Read-out of soft X-ray contact microscopy microradiographs by focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope.
A novel focused ion beam-based technique is presented for the read-out of microradiographs of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes generated by soft x-ray contact microscopy (SXCM). In previous studies, the read-out was performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), but in our work SXCM microradiographs were imaged by scanning ion microscopy (SIM) in a focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM). It allows an ad libitum selection of a sample region for gross morphologic to nanometric investigations, with a sequence of imaging and cutting. The FIB/SEM is less sensitive to height variation of the relief, and sectioning makes it possible to analyse the sample further. The SXCM can be coupled to SIM in a more efficient and faster way than to AFM. Scanning ion microscopy is the method of choice for the read-out of microradiographs of small multicellular organisms.
Milani
Marziale
M
Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy. marziale.milani@mater.unimib.it
Drobne
Damjana
D
Tatti
Francesco
F
Batani
Dimitri
D
Poletti
Giulio
G
Orsini
Francesco
F
Zullini
Aldo
A
Zrimec
Alexis
A
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007477:Ions; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods*
D007477:Ions