A Water-Window Soft X-Ray Microscope for Small Laboratories

描述(申请人提供)：软X射线显微镜显示出巨大的前景，作为一种成像细胞结构的技术，其分辨率远远超过光学显微镜所能达到的水平，而且样品制备比电子显微镜所需的要简单得多。此外，所需的较低辐射剂量(与电子显微镜相比)允许对三维亚细胞结构进行断层扫描研究。现有的基于同步加速器的显微镜已经显示了软X射线显微镜作为研究工具的潜力，但它们的缺点是仅在少数几个国家实验室被捆绑在巨大的光源上。适当明亮、紧凑、低成本的光源是实现商业生物软X射线显微镜所需的使能创新。Energetiq开发了一种独特的光源技术，使用无电极、电感耦合等离子体在软X射线范围内产生光。Energetiq光源可以用来产生在软X射线显微镜中对生物样品进行照明和成像所需的光。在第一阶段，Energetiq探索了光源在“水窗”波长范围内的能力，并确定了基于该光源的X射线显微镜是可行的。第二阶段将建造一个“原理证明”显微镜。生物学家需要以高分辨率和水合状态对整个生物细胞进行成像。目前可用的显微镜满足其中一个要求，但不是两个都满足。软X射线显微镜在所谓的“水窗口”中，使完全水合的细胞样本的分辨率达到20纳米，并可以产生2-D和3-D断层图像。能够在水合细胞中分解亚细胞结构，并在几分钟而不是几天内创建这些图像，可能会在药物发现、疾病诊断、疾病治疗和更好地理解基本细胞过程方面取得更快的进展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Soft x-ray microscopy shows enormous promise as a technique for imaging cellular structures at resolutions well beyond what can be achieved in optical microscopes, and with much simpler sample preparation than is required for electron microscopy. In addition, the lower radiation dose required (compared to electron microscopy) allows tomographic investigation of subcellular structures in three dimensions. Existing synchrotron based microscopes have shown the potential of the soft x-ray microscope as a research tool, but they have the disadvantage of being tied to a massive light source at only a few national laboratories. A suitably bright, compact, low cost light source is the enabling innovation needed to realize a commercial biological soft x-ray microscope. Energetiq has developed a unique light source technology using an electrodeless, inductively coupled plasma to produce light in the soft x-ray range. The Energetiq light source can be used to generate light needed to illuminate and image biological specimens in a soft x-ray microscope. In Phase I Energetiq explored the capability of the light source in the "water window" range of wavelengths and determined that an x- ray microscope based on the light source is feasible. A "proof of principle" microscope will be constructed in Phase II. Biologists have a need to image whole biological cells both at high resolution and in their hydrated state. Currently available microscopes satisfy one of these requirements but not both. Soft x-ray microscopy in the so-called 'water window' allows resolution to 20nm for fully hydrated cell samples, and can produce 2-D and 3-D tomographic images. The ability to resolve sub cellular structures in hydrated cells, and to create those images in minutes rather than days, could lead to more rapid advances in drug discovery, disease diagnosis, disease treatment and better understanding of the fundamental cellular processes.