A Focused Ion Beam based in-situ cryo high resolution instrument for multimodal analysis in nano-biology

Studying the interaction of nano-particles with biological tissue at the nanometer scale in a form as close as possible to the native wet environment is a key challenge in many nano-toxicological questions. The nanomaterial risk identification involves their physico-chemical characterization currently employing a variety of techniques and separate instruments. This makes the characterization an expensive and time-consuming process.
Here, we are developing a new integrated instrument for the ion beam based characterization of nanoparticles. The aim is to improve the efficiency of the nanomaterial characterization workflow by integrating several ion beam based techniques in one single instrument. The npSCOPE instrument is based on the well known Helium Ion Microscope technology [1] allowing the sample to be irradiated with very finely focused He + and Ne + ion beams at the nanometer-scale. Furthermore, the instrument incorporates detectors for secondary electron imaging, a secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) for chemical analysis [2] and a detector allowing the detection of transmitted ions/atoms to obtain in-situ structural/3D visualisation data (STIM) [3]. The instrument will allow the characterization of nanoparticles in their native state as well as embedded in complex matrices (e.g. biological tissue, liquid, etc.). A further key feature of the instrument is cryo-capability, including a 5 axis cryo-stage, in order to perform analyses of biological samples in a frozen-hydrated state and thus avoid artefacts caused by classical sample preparation (e.g. chemical fixation) used for HV or UHV imaging of biological specimens at room temperature.
Here, we will present the instrument, report on the instrument’s performance and discuss the correlative microscopy capabilities. We will present first results obtained with the npSCOPE instrument on different kinds of nano-particle samples relevant in the field of nano-toxicology.
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(For further information please visit www.npscope.eu)
[1] G. Hlawacek, A. Golzhä user (eds.), Helium Ion Microscopy (2016) Springer.
[2] T. Wirtz, O. De Castro, J.-N. Audinot, P. Philipp, Ann. Rev. Anal. Chem. 12 (2019).
[3] E. Serralta, Nico Klingner, Olivier De Castro, Michael Mousley, Santhana Eswara, Serge Duarte Pinto, Tom Wirtz, Gregor Hlawacek; Scanning transmission imaging in the helium ion microscope using a microchannel plate with a delay line detector, submitted to Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology (2020).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 720964.