Biological Samples Preparation for Speciation at Cryogenic Temperature using High-Resolution X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Summary

This protocol presents a detailed procedure to prepare biological cryosamples for synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments. We describe all the steps required to optimize sample preparation and cryopreservation with examples of the protocol with cancer and phytoplankton cells. This method provides a universal standard of sample cryo-preparation.

Abstract

The study of elements with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is of particular interest when studying the role of metals in biological systems. Sample preparation is a key and often complex procedure, particularly for biological samples. Although X-ray speciation techniques are widely used, no detailed protocol has been yet disseminated for users of the technique. Further, chemical state modification is of concern, and cryo-based techniques are recommended to analyze the biological samples in their near-native hydrated state to provide the maximum preservation of chemical integrity of the cells or tissues. Here, we propose a cellular preparation protocol based on cryo-preserved samples. It is demonstrated in a high energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of selenium in cancer cells and a study of iron in phytoplankton. This protocol can be used with other biological samples and other X-ray techniques that can be damaged by irradiation.

Introduction

The study of the cellular biotransformations of essential or toxic elements requires speciation techniques with high sensitivity and should minimize sample preparation steps that are often prone to modification of chemical species.

Physiological elements such as selenium and iron are known to be particularly difficult to speciate due to their complex chemistry, various stabilities of the selenium or iron species, and their low concentration in the ppm (mg/kg) or even sub-ppm range. Thus, the study of the speciation of these elements by XAS can be extremely challenging. Synchrotron XAS and especially high energy resolution fluorescence detec....

Protocol

1. Preparation of the human PC-3 and OVCAR-3 cancer cell pellets for selenium speciation

NOTE: The following protocol is adapted from Weekley et al.¹⁰. All steps have to be carried out under a cell culture hood under biosafety level 2 conditions and restrictions, using aseptic techniques.

1. Count the cells using a Malassez cell counting chamber. Seed 150,000–200,000 cells per flask for the PC-3 cell line and 300,000 cells for the OVCAR-3 cell line.
.......

Discussion

This protocol was used to study the chemical form of selenium and iron in biological samples by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. It focuses on the cryo-preparation and storage of biological samples and references compounds, as well as on the HERFD-XAS measurements.

Cryo-preparation and storage
The cryo-preparation of the bulk biological sample pellets allows preservation of the chemical integrity of the species present in the samples. This is crucial, because speciation ch.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Ammonium nitrate	Sigma-Aldrich	A3795	NH4NO3, 2.66 mg/L of milliQ water
Anaerobic chamber	Coy Laboratory, USA		equipped with Anaerobic Monitor (CAM-12)
Antibiotic stock	Sigma-Aldrich	A0166 for ampicillin, S9137 for streptomycin sulfate	1 mL/L of milliQ water (ampicillin sodium and streptomycin sulfate, 100 mg/mL)
Boron nitride powder	Sigma-Aldrich	255475
Cell counting chamber			Neubauer or Malassez
Cell scraper
Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline (DPBS)	GIBCO	14190-094	Without Calcium, Magnesium, Phenol Red
Eppendorf tubes			0.5 mL and 1.5 mL
Falcon tubes			15 mL and 50 mL
Ferric citrate Fe/citrate = 1/20	Sigma-Aldrich	F3388	aqueous solution of FeCl3 50 mM and Na-citrate 1M pH 6.5
Fetal Bovine Serum	GIBCO	A31604-02	Performance Plus, certified One Shot format, US origin
Flasks	Sigma-Aldrich	Z707503	TPP 150 cm2 area
Growth chamber	Sanyo	Sanyo MLR-352	at 20 °C and under a 12:12 light (3,000 lux) dark regime
HEPES buffer	Sigma-Aldrich	H4034	1 g/L of milliQ water HEPES
High grade serous, OVCAR-3	ATCC, Rockville, MD	HTB-161	Storage temperature: liquid nitrogen vapor temperature
Incubator			Incubator at 37°C, humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2
Insulin solution from bovine pancreas	Sigma-Aldrich	I0516	10 mg/mL insulin in 25mM HEPES, pH 8.2, BioReagent, sterile-filtered, suitable for cell culture
Manual hydraulic press	Specac, USA
Marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum	Roscoff culture collection	RCC69	http://roscoff-culture-collection.org/rcc-strain-details/69
Morpholinepropanesulfonic acid	Sigma-Aldrich	M3183	MOPS, 250 mg/L of milliQ water (pH 7.3)
Optical microscope
PC-3	ECCAC, Salisbury, UK	90112714	Storage temperature: liquid nitrogen vapor temperature
Penicillin-Streptomycin	Sigma-Aldrich	P4333	Solution stabilized, with 10,000 units penicillin and 10 mg streptomycin/mL, sterile-filtered, BioReagent, suitable for cell culture
Pipette-boy			25mL-, 10mL-, and 5mL sterile plastic-pipettes
Plankton culture products, Mf medium: Sea salts	Sigma-Aldrich	S9883	40g/L of milliQ water. Composition: Cl- 19.29 g, Na+ 10.78 g, SO42- 2.66 g, Mg2+ 1.32 g, K+ 420 mg, Ca2+ 400 mg, CO32- /HCO3- 200 mg, Sr2+ 8.8 mg, BO2- 5.6 mg, Br- 56 mg, I- 0.24 mg, Li+ 0.3 mg, F- 1 mg
Plastic tweezers	Oxford Instrument	AGT 5230
RPMI MEDIUM 1640 (ATCC Modification)	GIBCO	A10491-01	Solution with 4.5 g/L D-glucose, 1.5 g/L Sodium Bicarbonate, 110 mg/L (1 mM) Sodium Pyruvate, 2.388 g/L (10 mM) HEPES buffer and 300 mg/L L-glutamine for research use
Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), BSA coated, 2 mg/mL	NANOCS Company, USA	Se50-BS-1	BSA stabilized Se-NPs solution. Average size about 30 nm. Stored at 4°C in the dark, protected from the light.
Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), Chitosan coated, 2 mg/mL	NANOCS Company, USA	11. Se50-CS-1	Chitosan stabilized Se-NPs solution. Average size about 30 nm. Stored at 4°C in the dark, protected from the light.
Sodium metasilicate pentahydrate	Sigma-Aldrich	71746	Na2SiO3.5H2O, 22.8 mg/L of milliQ water
Sodium nitrate	Sigma-Aldrich	S5022	NaNO3, 75 mg/L of milliQ water
Sodium phosphate monobasic	Sigma-Aldrich	S5011	NaH2PO4, 15 mg/L of milliQ water
T-75 flasks
Tissue culture hood
Trace metal stock	Sigma-Aldrich	M5005, Z1001, M1651, C2911, 450243, 451193, 229857	1 mL/L of milliQ water (MnCl2.4H2O 200 mg/L, ZnSO4.7H2O 40 mg/L, Na2MoO4.2H2O 20mg/L, CoCl2.6H2O 14 mg/L, Na3VO4.nH2O 10 mg/L, NiCl2 10 mg/L, H2SeO3 10 mg/L)
Trypan Blue Solution (0.4%)	GIBCO	15250061
Trypsin-EDTA (0.05%), phenol red	GIBCO	25300-054
Vitamin stock	Sigma-Aldrich	T1270 for thiamine, B4639 for biotin, V6629 for B12	1 mL/L of milliQ water (thiamine HCl 20 mg/L, biotin 1 mg/L, B12 1 mg/L)
Water bath 37°C