On Wednesday 22 August 2018, Alexandra Pacureanu is giving a talk entitled: "X-ray holographic nanotomography and X-ray fluorescence imaging for 3D exploration of tissues and cells.

Alexandra Pacureanu is from the ESRF Synchrotron in France and is visiting DRCMR as part of the MAX4 Imagers Project. 

Abstract:The ability of exploring biological tissue in three-dimensions at sub-cellular scale is instrumental for advancing our understanding of biological systems and for finding better ways to cope with diseases. In the quest for developing techniques enabling imaging of large tissue volumes at nanometer scale spatial resolution, X-ray holographic nanotomography facilitates pushing the frontiers beyond the current level. Hard X-rays can penetrate thick samples and the exceptional sensitivity of the phase contrast enables to distinguish between tissue or cell elements with subtle density variations. By combining a nano-focused beam in projection microscopy mode, the spatial resolution can be pushed beyond 100 nm, with voxel sizes down to 25 nm while maintaining a large field of view. The technique can be applied in cryogenic conditions, thus preserving the sample close to the native state. The reconstructed images quantify the 3D electron density distribution which enables, among others, to distinguish between various types of cells and cell organelles, or to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy cells.