We are grateful for financial contributions to the beamline development by CEMHTI (Orleans, France, ANR-13-BS08-0012-01) and Labex OSUG@2020 (Grenoble, France, ANR-10-LABX-0056). The FAME-UHD project is financially supported by the French &#34;grand emprunt&#34; EquipEx (EcoX, ANR-10-EQPX-27-01), the CEA-CNRS CRG consortium and the INSU CNRS institute. We are grateful of all the contributions during the experiments especially all the persons working on BM30B and BM16. The authors acknowledge the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility for provision of synchrotron radiation beamtime. We also acknowledge PHYTOMET ANR project for financial support (ANR-16-CE01-0008) and SEDMAC project for financial support (INCA-Plan cancer-ASC16019CS).

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.
<ol>
	<li>Count the cells using a Malassez cell counting chamber. Seed 150,000&#8211;200,000 cells per flask for the PC-3 cell line and 300,000 cells for the OVCAR-3 cell line.</li>
	<li>Seed cells in T-75 flasks (three flasks per condition in order to have triplicates) in the adequate cell culture media (Table 1) under the laminar flow hood.</li>
	<li>Leave the cell cultures to grow in an incubator at 37 &#176;C and a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2 until they reach 80% confluence. Usually, PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines double after 24 h while OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cell lines take 72 h. The flasks must be left in the incubator.</li>
	<li>Meanwhile, dilute the Se-NPs used for treatment to a final concentration that corresponds to the IC20 (inhibitory concentration to achieve 20% cell death) that has been predetermined by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay for cytotoxicity assessment. These concentrations are specific to each Se-NPs type but also specific to the studied cell line.
	<ol>
		<li>Place the nanoparticle stock solution (2 mg/mL of&#160;bovine serum albumin [BSA] or chitosan coated Se-NPs) in an ultrasound water bath for 30 min at room temperature (RT).</li>
		<li>Dilute the Se-NPs solution by serial dilutions in complete cell culture medium to reach working concentrations. Between each dilution, vortex for 1 min.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Prepare a selenium positive control with diluted selenium salt for treatment.
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare an aqueous sodium selenite stock solution (1 mg/mL) in a 15 mL polypropylene tube. Mix 1 mg of sodium selenite powder with 1 mL of ultrapure water.</li>
		<li>Vortex the stock solution for 1 min.</li>
		<li>Dilute the sodium selenite stock solution by serial dilutions in complete cell culture medium to reach working concentrations. 
		NOTE: Do not forget to pipet several times before each dilution in order to homogenize the solution.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Expose the cancer cells to selenium treatments. 
	NOTE: This part of the protocol has to be repeated for each nanoparticle (NP) tested. Here, the NPs are of two types, BSA and chitosan coated Se-NPs, plus the controls. The sodium selenite solution is the positive control and no treatment is the negative control.
	<ol>
		<li>Open the three T-75 flasks containing the cells in the laminar flow hood.</li>
		<li>Remove the medium and wash the cells gently 2x with 5 mL of warmed (37 &#176;C) phosphate buffered saline (PBS).</li>
		<li>Gently, on the bottom-side of the flask and not directly on the cell layer, add 15 mL of the treatment in each flask using an automatic pipette equipped with 25 mL sterile plastic pipettes. Place the lids on the flasks. Do not close the lids tightly. 
		NOTE: As described in steps 1.3 and 1.4, treatment solutions must have been resuspended beforehand to be homogenized.</li>
		<li>Leave the three flasks horizontally in an incubator at 37 &#176;C and an atmosphere humidified with 5% CO2 for 24 h.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Preparation of the cell pellets
	<ol>
		<li>Gently wash the cells 2x with 5 mL of warmed PBS (37 &#176;C) directly in the T75 flasks.</li>
		<li>Add 6 mL of warmed cell culture medium (37 &#176;C) on the cell layer in the T-75 flask using a pipette boy equipped with 10 mL sterile plastic pipettes.</li>
		<li>Collect the cells by gentle scraping using a cell scraper. Use one cell scraper per flask.</li>
		<li>Using a pipette boy and a 10 mL pipette, aspirate the liquid and flush back the cell/medium on the flask surface in order to collect all the cells. Repeat this step several times to dissociate and individualize the cells. Collect the medium containing the cells in a 15 mL polypropylene tube.</li>
		<li>Spin down at 250 x g for 5 min at RT. Aspirate the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Rinse the cells by resuspending them in 5 mL of PBS.</li>
		<li>Spin down at 250 x g for 5 min at RT. Aspirate the supernatant and repeat steps 1.6.5 and 1.6.6 2x to get rid of all remaining traces of the treatment.</li>
		<li>Resuspend the cells in 1 mL of PBS and transfer them into a 1.5 mL polypropylene tube. Finally, spin them down at 250 x g for 5 min at RT. Figure 1 represents the cell pellet obtained after centrifuging and discarding the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Gently remove all the PBS supernatant using a 200 &#181;L pipette. 
		NOTE: Be careful to not touch and damage the cell pellet. Ideally, the pellet should be 2&#8211;3 mm high or thick, with a diameter of 3&#8211;6 mm. For the PC-3 cell line, 9 x 106&#8211;10 x 106 cells are required for the assay. For the OVCAR-3 cell line, 8 x 106&#8211;9 x 106 cells are required (Figure 1). Some cells will likely be lost during the subsequent buffer rinsing steps. The higher the cell number, the better the pellet will be.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Flash-freezing of the cell pellets
	<ol>
		<li>Plunge the bottom part of the 1.5 mL tube containing the pellet in liquid nitrogen (LN2) to the level of the cell pellet.</li>
		<li>In a glove box fully purged with an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, collect the cell pellet by gently tapping the 1.5 mL tube on the flat surface of a LN2-cooled copper block (Figure 2). The pellet is then collected without cell loss. 
		NOTE: Use cryoprotection equipment, lab coat, closed shoes, cryo-gloves, and a face shield or safety goggles for LN2 handling.</li>
		<li>If needed, a LN2 cooled needle can be used to help to take out the pellet. 
		NOTE: The resulting frozen cell pellet can fragment. These steps must be performed in the space of a few minutes and rely on the researcher&#39;s dexterity and speed.</li>
		<li>The frozen pellet dimensions must fit the cryostat sample holder. Using the equipment described, if the cell pellet is larger than 2 mm in height and slightly smaller than the hole of the sample holder used for XAS, the sample can be used directly. If not, or if a flat surface for the analysis is desired, a bulk cylindrical pellet must be prepared, still keeping the pellet in its frozen state. If the cell pellet is fragmented the following steps can be used ideally in a glove box fully purged with an inert atmosphere.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Preparation of the bulk frozen cylindrical pellets
	<ol>
		<li>Immerse all the parts of a manual hydraulic press that will be in contact with the sample in LN2 (Figure 3A; 3- or 5-mm diameter pellet dies, mold, piston/wire pulling).</li>
		<li>Transfer the rapidly frozen pellet fragments into the mold loaded with the appropriate pellet dies (Figure 3B).</li>
		<li>Quick pelletize with the hydraulic press. Use of 1.5 tons for a 5 mm diameter pellet or 0.5 tons for a 3 mm diameter pellet is sufficient (Figure 3C). 
		NOTE: After each pellet preparation with the hydraulic press, all the materials need to be thawed and dried properly using nitrogen gas to avoid any problems with the remaining frost and humidity.</li>
		<li>Collect the bulk pellet of frozen cells quickly and place it in an adequate cryotube for storage.</li>
		<li>Store it back into LN2 tank for long-term storage.</li>
		<li>Transfer and mount the cryo-pellets for analysis. The pellet stored in a LN2 cooled cryotube is transferred to a 77 K precooled cryostat sample holder in liquid N2 (Figure 4, as used for a CRG-FAME-UHD beamline). This step should be performed as quickly as possible but can take a few minutes. Then transfer the sample holder to the cryostat and maintain it at 10 K during the whole XAS analysis. 
		NOTE: Steps 1.9.3 and 1.9.6 are difficult because they need to be done quickly in order to avoid any frost formation that will block the piston and the mold. An alternative is to perform these steps under a plastic tent fully purged with nitrogen gas. The LN2-cool copper mass allows the pellet to be kept frozen.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Preparation of the plankton cells for iron speciation
NOTE: Synthetic seawater used for this protocol was prepared by adding ultrapure water sea salts, morpholino propanesulfonic acid, ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium metasilicate pentahydrate, sodium phosphate monobasic, vitamin stock, trace metal stock, antibiotic stock, and HEPES buffer at pH = 7.9. The concentrations of each component are indicated in the Table of Materials. Details on the culture can be found in Sutak et al.11
<ol>
	<li>Centrifuge a P. tricornutum diatom culture in a 50 mL polypropylene tube at 1,100 x g for 6 min and transfer the pellet into a flask with fresh medium.</li>
	<li>Let the culture grow in synthetic seawater in a growth chamber for 24 h.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the plankton culture for 6 min at 1,100 x g and transfer the pellet into fresh medium containing Fe-citrate (1 &#181;M in the final culture). Incubate for 72 h.</li>
	<li>Prepare the plankton cells
	<ol>
		<li>Centrifuge the cells for 3 min at 1,100 x g and rinse with medium without iron.</li>
		<li>Transfer the pellet into a 1.5 mL polypropylene tube, wash with ultrapure water, and centrifuge 2x for 3 min at 1,100 x g. Remove the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Plunge the bottom part of the 1.5 mL polypropylene tube containing the pellet in LN2 as described in step 1.8.</li>
		<li>Transfer the frozen cells in a LN2 frozen molder and quickly press using a XRF pellet press (Figure 3 and Figure 7) as described in step 1.9.</li>
		<li>Remove the pellet and store it in a LN2 tank for long-term storage.</li>
		<li>Follow step 1.9.6 (see Figure 4 for the transfer into the cryostat sample holder).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
3. Reference compound preparation and measurement
NOTE: Reference compounds (solid or liquid) representative of the species and expected to be found in the biological system must be prepared and analyzed by XAS for comparison with experimental biological samples. Reference spectra can be also found in databases12,13,14 and can be used provided that the measurement conditions (e.g., spectral resolution) were similar to the experimental samples.
<ol>
	<li>For references in aqueous solution, weigh initial compounds in powder or liquid form under anaerobic condition or inert atmosphere. Prepare redox-sensitive references in an inert atmosphere (i.e., in an anaerobic glove box or in a Schlenk line, see Figure 5 and Figure 6) to avoid any oxido-reductive reaction and to preserve the chemical integrity of the compound, which can be highly reactive and unstable in ambient air). Here, all the selenium references were prepared using a Schlenk line and degasified ultrapure water (Figure 6). Liquid FeIII-malate and ferritine were prepared at ambient air.</li>
	<li>Mix with appropriate solution in order to reach a 1% wt final concentration of the studied element (i.e., selenium or iron) for collection in fluorescence mode. 
	NOTE: Ultrapure water is the most frequently used solution to prepare XAS references. Addition of glycerol (15%&#8211;20%) is required for liquids measured using standard XAS fluorescence to prevent artifacts arising from X-ray diffraction by ice crystals and preserved quality of the XAS signal collected with the solid-state detector.&#160;However, for HERFD-XAS, glycerol is not mandatory. Using a crystal analyzer spectrometer instead of a solid-state detector, the energy is selected with an extremely high-resolution and the diffraction induced by ice crystals does not impact the data collection of the studied element1.</li>
	<li>Preserve and store the prepared solution in a sealed Schlenk balloon (Figure 5) or in a 1.5 mL polypropylene tube until measurement in the same conditions as the samples.</li>
	<li>For solid references, weigh selenium or iron model compound powders at ambient air or in a glove box if the species are redox-sensitive. Here, solid FeII references (FeII-acetate and vivianite) were prepared in a gaseous N2 glove box while FeIII (Fe(OH)3, and FeIII-phosphate) were prepared at ambient air.</li>
	<li>Weigh high purity boron nitride powder and mix with the model compounds powders in order to reach a 1% wt final concentration of the studied element (Figure 7A).</li>
	<li>Grind to a fine powder using a mortar for at least 15 min.</li>
	<li>Place the powder mixture in the molder to prepare pellets with the hydraulic press (Figure 7B, similar to Figure 3A for the sample pellet).</li>
	<li>Close the molder with the piston (Figure 7C, similar to Figure 3B for the sample pellet).</li>
	<li>Press to obtain the bulk pellet (Figure 7D, similar to Figure 3C for the sample pellet).</li>
	<li>Store the prepared bulk pellets in the glove box until they are analyzed in the same conditions as the samples. 
	NOTE: The bulk pellet sometimes sticks to the pistons, depending on the powder compacity, for example. Removing it softly without breaking it then can be difficult. In that case, the following procedure using polyimide (e.g., Kapton) disks has to be used.</li>
	<li>Put a drop of ethanol on each side of the pistons that will be in contact with the powder (Figure 8A).</li>
	<li>Prepare two polyimide disks with a diameter slightly smaller than the pistons. The polyimide thickness needs to be 10&#8211;25 &#181;m (thinner will be difficult to manipulate, thicker will absorb too much of the X-ray photons during analysis).</li>
	<li>Put the disks on the pistons. They will stick by capillary action (Figure 8B).</li>
	<li>Mount the molder with the piston, add the powder, and put in the second piston (Figure 8C).</li>
	<li>Press (see step 3.11) and remove the compressed bulk pellet from the pistons. 
	NOTE: The solid references can be mounted on the cryostat-specific sample holder like the samples (see step 1.8.6). The liquid references can be mounted on the cryostat-specific sample holder. See Figure 9A for a CRG-FAME cryostat sample holder. The same procedure can be applied using a CRG-FAME-UHD sample holder, shown in Figure 4D, using the following procedure.</li>
	<li>Mounting of liquid reference on the cryostat sample holder.
	<ol>
		<li>Set the polyimide (e.g., Kapton) tape (25 &#181;m thick) in order to seal one side of the hole on the sample holder at RT (Figure 9B).</li>
		<li>Using a syringe, fill the cavity slowly with the solution until it reaches the top. Avoid bubbles. The reservoir must be filled (Figure 9C, left).</li>
		<li>Seal the other side of the cavity with the tape (Figure 9C, right).</li>
		<li>Plunge the sealed sample holder into LN2 (Figure 9D, T0&#8211;T3).</li>
		<li>A thermic reaction induces LN2 bubbling. Wait until bubbling stops, signaling the end of the reaction (Figure 9D, T3&#8211;T5).</li>
		<li>Transfer the sample holder at 77 K into the cryostat of the beamline before starting data collection (Figure 9D, T6) or storing in the LN2 Dewar. 
		NOTE: The frozen solution is well spread in the cavity and forms a uniform and homogeneous pellet (Figure 9D, T7).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
4. HERFD-XAS: measuring procedure
<ol>
	<li>Optimize all the crystals from the CAS in Bragg conditions with respect to the fluorescence line energy of interest. This procedure can be done with a concentrated reference compound.</li>
	<li>Calibrate the incident monochromatic beam energy using a reference for which the energy position of the absorption edge is known (typically a pure metallic foil). This reference can be positioned in a second step after the sample, in double transmission mode, in order to be able to check the calibration for each obtained spectra and eventually align them posttreatment.</li>
	<li>Position the sample in a liquid helium cryostat for biological samples following the appropriate procedure described in step 1.9.6.</li>
	<li>Close the experimental hutch following the synchrotron safety rules.</li>
	<li>Perform the XAS acquisition on an energy range that covers the selected absorption edge.</li>
	<li>After each spectral acquisition, move the sample at least twice the beam size in the direction of the motion before starting a new acquisition. 
	NOTE: In this case, measurements were performed using Ge(440) crystals to select the Fe Ka1 line and using Ge(844) crystals to select the Se Ka1 line. The beam size on the sample was 200 x 100 &#181;m&#178; (H x V Full Width Half Maximum). The sample motion between each acquisition was 500 &#181;m in both directions, in order to probe structural homogeneity and to analyze a new area free from previous possible radiation damage each time. Individual spectra are compared and merged if they are superimposable within the noise. The measurement is stopped for a given sample when the quality of the merged spectrum is correct. Then data analysis can be performed using any software dedicated to XAS analysis, especially those that allow a linear combination fitting of normalized spectra, for example Athena and Artemis (Demeter group of software)15, SixPack16, or Viper17. Complete and detailed explanations of XAS analysis falls outside the scope of this protocol and can be found in recent papers18,19, some of them more specifically devoted to biological samples20. Selenium XANES reference spectra are already gathered in the SSHADE spectra database21.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Llorens, I., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High+energy+resolution+five-crystal+spectrometer+for+high+quality+fluorescence+and+absorption+measurements+on+an+x-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+beamline.">High energy resolution five-crystal spectrometer for high quality fluorescence and absorption measurements on an x-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline.</a> Review of Scientific Instruments. 83 (6), 063104 (2012).</li><li>Proux, O., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High+Energy+Resolution+Fluorescence+Detected+X-ray+Absorption+Spectroscopy:+a+new+powerful+structural+tool+in+environmental+biogeochemistry+sciences.">High Energy Resolution Fluorescence Detected X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: a new powerful structural tool in environmental biogeochemistry sciences.</a> Journal of Environmental Quality. 46 (6), 1146-1157 (2017).</li><li>Bissardon, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sub-ppm+high+energy+resolution+fluorescence+detected+X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+of+selenium+in+articular+cartilage.">Sub-ppm high energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy of selenium in articular cartilage.</a> Analyst. 144 (11), 3488-3493 (2019).</li><li>Proux, O., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=FAME:+a+new+beamline+for+X-ray+absorption+investigations+of+very-diluted+systems+of+environmental,+material+and+biological+interests.">FAME: a new beamline for X-ray absorption investigations of very-diluted systems of environmental, material and biological interests.</a> Physica Scripta. 115, 970-973 (2005).</li><li>George, G. N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=X-ray-induced+photo-chemistry+and+X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+of+biological+samples.">X-ray-induced photo-chemistry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy of biological samples.</a> Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 19 (6), 875-886 (2012).</li><li>Sarret, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Use+of+Synchrotron-Based+techniques+to+Elucidate+Metal+Uptake+and+Metabolism+in+Plants.">Use of Synchrotron-Based techniques to Elucidate Metal Uptake and Metabolism in Plants.</a> Advanced in Agronomy. 119, 1-82 (2013).</li><li>Porcaro, F., Roudeau, S., Carmona, A., Ortega, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Advances+in+element+speciation+analysis+of+biomedical+samples+using+synchrotron-based+techniques.">Advances in element speciation analysis of biomedical samples using synchrotron-based techniques.</a> Trends Analytical Chemistry. 104, 22-41 (2018).</li><li>Role of selenium nanoparticles to dampen the metastatic potential of aggressive cancer cells. 9th bioMedical Applications of Synchrotron Radiation, Beijing, China Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://indico.ihep.ac.cn/event/7794/contribution/7">https://indico.ihep.ac.cn/event/7794/contribution/7</a> (2018)</li><li>Weekley, C. M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Speciation+of+Seleno-amino+Acids+by+Human+Cancer+Cells:+X-ray+Absorption+and+Fluorescence+Methods.">Speciation of Seleno-amino Acids by Human Cancer Cells: X-ray Absorption and Fluorescence Methods.</a> Biochemistry. 50 (10), 1641-1650 (2011).</li><li>Sutak, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+comparative+study+of+iron+uptake+mechanisms+in+marine+microalgae:+Iron+binding+at+the+cell+surface+is+a+critical+step.">A comparative study of iron uptake mechanisms in marine microalgae: Iron binding at the cell surface is a critical step.</a> Plant Physiology. 160, 2271-2284 (2012).</li><li>Asakura, K., Abe, H., Kimura, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+challenge+of+constructing+an+international+XAFS+database.">The challenge of constructing an international XAFS database.</a> Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 25 (4), 967-971 (2018).</li><li>SSHADE: "Solid Spectroscopy Hosting Architecture of Databases and Expertise" and its databases. OSUG Data Center. Service/Database Infrastructure Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sshade.eu/">https://www.sshade.eu/</a> (2018)</li><li>Bissardon, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sub-ppm+high+energy+resolution+fluorescence+detected+X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+of+selenium+in+articular+cartilage.">Sub-ppm high energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy of selenium in articular cartilage.</a> Analyst. 144 (11), 3488-3493 (2019).</li><li>Ravel, B., Newville, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ATHENA,+ARTEMIS,+HEPHAESTUS:+data+analysis+for+X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+using+IFEFFIT.">ATHENA, ARTEMIS, HEPHAESTUS: data analysis for X-ray absorption spectroscopy using IFEFFIT.</a> Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 12 (4), 537-541 (2005).</li><li>Webb, S. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=SIXpack:+a+graphical+user+interface+for+XAS+analysis+using+IFEFFIT.">SIXpack: a graphical user interface for XAS analysis using IFEFFIT.</a> Physica Scripta. 115, 1011 (2005).</li><li>Klementiev, K. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=VIPER+for+Windows.">VIPER for Windows.</a> Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 34 (2), 209-217 (2001).</li><li>Newville, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Fundamental+of+XAFS.">Fundamental of XAFS.</a> Reviews in Mineralogy &amp; Geochemistry. 78, 33-74 (2014).</li><li>Henderson, G. S., de Groot, F. M. F., Moulton, B. J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=X-ray+Absorption+Near-Edge+Structure+(XANES)+Spectroscopy.">X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES) Spectroscopy.</a> Reviews in Mineralogy &amp; Geochemistry. 78, 75-138 (2014).</li><li>Ortega, R., Carmona, A., Llorens, I., Solari, P. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+of+biological+samples.+A+tutorial.">X-ray absorption spectroscopy of biological samples. A tutorial.</a> Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 27, 2054-2065 (2012).</li><li>Se K edge XAS HERFD of selenium with various oxidation states at 10K. SSHADE/FAME Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.26302/SSHADE/EXPERIMENT_CB_20190408_001">https://doi.org/10.26302/SSHADE/EXPERIMENT_CB_20190408_001</a> (2019)</li><li>George, G. N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=X-ray-induced+photo-chemistry+and+X-ray+absorption+spectroscopy+of+biological+samples.">X-ray-induced photo-chemistry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy of biological samples.</a> Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 19, 875-886 (2012).</li></ol>

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

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...

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 detected XAS (HERFD-XAS), which allows a very low signal-to-background ratio1, are available at synchrotron sources to speciate highly diluted elements in complex biological matrices2,3. Conventional fluorescence-XAS measurements can be performed using an energy resolved solid state detector (SSD) with an energy bandwidth ~150&#8211;250 eV, on the CRG-FAME beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)4, while HERFD-XAS measurements need a crystal analyzer spectrometer (CAS), with an energy bandwidth ~1&#8211;3 eV, on the CRG-FAME-UHD beamline at the ESRF2. Fluorescence photons are discriminated with respect to their energy with electronic or optical processes respectively.
The sample cryo-preparation is essential to preserve structures and maintain compositional chemical integrity, thus allowing analysis close to the biological native state5. Moreover, analyses performed at cryogenic temperatures as low as 10 K using liquid helium cryogenic cooling (LN2), allow radiation damage to slow down and preserve elemental speciation for XAS. Although some reviews on XAS techniques applied to biological samples report the necessity to prepare and analyze samples in cryogenic conditions (e.g., Sarret et al.6, Porcaro et al.7), none of them clearly describes the related detailed protocol. In this publication, a method for cryo-preparation of cancer cells and plankton microorganisms is described for HERFD-XAS speciation of Se8 and Fe9 at cryogenic temperature.
Good practice for sample preparation and environment during state-of-the-art XAS spectroscopy measurements require 1) a setup; 2) an analysis procedure that limits the effects of radiation damage as much as possible; and 3) a sample (or model compound reference) as homogeneous as possible with respect to the X-ray photons beam size. The first item is taken into account by performing the acquisition at a low temperature, using a liquid helium cryostat. The second item is dealt with by performing each acquisition on a fresh area of the sample by moving it with respect to the beam. Finally, considering the third condition, samples (pellets) and references (powders) are conditioned in pressed bulk pellets in order to limit porosities and inhomogeneities as much as possible, and to avoid roughness with respect to the beam size on the X-ray probed sample surface. We explain how the protocol deals with all of these points.
We used human prostate cell line PC-3 (high metastatic potential) and ovarian cell line OVCAR-3 (which accounts for up to 70% of all ovarian cancer cases) to investigate the antiproliferative properties towards cancer cells of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), and Phaeodactylum tricornutum diatom as a model species to investigate iron sequestration in phytoplankton.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:2175px;" width="2174">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:352px;">Ammonium nitrate</td>
			<td style="width:208px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:389px;">A3795</td>
			<td style="width:1225px;">NH4NO3, 2.66 mg/L of milliQ water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anaerobic chamber</td>
			<td>Coy Laboratory, USA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>equipped with Anaerobic Monitor (CAM-12)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Antibiotic stock</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A0166 for ampicillin, S9137 for streptomycin sulfate</td>
			<td>1 mL/L of milliQ water (ampicillin sodium and streptomycin sulfate, 100 mg/mL)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Boron nitride powder</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td align="right">255475</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Cell counting chamber</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Neubauer or Malassez</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Cell scraper</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Dulbecco&#39;s Phosphate Buffered Saline (DPBS)</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td>14190-094</td>
			<td>Without Calcium, Magnesium, Phenol Red</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Eppendorf tubes</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>0.5 mL and 1.5 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Falcon tubes</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>15 mL and 50 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Ferric citrate Fe/citrate = 1/20</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>F3388</td>
			<td>aqueous solution of FeCl3 50 mM and Na-citrate 1M pH 6.5</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Fetal Bovine Serum</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td>A31604-02</td>
			<td>Performance Plus, certified One Shot format, US origin</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Flasks</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>Z707503</td>
			<td>TPP 150 cm2 area</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Growth chamber</td>
			<td>Sanyo</td>
			<td>Sanyo MLR-352</td>
			<td>at 20 &#176;C and under a 12:12 light (3,000 lux) dark regime</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">HEPES buffer</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>H4034</td>
			<td>1 g/L of milliQ water HEPES</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">High grade serous, OVCAR-3</td>
			<td>ATCC, Rockville, MD</td>
			<td>HTB-161</td>
			<td>Storage temperature: liquid nitrogen vapor temperature</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Incubator</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Incubator at 37&#176;C, humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Insulin solution from bovine pancreas</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>I0516</td>
			<td>10 mg/mL insulin in 25mM HEPES, pH 8.2, BioReagent, sterile-filtered, suitable for cell culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Manual hydraulic press</td>
			<td>Specac, USA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum</td>
			<td>Roscoff culture collection</td>
			<td>RCC69</td>
			<td>http://roscoff-culture-collection.org/rcc-strain-details/69</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Morpholinepropanesulfonic acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M3183</td>
			<td>MOPS, 250 mg/L of milliQ water (pH 7.3)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Optical microscope</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">PC-3</td>
			<td>ECCAC, Salisbury, UK</td>
			<td align="right">90112714</td>
			<td>Storage temperature: liquid nitrogen vapor temperature</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Penicillin-Streptomycin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P4333</td>
			<td>Solution stabilized, with 10,000 units penicillin and 10 mg streptomycin/mL, sterile-filtered, BioReagent, suitable for cell culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Pipette-boy</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>25mL-, 10mL-, and 5mL sterile plastic-pipettes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Plankton culture products, Mf medium: Sea salts</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9883</td>
			<td>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</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Plastic tweezers</td>
			<td>Oxford Instrument</td>
			<td>AGT 5230</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">RPMI MEDIUM 1640 (ATCC Modification)</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td>A10491-01</td>
			<td>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</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), BSA coated, 2 mg/mL</td>
			<td>NANOCS Company, USA</td>
			<td>Se50-BS-1</td>
			<td>BSA stabilized Se-NPs solution. Average size about 30 nm. Stored at 4&#176;C in the dark, protected from the light.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), Chitosan coated, 2 mg/mL</td>
			<td>NANOCS Company, USA</td>
			<td>11. Se50-CS-1</td>
			<td>Chitosan stabilized Se-NPs solution. Average size about 30 nm. Stored at 4&#176;C in the dark, protected from the light.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodium metasilicate pentahydrate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td align="right">71746</td>
			<td>Na2SiO3.5H2O, 22.8 mg/L of milliQ water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodium nitrate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5022</td>
			<td>NaNO3, 75 mg/L of milliQ water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodium phosphate monobasic</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5011</td>
			<td>NaH2PO4, 15 mg/L of milliQ water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">T-75 flasks</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Tissue culture hood</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Trace metal stock</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M5005, Z1001, M1651, C2911, 450243, 451193, 229857</td>
			<td>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)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Trypan Blue Solution (0.4%)</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td align="right">15250061</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Trypsin-EDTA (0.05%), phenol red</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td>25300-054</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Vitamin stock</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T1270 for thiamine, B4639 for biotin, V6629 for B12</td>
			<td>1 mL/L of milliQ water (thiamine HCl 20 mg/L, biotin 1 mg/L, B12 1 mg/L)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Water bath 37&#176;C</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

biological samples preparation for speciation at cryogenic temperature using high-resolution  x-ray absorption spectroscopy

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.

The main aims of these preparations were to investigate the interaction between selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) and cancer cells, and iron binding and sequestration in phytoplankton.
HERFD-XANES spectra of the selenium in the initial state (BSA Se-NPs) and in cells incubated in nutritive medium (BSA Se-NPs after 24 h incubation) are shown in Figure 10. Results showed that selenium in the initial Se-NPs was present as both Se(0) and selenite-like forms, ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Biological Samples Preparation for Speciation at Cryogenic Temperature using High-Resolution  X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy at JoVE.com

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

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.

The study of elements with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is of particular interest when studying the role of metals in biological systems. Sample ...

biological-samples-preparation-for-speciation-at-cryogenic

Research

JoVE Journal

Chemistry

2.4K Views.  INSERM UA7, Synchrotron Radiation for Biomedicine (STROBE). 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.

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

Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS)

Here we present a workflow to analyze the metabolic profiles for biological samples of interest including; cells, serum, or tissue. The sample is first separated into polar and non-polar fractions by a liquid-liquid phase extraction, and partially purified to facilitate downstream analysis. Both aqueous (polar metabolites) and organic (non-polar metabolites) phases of the initial extraction are processed to survey a broad range of metabolites. Metabolites are separated by different liquid chromatography methods based upon their partition properties. In this method, we present microflow ultra-performance (UP)LC methods, but the protocol is scalable to higher flows and lower pressures. Introduction into the mass spectrometer can be through either general or compound optimized source conditions. Detection of a broad range of ions is carried out in full scan mode in both positive and negative mode over a broad m/z range using high resolution on a recently calibrated instrument. Label-free differential analysis is carried out on bioinformatics platforms. Applications of this approach include metabolic pathway screening, biomarker discovery, and drug development.

Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry UPLC-HRMS

Untargeted metabolomics provides a hypothesis generating snapshot of a metabolic profile. This protocol will demonstrate the extraction and analysis of metabolites from cells, serum, or tissue. A range of metabolites are surveyed using liquid-liquid phase extraction, microflow ultraperformance liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) coupled to differential analysis software.

Here we present a workflow to analyze the metabolic profiles for biological samples of interest including; cells, serum, or tissue. The sample is first ...

Preparing Adherent Cells for X-ray Fluorescence Imaging by Chemical Fixation

X-ray fluorescence imaging allows us to non-destructively measure the spatial distribution and concentration of multiple elements simultaneously over large or small sample areas. It has been applied in many areas of science, including materials science, geoscience, studying works of cultural heritage, and in chemical biology. In the case of chemical biology, for example, visualizing the metal distributions within cells allows us to study both naturally-occurring metal ions in the cells, as well as exogenously-introduced metals such as drugs and nanoparticles. Due to the fully hydrated nature of nearly all biological samples, cryo-fixation followed by imaging under cryogenic temperature represents the ideal imaging modality currently available. However, under the circumstances that such a combination is not easily accessible or practical, aldehyde based chemical fixation remains useful and sometimes inevitable. This article describes in as much detail as possible in the preparation of adherent mammalian cells by chemical fixation for X-ray fluorescent imaging.

Here, we present a protocol on how to determine the quantity and distribution of metals in a sample using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence. We focus on adherent cells, and describe the chemical fixation method to prepare this sample. We then describe how to mount and image the sample using synchrotron X-rays.

X-ray fluorescence imaging allows us to non-destructively measure the spatial distribution and concentration of multiple elements simultaneously over ...

Preparation of Carbon Nanosheets at Room Temperature

Amphiphilic molecules equipped with a reactive, carbon-rich "oligoyne" segment consisting of conjugated carbon-carbon triple bonds self-assemble into defined aggregates in aqueous media and at the air-water interface. In the aggregated state, the oligoynes can then be carbonized under mild conditions while preserving the morphology and the embedded chemical functionalization. This novel approach provides direct access to functionalized carbon nanomaterials. In this article, we present a synthetic approach that allows us to prepare hexayne carboxylate amphiphiles as carbon-rich siblings of typical fatty acid esters through a series of repeated bromination and Negishi-type cross-coupling reactions. The obtained compounds are designed to self-assemble into monolayers at the air-water interface, and we show how this can be achieved in a Langmuir trough. Thus, compression of the molecules at the air-water interface triggers the film formation and leads to a densely packed layer of the molecules. The complete carbonization of the films at the air-water interface is then accomplished by cross-linking of the hexayne layer at room temperature, using UV irradiation as a mild external stimulus. The changes in the layer during this process can be monitored with the help of infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy and Brewster angle microscopy. Moreover, a transfer of the carbonized films onto solid substrates by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique has enabled us to prove that they were carbon nanosheets with lateral dimensions on the order of centimeters.

We present the synthesis of an amphiphilic hexayne and its use in the preparation of carbon nanosheets at the air-water interface from a self-assembled monolayer of these reactive, carbon-rich molecular precursors.

Amphiphilic molecules equipped with a reactive, carbon-rich "oligoyne" segment consisting of conjugated carbon-carbon triple bonds self-assemble into ...

Rapid High-throughput Species Identification of Botanical Material Using Direct Analysis in Real Time High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

We demonstrate that direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry can be used to produce mass spectral profiles of botanical material, and that these chemical fingerprints can be used for plant species identification. The mass spectral data can be acquired rapidly and in a high throughput manner without the need for sample extraction, derivatization or pH adjustment steps. The use of this technique bypasses challenges presented by more conventional techniques including lengthy chromatography analysis times and resource intensive methods. The high throughput capabilities of the direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry protocol, coupled with multivariate statistical analysis processing of the data, provide not only class characterization of plants, but also yield species and varietal information. Here, the technique is demonstrated with two psychoactive plant products, Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) and Datura (Jimsonweed), which were subjected to direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry followed by statistical analysis processing of the mass spectral data. The application of these tools in tandem enabled the plant materials to be rapidly identified at the level of variety and species.

A method for species identification of botanical material by direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis is presented.

We demonstrate that direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry can be used to produce mass spectral profiles of botanical material, ...

Quantifying X-Ray Fluorescence Data Using MAPS

The quantification of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy maps by fitting the raw spectra to a known standard is crucial for evaluating chemical composition and elemental distribution within a material. Synchrotron-based XRF has become an integral characterization technique for a variety of research topics, particularly due to its non-destructive nature and its high sensitivity. Today, synchrotrons can acquire fluorescence data at spatial resolutions well below a micron, allowing for the evaluation of compositional variations at the nanoscale. Through proper quantification, it is then possible to obtain an in-depth, high-resolution understanding of elemental segregation, stoichiometric relationships, and clustering behavior.
This article explains how to use the MAPS fitting software developed by Argonne National Laboratory for the quantification of full 2-D XRF maps. We use as an example results from a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell, taken at the Advanced Photon Source beamline 2-ID-D at Argonne National Laboratory. We show the standard procedure for fitting raw data, demonstrate how to evaluate the quality of a fit and present the typical outputs generated by the program. In addition, we discuss in this manuscript certain software limitations and offer suggestions for how to further correct the data to be numerically accurate and representative of spatially resolved, elemental concentrations.

Here, we demonstrate the use of the X-ray fluorescence fitting software, MAPS, created by Argonne National Laboratory for the quantification of fluorescence microscopy data. The quantified data that results is useful for understanding the elemental distribution and stoichiometric ratios within a sample of interest.

The quantification of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy maps by fitting the raw spectra to a known standard is crucial for evaluating chemical ...

Total Internal Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (TIRAS) for the Detection of Solvated Electrons at a Plasma-liquid Interface

The total internal reflection absorption spectroscopy (TIRAS) method presented in this article uses an inexpensive diode laser to detect solvated electrons produced by a low-temperature plasma in contact with an aqueous solution. Solvated electrons are powerful reducing agents, and it has been postulated that they play an important role in the interfacial chemistry between a gaseous plasma or discharge and a conductive liquid. However, due to the high local concentrations of reactive species at the interface, they have a short average lifetime (~1 &#181;s), which makes them extremely difficult to detect. The TIRAS technique uses a unique total internal reflection geometry combined with amplitude-modulated lock-in amplification to distinguish solvated electrons&#39; absorbance signal from other spurious noise sources. This enables the in situ detection of short-lived intermediates in the interfacial region, as opposed to the bulk measurement of stable products in the solution. This approach is especially attractive for the field of plasma electrochemistry, where much of the important chemistry is driven by short-lived free radicals. This experimental method has been used to analyze the reduction of nitrite (NO2-(aq)), nitrate (NO3-(aq)), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2(aq)), and dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2(aq)) by plasma-solvated electrons and deduce effective rate constants. Limitations of the method may arise in the presence of unintended parallel reactions, such as air contamination in the plasma, and absorbance measurements may also be hindered by the precipitation of reduced electrochemical products. Overall, the TIRAS method can be a powerful tool for studying the plasma-liquid interface, but its effectiveness depends on the particular system and reaction chemistry under study.

Total Internal Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy TIRAS for the Detection of Solvated Electrons at a Plasma-liquid Interface

This article presents a total internal reflection absorption spectroscopy (TIRAS) method for measuring short-lived free radicals at a plasma-liquid interface. In particular, TIRAS is used to identify solvated electrons based on their optical absorbance of red light near 700 nm.

The total internal reflection absorption spectroscopy (TIRAS) method presented in this article uses an inexpensive diode laser to detect solvated ...

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

This protocol describes fabricating microfluidic devices with low X-ray background optimized for goniometer based fixed target serial crystallography. The devices are patterned from epoxy glue using soft lithography and are suitable for in situ X-ray diffraction experiments at room temperature. The sample wells are lidded on both sides with polymeric polyimide foil windows that allow diffraction data collection with low X-ray background. This fabrication method is undemanding and inexpensive. After the sourcing of a SU-8 master wafer, all fabrication can be completed outside of a cleanroom in a typical research lab environment. The chip design and fabrication protocol utilize capillary valving to microfluidically split an aqueous reaction into defined nanoliter sized droplets. This loading mechanism avoids the sample loss from channel dead-volume and can easily be performed manually without using pumps or other equipment for fluid actuation. We describe how isolated nanoliter sized drops of protein solution can be monitored in situ by dynamic light scattering to control protein crystal nucleation and growth. After suitable crystals are grown, complete X-ray diffraction datasets can be collected using goniometer based in situ fixed target serial X-ray crystallography at room temperature. The protocol provides custom scripts to process diffraction datasets using a suite of software tools to solve and refine the protein crystal structure. This approach avoids the artefacts possibly induced during cryo-preservation or manual crystal handling in conventional crystallography experiments. We present and compare three protein structures that were solved using small crystals with dimensions of approximately 10-20 &#181;m grown in chip. By crystallizing and diffracting in situ, handling and hence mechanical disturbances of fragile crystals is minimized. The protocol details how to fabricate a custom X-ray transparent microfluidic chip suitable for in situ serial crystallography. As almost every crystal can be used for diffraction data collection, these microfluidic chips are a very efficient crystal delivery method.

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

This protocol describes in detail how to fabricate and operate microfluidic devices for X-ray diffraction data collection at room temperature. Additionally, it describes how to monitor protein crystallization by dynamic light scattering and how to process and analyze obtained diffraction data.

This protocol describes fabricating microfluidic devices with low X-ray background optimized for goniometer based fixed target serial crystallography. The ...

Essential Metal Uptake in Gram-negative Bacteria: X-ray Fluorescence, Radioisotopes, and Cell Fractionation

We demonstrate a scalable method for the separation of the bacterial periplasm from the cytoplasm. This method is used to purify periplasmic protein for the purpose of biophysical characterization, and measure substrate transfer between periplasmic and cytoplasmic compartments. By carefully limiting the time that the periplasm is separated from the cytoplasm, the experimenter can extract the protein of interest and assay each compartment individually for substrate without carry-over contamination between compartments. The extracted protein from fractionation can then be further analyzed for three-dimensional structure determination or substrate-binding profiles. Alternatively, this method can be performed after incubation with a radiotracer to determine total percent uptake, as well as distribution of the tracer (and hence metal transport) across different bacterial compartments. Experimentation with a radiotracer can help differentiate between a physiological substrate and artefactual substrate, such as those caused by mismetallation.
X-ray fluorescence can be used to discover the presence or absence of metal incorporation in a sample, as well as measure changes that may occur in metal incorporation as a product of growth conditions, purification conditions, and/or crystallization conditions. X-ray fluorescence also provides a relative measure of abundance for each metal, which can be used to determine the best metal energy absorption peak to use for anomalous X-ray scattering data collection. Radiometal uptake can be used as a method to validate the physiological nature of a substrate detected by X-ray fluorescence, as well as support the discovery of novel substrates.

A protocol for the extraction of a periplasmic transition metal chaperone in the context of its native binding partners, and biophysical characterization of its substrate contents by X-ray fluorescence and radiometal uptake is presented.

We demonstrate a scalable method for the separation of the bacterial periplasm from the cytoplasm. This method is used to purify periplasmic protein for ...

Elemental-sensitive Detection of the Chemistry in Batteries through Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering

Energy storage has become more and more a limiting factor of today's sustainable energy applications, including electric vehicles and green electric grid based on volatile solar and wind sources. The pressing demand of developing high-performance electrochemical energy storage solutions, i.e., batteries, relies on both fundamental understanding and practical developments from both the academy and industry. The formidable challenge of developing successful battery technology stems from the different requirements for different energy-storage applications. Energy density, power, stability, safety, and cost parameters all have to be balanced in batteries to meet the requirements of different applications. Therefore, multiple battery technologies based on different materials and mechanisms need to be developed and optimized. Incisive tools that could directly probe the chemical reactions in various battery materials are becoming critical to advance the field beyond its conventional trial-and-error approach. Here, we present detailed protocols for soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS), soft X-ray emission spectroscopy (sXES), and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments, which are inherently elemental-sensitive probes of the transition-metal 3d and anion 2p states in battery compounds. We provide the details on the experimental techniques and demonstrations revealing the key chemical states in battery materials through these soft X-ray spectroscopy techniques.

Here, we present a protocol for typical experiments of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) with applications in battery material studies.

Energy storage has become more and more a limiting factor of today's sustainable energy applications, including electric vehicles and green electric grid ...

Improving High Viscosity Extrusion of Microcrystals for Time-resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography at X-ray Lasers

High-viscosity micro-extrusion injectors have dramatically reduced sample consumption in serial femtosecond crystallographic experiments (SFX) at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). A series of experiments using the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin have further established these injectors as a preferred option to deliver crystals for time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) to resolve structural changes of proteins after photoactivation. To obtain multiple structural snapshots of high quality, it is essential to collect large amounts of data and ensure clearance of crystals between every pump laser pulse. Here, we describe in detail how we optimized the extrusion of bacteriorhodopsin microcrystals for our recent TR-SFX experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The goal of the method is to optimize extrusion for a stable and continuous flow while maintaining a high density of crystals to increase the rate at which data can be collected in a TR-SFX experiment. We achieve this goal by preparing lipidic cubic phase with a homogenous distribution of crystals using a novel three-way syringe coupling device followed by adjusting the sample composition based on measurements of the extrusion stability taken with a high-speed camera setup. The methodology can be adapted to optimize the flow of other microcrystals. The setup will be available for users of the new Swiss Free Electron Laser facility.

The success of a time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography experiment is dependent on efficient sample delivery. Here, we describe protocols to optimize the extrusion of bacteriorhodopsin microcrystals from a high viscosity micro-extrusion injector. The methodology relies on sample homogenization with a novel three-way coupler and visualization with a high-speed camera.

High-viscosity micro-extrusion injectors have dramatically reduced sample consumption in serial femtosecond crystallographic experiments (SFX) at X-ray ...