Open AccessCoupling transmission electron microscopy with synchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence microscopy to image vascular copper
Author(s) -
Qin Zhenyu,
Lai Barry,
Landero Julio,
Caruso Joseph A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s090904951203405x
Subject(s) - copper , transmission electron microscopy , synchrotron radiation , microscopy , monolayer , synchrotron , fluorescence microscope , electron microscope , materials science , chemistry , fluorescence , physics , nanotechnology , optics , metallurgy
Recently, using synchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence microscopy (SRXRF), the copper accumulation in rat aortic elastin and copper topography in human THP‐1 cell monolayer have been described. However, it is necessary to locate more accurately cellular copper in the vascular cells and tissues. In the current study, SRXRF coupling with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to image copper in sections of human THP‐1 cells and mouse aorta. The results showed that sections of 1 µm thickness are required for SRXRF producing a correlative image with TEM between copper topography and cellular ultrastructure. As compared with SRXRF alone, coupling TEM with SRXRF can clearly identify the location of copper in the nucleus and nucleolus in non‐dividing THP‐1 cell sections, and can differentiate the copper location at elastic laminae from collagen in mouse aortic sections. Thus, these results revealed new information about the copper topography in vascular cells and tissues and highlighted the potential of TEM‐SRXRF to investigate the role of copper in macrophage and aortic homeostasis.