ANSTO's research capabilities, led by the OPAL nuclear research reactor and associated instruments provide access to users investigating areas as diverse as materials, life sciences, climate change and mining/engineering.
Combining histopathology with elemental analysis to investigate processes in brain injury
Elemental analysis of brain injury in vitro using micro-PIXE
These studies utilised a multimodal approach to investigate processes involved in brain injury, combining histopathology with elemental analysis of thin sections of brain. Elemental analysis was performed at the Centre for Accelerator Science at ANSTO using the ANSTO heavy ion microprobe for proton induced x-ray emission spectroscopy (micro-PIXE). Recent studies have shown increases in Calcium ions (Ca+2) concentrations in vitro that correlated with the site of excitotoxic brain injury (as shown in the histopathology).
