scholarly journals Application of scanning electron microscopy to x-ray analysis of frozen-hydrated sections. III. Elemental content of cells in the rat renal papillary tip.

1981 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Bulger ◽  
R Beeuwkes ◽  
A J Saubermann
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Interstitial Cells ◽  
Elemental Content ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Tissue Mass ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Structural Preservation

The electrolyte and water content of cellular and interstitial compartments in the renal papilla of the rat was determined by x-ray microanalysis of frozen-hydrated tissue sections. Papillae from rats on ad libitum water were rapidly frozen in a slush of Freon 12, and sectioned in a cryomicrotome at -30 to -40 degrees C. Frozen 0.5-micrometer sections were mounted on carbon-coated nylon film over a Be grid, transferred cold to the scanning microscope, and maintained at -175 degrees C during analysis. The scanning transmission mode was used for imaging. Structural preservation was of good quality and allowed identification of tissue compartments. Tissue mass (solutes + water) was determined by continuum radiation from regions of interest. After drying in the SEM, elemental composition of morphologically defined compartments (solutes) was determined by analysis of specific x-rays, and total dry mass by continuum. Na, K, Cl, and H2O contents in collecting-duct cells (CDC), papillary epithelial cells (PEC), and interstitial cells (IC) and space were measured. Cells had lower water content (mean 58.7%) than interstitium (77.5%). Intracellular K concentrations (millimoles per kilogram wet weight) were unremarkable (79-156 mm/kg wet weight); P was markedly higher in cells than in interstitium. S was the same in all compartments. Intracellular Na levels were extremely high (CDC, 344 +/- 127 SD mm/kg wet weight; PEC, 287 +/- 105; IC, 898 +/- 194). Mean interstitial Na was 590 +/- 119 mm/kg wet weight. CI values paralleled those for Na. If this Na is unbound, then these data suggest that renal papillary interstitial cells adapt to their hyperosmotic environment by a Na-uptake process.

X-Ray Microprobe Analysis of Frozen Hydrated Cryosections for Study of Central and Peripheral Nervous System

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 356-357
Author(s):  
Albert J. Saubermann ◽  
Carolyn M. Castiglia ◽  
Margaret C. Foster ◽  
Robert S. Lagasse ◽  
Richard M. LoPachin
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Peripheral Nervous System ◽  
Microprobe Analysis ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Elemental Distribution ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Electrophysiological Measurements ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Elemental Mass

Knowledge of elemental distribution is of great importance to understanding normal and abnormal function of the nervous system. Because elements of biological interest are easily displaced using conventional preparative methods, low temperature preparative methods are necessary to preserve elemental distribution. We have applied our methods for x-ray microprobe analysis of frozen hydrated cryosections to investigations of the central and peripheral nervous system in invertebrate and vertebrate animals. We have applied these methods to several areas of neuroscience including neuroanatomy/neurochemistry neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neurotoxicology, and neuropathology.X-ray microprobe analysis is not a substitute for electrophysiological measurements. Unfortunately there is often confusion between what is measured by the electron probe and between what is measured with microelectrodes. The information we obtain from x-ray microprobe analysis (XMPA) provides a measure of elemental mass fraction usually on the basis of dry mass, although using frozen hydrated techniques provides additional information by relating elemental mass to wet weight mass.

scholarly journals Quantitative electron probe x-ray microanalysis and densitometric mass determination of individual rat blood platelets.

1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Linders ◽  
R A Van de Vorstenbosch ◽  
A M Stadhouders
Keyword(s):  
Electron Probe ◽  
Blood Platelets ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Elemental Content ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Rat Blood ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mass Fractions ◽  
Calcium Magnesium ◽  
The Mean

An improved method for quantitative electron probe X-ray microanalysis of thin biological specimens, introduced recently, has been applied to the elemental analysis of rat blood platelets. The method uses the X-ray signal to quantify the elemental content of an object and electron scattering to determine the total dry mass of the object. Along with the dry mass distribution, data were obtained on the content and mass fraction of calcium, magnesium, and sulfur in 31 individual platelets. The mean platelet dry mass was found to be 985 fg. The mean Ca, Mg, and S contents were 1.80, 3.41, and 18.3 fg, with mean dry mass fractions of 0.195, 0.396, and 1.96%, respectively. Furthermore, these elements appear to be unevenly distributed among the platelet population.

Measurement of water content in hydrated cryosections by EELS

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 660-661
Author(s):  
R.D. Leapman ◽  
R.L. Ornberg
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Mass Measurement ◽  
Cell Volume Regulation ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Scattering Method ◽  
Direct Estimate ◽  
Electron Dose ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Electron Energy Loss

Determination of cellular organelle water content is important in understanding cell volume regulation and also for converting x-ray microanalytical measurements of diffusible ions and elements from dry mass concentration to the biologically more relevant aqueous concentration. It has been proposed that electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) can be used to measure mass thickness in frozen hydrated and dehydrated cryosections at low electron dose, and that the method should thus provide a direct estimate of water content. Potentially the EELS inelastic scattering method has a number of advantages over alternative approaches. For example use of the x-ray continuum to measure mass requires much higher doses and cannot be applied at resolutions of 100nm to hydrated samples. Moreover, hydrated cryosections are often too thick to utilize dark field STEM imaging for mass measurement.

scholarly journals Using X rays to evaluate fissures in rice seeds dried artificially

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilson Lemos de Menezes ◽  
Sílvio Moure Cicero ◽  
Francisco Amaral Villela ◽  
Rafael Pivotto Bortolotto
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Germination Test ◽  
Irrigated Rice ◽  
Drying Temperature ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Rice Seeds ◽  
The Relationship

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of X-rays in identifying fissures in artificially dried rice seeds and the relationship between damage and seed performance in the germination test. Irrigated rice seeds of the IRGA 417 and IRGA 420 cultivars were harvested with 23.3 and 24.5% water content respectively and submitted to stationary drying treatments at 32, 38, 44 and 50 °C. X-rays were taken of subsamples of 100 seeds for each treatment, using an MX-20 X-ray equipment. The X-rayed seeds were classified from 1 to 3, where 1 corresponded to seeds without fissures, 2 to seeds with non-severe fissures and 3 to seeds with severe fissures. The same X-rayed seeds were planted and on the seventh day the seedlings (normal or abnormal) and dead seeds were photographed and evaluated to verify any relationship between the fissures and physiological potential. Higher drying temperature increased the percentage of fissures in the two cultivars, which can adversely affect their germination. Seeds with fissures can be identified using X-rays.

White-Light Coronal Structures: Streamers and CMEs

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
E. Hildner
Keyword(s):  
Emission Line ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
White Light ◽  
Coronal Mass Ejections ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Temperature Function ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Eclipse Observations ◽  
Coronal Structures

AbstractOver the last twenty years, orbiting coronagraphs have vastly increased the amount of observational material for the whitelight corona. Spanning almost two solar cycles, and augmented by ground-based K-coronameter, emission-line, and eclipse observations, these data allow us to assess,inter alia: the typical and atypical behavior of the corona; how the corona evolves on time scales from minutes to a decade; and (in some respects) the relation between photospheric, coronal, and interplanetary features. This talk will review recent results on these three topics. A remark or two will attempt to relate the whitelight corona between 1.5 and 6 R⊙to the corona seen at lower altitudes in soft X-rays (e.g., with Yohkoh). The whitelight emission depends only on integrated electron density independent of temperature, whereas the soft X-ray emission depends upon the integral of electron density squared times a temperature function. The properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) will be reviewed briefly and their relationships to other solar and interplanetary phenomena will be noted.

Chemical Species Identification in an SEM by Changes in Emitted X-Ray Energies

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 570-571
Author(s):  
R. H. Duff
Keyword(s):  
Species Identification ◽  
Valence Electron ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Chemical Bonds ◽  
Small Shift ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Electron Transitions ◽  
Peak Energy ◽  
Chemical Combination

A material irradiated with electrons emits x-rays having energies characteristic of the elements present. Chemical combination between elements results in a small shift of the peak energies of these characteristic x-rays because chemical bonds between different elements have different energies. The energy differences of the characteristic x-rays resulting from valence electron transitions can be used to identify the chemical species present and to obtain information about the chemical bond itself. Although these peak-energy shifts have been well known for a number of years, their use for chemical-species identification in small volumes of material was not realized until the development of the electron microprobe.

Influence of X-Ray Induced Fluorescence on Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis of Thin Foils

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 328-329
Author(s):  
E. A. Kenik ◽  
J. Bentley
Keyword(s):  
Thin Foil ◽  
Electron Excitation ◽  
Simple Approach ◽  
Foil Thickness ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Hole Spectrum ◽  
Illumination System ◽  
Thin Foils ◽  
Intensity Ratios

Cliff and Lorimer (1) have proposed a simple approach to thin foil x-ray analy sis based on the ratio of x-ray peak intensities. However, there are several experimental pitfalls which must be recognized in obtaining the desired x-ray intensities. Undesirable x-ray induced fluorescence of the specimen can result from various mechanisms and leads to x-ray intensities not characteristic of electron excitation and further results in incorrect intensity ratios.In measuring the x-ray intensity ratio for NiAl as a function of foil thickness, Zaluzec and Fraser (2) found the ratio was not constant for thicknesses where absorption could be neglected. They demonstrated that this effect originated from x-ray induced fluorescence by blocking the beam with lead foil. The primary x-rays arise in the illumination system and result in varying intensity ratios and a finite x-ray spectrum even when the specimen is not intercepting the electron beam, an ‘in-hole’ spectrum. We have developed a second technique for detecting x-ray induced fluorescence based on the magnitude of the ‘in-hole’ spectrum with different filament emission currents and condenser apertures.

Structural preservation and absolute contrast of catalase crystal sections prepared with tannic acid

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 448-449
Author(s):  
C.W. Akey ◽  
M. Szalay ◽  
S.J. Edelstein
Keyword(s):  
Tannic Acid ◽  
Beef Heart ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Screw Axis ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Beef Liver ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Reconstruction ◽  
Structural Preservation

Three methods of obtaining 20 Å resolution in sectioned protein crystals have recently been described. They include tannic acid fixation, low temperature embedding and grid sectioning. To be useful for 3-dimensional reconstruction thin sections must possess suitable resolution, structural fidelity and a known contrast. Tannic acid fixation appears to satisfy the above criteria based on studies of crystals of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase, orthorhombic beef liver catalase and beef heart F1-ATPase. In order to develop methods with general applicability, we have concentrated our efforts on a trigonal modification of catalase which routinely demonstrated a resolution of 40 Å. The catalase system is particularly useful since a comparison with the structure recently solved with x-rays will permit evaluation of the accuracy of 3-D reconstructions of sectioned crystals.Initially, we re-evaluated the packing of trigonal catalase crystals studied by Longley. Images of the (001) plane are of particular interest since they give a projection down the 31-screw axis in space group P3121. Images obtained by the method of Longley or by tannic acid fixation are negatively contrasted since control experiments with orthorhombic catalase plates yield negatively stained specimens with conditions used for the larger trigonal crystals.

X-ray micro tomography in the scanning electron microscope

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Brünger
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscope ◽  
Target Surface ◽  
The Body ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Micro Tomography ◽  
Scanning Electron

Reconstructive tomography is a new technique in diagnostic radiology for imaging cross-sectional planes of the human body /1/. A collimated beam of X-rays is scanned through a thin slice of the body and the transmitted intensity is recorded by a detector giving a linear shadow graph or projection (see fig. 1). Many of these projections at different angles are used to reconstruct the body-layer, usually with the aid of a computer. The picture element size of present tomographic scanners is approximately 1.1 mm2.Micro tomography can be realized using the very fine X-ray source generated by the focused electron beam of a scanning electron microscope (see fig. 2). The translation of the X-ray source is done by a line scan of the electron beam on a polished target surface /2/. Projections at different angles are produced by rotating the object.During the registration of a single scan the electron beam is deflected in one direction only, while both deflections are operating in the display tube.

Digital x-ray mapping of nanometer-size supported bimetallic catalysts

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 530-531
Author(s):  
L. T. Germinario
Keyword(s):  
Background Radiation ◽  
Metal Cluster ◽  
Single Element ◽  
Beam Diameter ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Major Interest ◽  
Induced Changes

Understanding the role of metal cluster composition in determining catalytic selectivity and activity is of major interest in heterogeneous catalysis. The electron microscope is well established as a powerful tool for ultrastructural and compositional characterization of support and catalyst. Because the spatial resolution of x-ray microanalysis is defined by the smallest beam diameter into which the required number of electrons can be focused, the dedicated STEM with FEG is the instrument of choice. The main sources of errors in energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS) are: (1) beam-induced changes in specimen composition, (2) specimen drift, (3) instrumental factors which produce background radiation, and (4) basic statistical limitations which result in the detection of a finite number of x-ray photons. Digital beam techniques have been described for supported single-element metal clusters with spatial resolutions of about 10 nm. However, the detection of spurious characteristic x-rays away from catalyst particles produced images requiring several image processing steps.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document