Nanoprobe beamline (NANO)

First-row transition metals including manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) play key roles in biological systems, and are a co-factor in an estimated 30% of proteins.  The Nanoprobe will provide a unique ability to map the distribution of these elements with high sensitivity and organelle-level resolution within biological systems such as cells and tissues to deliver insights into a range of questions in inorganic biochemistry with applications in eg mechanisms, pathology, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and other diseases of aging.

Micronutrients such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) are essential to human nutrition. Simultaneously, toxic elements such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) can be taken up by plants and so enter the food chain.  Mapping the distributions of these elements within soils, fertilisers, root systems, stems and leaves will deliver insights into uptake, storage and biological fate of these metals and so enable improvements to the food chain with the potential to impact global food security.

Nanomaterials technology is a key driver for manufacturing industry, and the Nanoprobe will provide a cutting-edge technique known as ptychography to provide high sensitivity imaging of larger nanoparticles at the 15 nm length scale.  In addition, the ~60 nm X-ray probe will enable studies employing fluorescence, diffraction and scattering from small volumes within a specimen.  The ability to employ both methods on a specimen within the one instrument will enable insights into nanostructure and function.

Nanoscale distributions of environmental toxins are elucidated using the Nanoprobe.  Examples include

• Distribution and speciation of toxic metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) in mine tailings and groundwater
• Uptake pathways afforded by plants
• Remediation pathways afforded by both plants and mineralogy

Mineralogy occurs across length-scales ranging from the nanometre to the kilometre.  Providing insight bridging from the nanoscale to the microscale, the Nanoprobe will complement the XFM beamline (itself bridging the microscale to the decimetre scale) to provide a combination of detail and context that illuminates mineralogy and thus geological processes.  Strategies for mining and exploration will be improved through studies of gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and uranium (U) bearing ore deposits, with the ability to probe chemical speciation providing key insights difficult if not impossible to obtain using other methods.

Understanding of the distribution and speciation of elements within art and artefacts can provide essential clues into origin, provenance, history, and genesis.  Examples include:

• Chemical fingerprinting of ochres provides insights into the early Australian trading routes and so the extent of relations between aboriginal tribes.
• Chemical speciation studies of pigments in older paintings can greatly assist understanding of painting degradation and remediation

The applications of the Nanoprobe are very broad – this reflects the both the importance of metals to life and technology and the fact that you can put just about anything under a microscope!  The unique capabilities of the Nanoprobe – exquisite elemental sensitivity, high resolution, high penetration – make it a key instrument for addressing nanoscale structure – function relations across a broad range of science.  Taken from operating international facilities, specific examples of the kinds of measurements that we aim to deliver are listed below.

Elemental distributions in frozen-hydrated Chlamydomonoas (green algae) measured using the Advanced Photon Source BioNanoprobe, alongside complementary ptychographic imaging.
From Deng et al, Scientific Reports (2017). 

Ptychography is a computationally-intensive method that provides access to high-resolution imaging, and will be able to resolve features down towards 15 nm with the Nanoprobe beamline.

Ptychography of an integrated circuit fabricated with 16 nm technology. The apparent ‘hatching’ is due to these 16-nm vias and interconnects within the chip.  Brighter colours indicate higher projected electron density. 
Deng et al; Review of Scientific Instruments, 90, 083701 (2019)

Elemental tomography of a diatom at 400-nm resolution reveals distribution of elements at micro-molar concentrations.  We anticipate that such a measurement could be completed in one shift (8 hours) using the Nanoprobe.  From de Jonge et al, PNAS (2010). 

X-ray microprobes and nanoprobes are commonly used to perform local tests of chemical speciation (oxidation state), but the Nanoprobe will leverage world-leading expertise at the XFM beamline to deliver XANES imaging at the Nanoscale.

Imaging of chromium (Cr) speciation within a paint sample from van Gogh, showing alteration of Cr chemistry due to degradation. Data from the ESRF, ID21. From Monico et al, JAAS (2014).