenergetic properties. Q was labeled with iodine (I-Q) and individual primary human skin cells were scanned with nano-focused beams.

Evidence of hexavalent chromium formation and changes of Cr speciation after laboratory-simulated fires of composted tannery sludges long-term amended agricultural soils.

Controlled or accidental fires can impact agricultural soils amended with composted organic materials since high temperatures cause fast organic matter (OM) mineralization and soil properties modifications. During these events, potentially toxic elements (PTEs) associated with OM can be released and change their distribution and speciation thus becoming a threat to the environment and to crops. In this study, we investigated the changes of distribution and speciation of chromium in soils long-term amended with compost obtained from tannery sludges, after simulating fires of different intensity (300, 400 and 500 °C) likely to occur on agricultural soils.

Altered SOD1 maturation and post-translational modification in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis spinal cord.

Aberrant self-assembly and toxicity of wild-type and mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) has been widely examined in silico, in vitro and in transgenic animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Detailed examination of the protein in disease-affected tissues from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, however, remains scarce. We used histological, biochemical and analytical techniques to profile alterations to SOD1 protein deposition, subcellular localization, maturation and post-translational modification in post-mortem spinal cord tissues from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases and controls.

Synchrotron XRF Analysis Identifies Cerium Accumulation Colocalized with Pharyngeal Deformities in CeO NP-Exposed .

A combination of synchrotron radiation-based elemental imaging, in vivo redox status analysis, histology, and toxic responses was used to investigate the uptake, biodistribution, and adverse effects of Ce nanoparticles (CeO NP; 10 nm; 0.5-34.96 mg Ce L) or Ce(NO) (2.

Spatial Distribution of Intracellular Ion Concentrations in Aggregate-Forming HeLa Cells Analyzed by μ-XRF Imaging.

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of several severe neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's disease. Metal ions play a profound role in protein aggregation and altered metal-ion homeostasis is associated with disease progression. Here we utilize μ-X-ray fluorescence imaging in combination with rapid freezing to resolve the elemental distribution of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, and zinc in huntingtin exon-1-mYFP expressing HeLa cells.

Copper and Trace Elements in Gallbladder form Patients with Wilson's Disease Imaged and Determined by Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence.

Investigations about suspected tissue alterations and the role of gallbladder in Wilson's disease (WD)-an inherited genetic disease with impaired copper metabolism-are rare. Therefore, tissue from patients with genetically characterised WD was investigated by microscopic synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µSRXRF). For two-dimensional imaging and quantification of elements, X-ray spectra were peak-fitted, and the net peak intensities were normalised to the intensity of the incoming monochromatic beam intensity.

Determination of the through-plane profile of vanadium species in hydrated Nafion studied with micro X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy - proof of concept.

Vanadium-ion transport through the polymer membrane results in a significant decrease in the capacity of vanadium redox flow batteries. It is assumed that five vanadium species are involved in this process. Micro X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (micro-XANES) is a potent method to study chemical reactions during vanadium transport inside the membrane.

Native Separation and Metallation Analysis of SOD1 Protein from the Human Central Nervous System: a Methodological Workflow.

Studies of the metal content of metalloproteins in tissues from the human central nervous system (CNS) can be compromised by preparative techniques which alter levels of, or interactions between, metals and the protein of interest within a complex mixture. We developed a methodological workflow combining size exclusion chromatography, native isoelectric focusing, and either proton or synchrotron X-ray fluorescence within electrophoresis gels to analyze the endogenous metal content of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) purified from minimal amounts (<20 mg) of post-mortem human brain and spinal cord tissue. Abnormal metallation and aggregation of SOD1 are suspected to play a role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, but data describing SOD1 metal occupancy in human tissues have not previously been reported.

Nanofocusing with aberration-corrected rotationally parabolic refractive X-ray lenses. Corrigendum.

A correction in the paper by Seiboth et al. [(2018). J.

Erratum: Ossig, C., et al. Four-Fold Multi-Modal X-ray Microscopy Measurements of a Cu(In, Ga)Se Solar Cell. 2021, , 228.

In the original version of our article [...

Micro x-ray fluorescence analysis of trace element distribution in frozen hydrated HeLa cells at the P06 beamline at Petra III.

X-ray fluorescence analysis enables the study of trace element distributions in biological specimens. When this analysis is done under cryogenic conditions, cells are cryofixed as closely as possible to their natural physiological state, and the corresponding intracellular elemental densities can be analyzed. Details about the experimental setup used for analysis at the P06 beamline at Petra III, DESY and the used cryo-transfer system are described in this work.

X-ray-Based Techniques to Study the Nano-Bio Interface.

X-ray-based analytics are routinely applied in many fields, including physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. The full potential of such techniques in the life sciences and medicine, however, has not yet been fully exploited. We highlight current and upcoming advances in this direction.

Gadolinium distribution in kidney tissue determined and quantified by micro synchrotron X-ray fluorescence.

Aims of this study were to investigate gadolinium (Gd) in kidney tissue from a female patient with severe renal failure, who had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Gd-based contrast agent (GBCA) three times prior to kidney transplantation. Secondly to assess (semi-)quantitatively the Gd concentration in renal tissue and the spatial distribution of Gd in association to suspected co-elements such as calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn). Archival paraffin embedded kidney tissue was investigated by micro Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µSRXRF) at the DORIS III storage ring at beamline L, HASYLAB/DESY(Hamburg, Germany).

Four-Fold Multi-Modal X-ray Microscopy Measurements of a Cu(In,Ga)Se Solar Cell.

Inhomogeneities and defects often limit the overall performance of thin-film solar cells. Therefore, sophisticated microscopy approaches are sought to characterize performance and defects at the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the simultaneous assessment of composition, structure, and performance in four-fold multi-modality.

Molecular to Macroscale Energy Absorption Mechanisms in Biological Body Armour Illuminated by Scanning X-ray Diffraction with In Situ Compression.

Determining multiscale, concurrent strain, and deformation mechanisms in hierarchical biological materials is a crucial engineering goal, to understand structural optimization strategies in Nature. However, experimentally characterizing complex strain and displacement fields within a 3D hierarchical composite, in a multiscale full-field manner, is challenging. Here, we determined the in situ strains at the macro-, meso-, and molecular-levels in stomatopod cuticle simultaneously, by exploiting the anisotropy of the 3D fiber diffraction coupled with sample rotation.