Sub-micrometre holotomographic characterisation of the effects of solution heat treatment on an AlMg7.3Si3.5 alloy

A strip cast AlMg7.3Si3.5 alloy is investigated by sub-micrometre holotomographic analysis achieving a voxel size of (60 nm)(3) by cone beam magnification of the focused synchrotron beam using Kirkpatrick-Baez mirrors. The three-dimensional microstructure of the same specimen volume in the as-cast state is compared with that after exposure to 540 degrees C for 30 min resolving microstructural features down to 180 nm. The three-dimensional analysis of the architecture of the eutectic Mg2Si and the Fe-aluminides reveals how the as-cast microstructure changes during the solution treatment. The alloy in the as-cast condition contains a highly interconnected seaweed-like Mg2Si eutectic. The level of three-dimensional interconnectivity of the Mg2Si eutectic phase decreases by only partial disintegration during the heat treatment correcting the two-dimensional metallographic impression of isolated round particles. Statistical analyses of the particle distribution, sphericity, mean curvatures and Gaussian curvatures describe quantitatively the architectural changes of the Mg2Si phase. This explains the decrease of the high temperature strength of the alloy by the solution treatment tested in hot compression. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Effect of solution heat treatment on the internal architecture and compressive strength of an AlMg4.7Si8 alloy

The evolution of the microstructure of an AlMg4.7Si8 alloy is investigated by scanning electron microscopy and ex situ synchrotron tomography in as-cast condition and subsequent solution treatments for 1 h and 25 h at 540 °C, respectively. The eutectic Mg2Si phase, which presents a highly interconnected structure in the as-cast condition, undergoes significant morphological changes during the solution heat treatment. Statistical analyses of the particle distribution, the sphericity, the mean curvatures and Gaussian curvatures describe the disintegration of the interconnected seaweed-like structure followed by the rounding of the disintegrated fractions of the eutectic branches quantitatively. The ternary eutectic Si resulting from the Si-surplus to the stoichiometric Mg2Si ratio of the alloy undergoes similar changes. The morphological evolution during solution heat treatment is correlated with results of elevated temperature compression tests at 300 °C. The elevated temperature compressive strength is more sensitive to the degree of interconnectivity of the three dimensional Mg2Si network than to the shape of the individual particles. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Nuclear incorporation of iron during the eukaryotic cell cycle

Scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy has been used to probe the distribution of S, P and Fe within cell nuclei. Nuclei, which may have originated at different phases of the cell cycle, are found to show very different levels of Fe present with a strongly inhomogeneous distribution. P and S signals, presumably from DNA and associated nucleosomes, are high and relatively uniform across all the nuclei; these agree with X-ray phase contrast projection microscopy images of the same samples. Possible reasons for the Fe incorporation are discussed

Combined use of x-ray fluorescence microscopy, phase contrast imaging for high resolution quantitative iron mapping in inflamed cells

X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) is a powerful technique to detect and localize elements in cells. To derive information useful for biology and medicine, it is essential not only to localize, but also to map quantitatively the element concentration. Here we applied quantitative XRFM to iron in phagocytic cells. Iron, a primary component of living cells, can become toxic when present in excess. In human fluids, free iron is maintained at 10-18 M concentration thanks to iron binding proteins as lactoferrin (Lf). The iron homeostasis, involving the physiological ratio of iron between tissues/secretions and blood, is strictly regulated by ferroportin, the sole protein able to export iron from cells to blood. Inflammatory processes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or bacterial pathoge inhibit ferroportin synthesis in epithelial and phagocytic cells thus hindering iron export, increasing intracellular iron and bacterial multiplication. In this respect, Lf is emerging as an important regulator of both iron and inflammatory homeostasis. Here we studied phagocytic cells inflamed by bacterial LPS and untreated or treated with milk derived bovine Lf. Quantitative mapping of iron concentration and mass fraction at high spatial resolution is obtained combining X-ray fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy and synchrotron phase contrast imaging

Reconstruction 3D en tomographie par rayonnement synchrotron coherent

Un système de microtomographie 3D utilisant le rayonnement synchrotron très cohérent de l'ESRF de Grenoble, a été développé. Nous discutons ici les spécificités de ce type d'imagerie tomographique. En effet, la cohérence spatiale de la source de rayons X de l'ESRF, engendre outre les effets d'atténuation conventionnels, des phénomènes dits de « contraste de phase ». Ceux-ci sont liés à des interférences entre les ondes diffractées par l'échantillon après propagation, lorsque 1' échantillon est placé à une distance non nulle du détecteur. Nous montrons que sous certaines conditions, les algorithmes de reconstruction conventionnels sont utilisables. L'image reconstruite possède alors une contribution liée à l'atténuation, et une contribution liée aux brusques variations dans l'indice de réfraction

Biochemistry of malaria parasite infected red blood cells by X-ray microscopy

Red blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are correlatively imaged by tomography using soft X-rays as well as by scanning hard nano-X-ray beam to obtain fluorescence maps of various elements such as S and Fe. In this way one can deduce the amount of Fe bound either in hemoglobin or in hemozoin crystals in the digestive vacuole of the malaria parasite as well as determine the hemoglobin concentrations in the cytosols of the red blood cell and of the parasite. Fluorescence map of K shows that in the parasite's schizont stage the K concentration in the red blood cell cytosol is diminished by a factor of seven relative to a pristine red blood cell but the total amount of K in the infected red blood cell is the same as in the pristine red blood cell

Characterisation of internal morphologies in electrospun fibers by X-ray tomographic microscopy

Electrospun fabrics for use in, for example, tissue engineering, wound dressings, textiles, filters and membranes have attracted a lot of attention due to their morphological nanoscale architectures which enhance their physical properties. A thorough detailed internal morphological study has been performed on electrospun polystyrene (PS) fibers produced from dimethylformamide (DMF) solutions. Investigations by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thorough studies for the first time by synchrotron based X-ray tomographic microscopy (XTM) revealed that the individual electrospun PS fibers and beads have a graded density and in some cases even an internal porous structure. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Evaluation of SiC-particle connectivity in functionally graded Al/SiCp composites by synchrotron radiation holographic microtomography

Reliability of functionally graded metal matrix composites (FGMMCs) for automotive components is still dependent on the detailed knowledge of the mechanisms of the microstructural build-up, for instance on the mechanisms leading to the distribution and relative positions of the reinforcing particles. In order to assess the influence of the SiC particle size on the 3-D inter-particle connectivity in functionally graded Al/SiCp composites produced by centrifugal casting, X-ray microtomography experiments were performed at the ID19 beamline in ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility). The FGMMCs consisted of an Al-10Si-2Mg alloy matrix, reinforced by an average SiC particle volume fraction of 0.10; two different average sizes were used: 37 μm and 12 μm. The holographic modification of the X-ray CMT (Computer Micro- Tomography) method allowed to obtain neatly contrasted images, as opposed to classical CMT.Good agreement was found between the particle size evaluated by CMT and by laser interferometry. Particle clustering has been evaluated in number and volume, showing that a lower mean particle size is related to more clustering. Such an adverse effect relies on the importance of particle/liquid alloy surface tension. Also, the mean particle size has been evaluated as a function of particle number within a cluster: as expected, the larger a cluster, the larger the particles inside it.(undefined