X-ray microscopy of biological and polymer systems

J. Electron Spectroscopy 144–147 (2005) 259–269

Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy of biological and synthetic polymer systems

Adam P. Hitchcock (a), Cynthia Morin(a), Xuerong Zhang (a), Tohru Arak(a), Jay Dynes(a), Harald Stöver(a), John Brash(a), John R. Lawrence(b) and Gary G. Leppard(c)

a Brockhouse Institute of Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada L8S 4M1
b National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Blvd, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada S7N 3H5
c National Water Research Institute, 867 Lakeshore Road, P.O. Box 5050, Burlington, Ont., Canada L7R 4A6

Abstract: - Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (X-PEEM) are synchrotron based, soft X-ray spectromicroscopy techniques, which provide chemical speciation at better than 50 nm spatial resolution based on near edge X-ray absorption spectral (NEXAFS) contrast. The instrumentation and acquisition protocols for these microscopies are described. Methods for converting image sequences to quantitative maps of chemical components are outlined and illustrated with applications to characterization of wet biofilms, optimization of the microstructure of synthetic polymers, and studies of protein interactions with patterned polymer surfaces.

Keywords: Soft X-ray microscopy; NEXAFS; STXM; PEEM; Biofilms; Microspheres; Tectocapsules; Biomaterials