Tag: nanostructure

Nano-insights into bone stability

Nano-insights into bone stability

Fractures of the femoral neck are not simply due to insufficient bone density. Also significant is their nanostructure – the orientation of the collagen fibres that make up bones. This is suggested by research conducted by scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI using a new X-ray technique.

When people fracture their hip in a fall, it is very often in the femoral neck – the narrow section of bone directly below the hip joint. This often happens with advanced age, when the bone has lost density. Most often, the femoral neck fractures from the top side, where it is generally much more porous than on the underside.

However, this correlation is not always present: sometimes a femoral neck fractures even though it is not porous. Researchers at PSI have now discovered the possible cause, through special X-ray analyses using the Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI and measurements at the Swedish synchrotron MAX IV: an altered nanostructure of the bone.

New X-ray technique offers detailed insights

The team, led by Marianne Liebi, a scientist in the PSI Center for Photon Science, used a new imaging technique to examine two bone samples each from 78 different femoral necks. In each case one sample was taken from the top and one from the underside of the same femoral neck. The team obtained the samples from the University of Bern, whose experts participated in the analysis as part of a joint research project. The method is called small-angle X-ray scattering tensor tomography, or SAXS-TT for short. It combines the analysis of so-called small-angle scattering signals from a high-resolution X-ray image with 3-D tomography, that is, imaging from different angles. This method has been developed at PSI over the last ten years and tested for the analysis of various materials, including bone.

Read more on the PSI website

Image: Torne Tänzer and Marianne Liebi at the Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI. Here, they were able to visualise the nanostructure of femoral neck bone material for the first time. This could help to understand why this part of the femur fractures relatively frequently.

Credit: © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Markus Fischer

Two-dimensional gold nanostructures

Two-dimensional gold nanostructures

An international team of researchers from Hokkaido University, Lund University, MAX IV Laboratory in Sweden, and Diamond Light Source in the UK has made significant progress in synthesising nanostructured two-dimensional gold films. This development could pave the way for advances in catalysis, electronics, and energy conversion.

The research team utilized a bottom-up approach, growing gold monolayers on iridium substrates with boron atoms embedded at the interface. This method produced nearly freestanding gold layers with hexagonal nanoscale patterns, stabilized by boron. The resulting films exhibited notable thermal stability and distinctive electronic properties, addressing the challenges of stabilizing two-dimensional metallic structures.

The facilities at MAX IV Laboratory were central to the research. The MAX IV STM Laboratory facilitated the synthesis of the gold films and their topographic characterization, while the Surface- and Materials Science end station at the FlexPES beamline enabled detailed analysis using techniques such as X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), and Angular Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARPES). These complementary approaches provided valuable insights into the structure, bonding, and electronic properties of the films.

“The combination of synthesis and advanced characterization at MAX IV, particularly the ability to study atomic arrangement and surface chemistry in the same sample, was essential to this work,” said Dr. Alexei Preobrajenski of Lund University. 

Read more on MAX IV website

New imaging technique for deeper insights in breast cancer metastasis

New imaging technique for deeper insights in breast cancer metastasis

A collaborative effort between researchers from DESY, the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Chalmers University in Sweden and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland has yielded a cutting-edge multimodal imaging approach to investigate breast cancer tissue. With the help of this technique, researchers can simultaneously extract information about the nanostructure of the tumor and quantify the chemical elements present in a millimeter-scale sample in all three dimensions. A unique combination of research possibilities at PETRA III and new analysis methods enables this high level of detail. 

Breast cancer caused 685 000 deaths globally in 2020 according to the WHO. It is not life-threatening in its earliest form. But if the cancer cells are able to spread further in the tissue to nearby lymph nodes or important organs, this metastasis can be fatal. In a recent pilot study published in Nature Scientific Reports, the team applied this revolutionary imaging approach to a breast cancer sample. The results show how key molecules collectively influence the metastatic mechanism. This breakthrough paves the way for an in-depth investigation of breast cancer metastasis, promising novel therapeutic approaches and personalised treatment strategies, which could ultimately improve patients’ lives if recognized early enough.

Traditional experimental models often fall short, relying on 2D cell cultures or animal models that do not faithfully replicate the complex physiological patterns of human tumor environments. The multimodal imaging approach presented in this study represents a significant step forward by providing simultaneous nanoscale morphological and physiological information from real samples, thus giving researchers information about the shape and composition of real cancer tissue.

André Conceição, the first author and beamline scientist at the PETRA III SAXSMAT beamline P62, emphasises, “Although demonstrated for breast cancer, this approach’s versatility extends to other organs and diseases.”

The study opens avenues for further exploration of breast cancer metastasis and pre-metastatic niches (PMNs). Advanced X-ray multimodal tomography can generate complementary 3D maps for different breast cancer molecular subtypes. It holds the potential to contribute to the development of more targeted and effective strategies for diagnosis and treatment.

Read more on DESY website

Image: 3D vector field of the collagen direction and degree of orientation obtained by SAXS-Tensor-Tomography

Tetra Pak commences first-of-its-kind sustainability research

Tetra Pak commences first-of-its-kind sustainability research

The newest research station at MAX IV, ForMAX, has hosted its first industry experiment: A ground-breaking study on fibre-based sustainable food packaging, performed by Tetra Pak in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology.

Today, global food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak announces the commencement of new research using advanced X-ray scattering imaging techniques at ForMAX, the newest beamline at MAX IV laboratory. The study aims to uncover fresh insights into the nanostructure of fibre materials, with the first application to optimise the composition of materials used for paper straws.

In the strive to meet the increased global market demand for more sustainable packaging solutions, new materials based on paper can bring novel opportunities. Yet, these new, paper-based materials must remain food safe, recyclable, and durable against liquids and humidity while meeting the increased sustainability demands.

These are some of the challenges that Tetra Pak is collaborating with MAX IV to address using the laboratory’s advanced research techniques.

“Our first experiment, which starts with paper straws, provides additional analysis capabilities into how paper straw material responds to changes in the environment in real-time, as well as how the straw interacts with different types of liquids under stringent conditions. These new insights and knowledge will be applied to developing the paper straws of the future in our virtual modelling tools, helping us to improve their functionality”, explains Eskil Andreasson, Technology Specialist, Virtual Modelling at Tetra Pak.

Read more on the MAX IV website

Image: Eskil Andreasson (middle), Technology Specialist at Tetra Pak, with the research team listening to Linnéa Björn in the ForMAX control room at MAX IV.

Credit: Anna Sandahl, MAX IV