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

描述（由申请人提供）：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实现的，并且比电子显微镜所需的样品制备简单得多。此外，所需的较低辐射剂量（与电子显微镜相比）允许三维亚细胞结构的层析成像研究。现有的基于同步加速器的显微镜已经显示出软x射线显微镜作为一种研究工具的潜力，但它们的缺点是只能在少数国家实验室中使用大量光源。一个合适的亮度，紧凑，低成本的光源是实现商用生物软x射线显微镜所需的创新。Energetiq开发了一种独特的光源技术，使用无极电感耦合等离子体产生软x射线范围内的光。Energetiq光源可用于在软x射线显微镜中产生照亮和成像生物标本所需的光。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“原理验证”显微镜。生物学家需要在高分辨率和水合状态下对整个生物细胞进行成像。目前可用的显微镜只能满足其中一个要求，但不能同时满足这两个要求。所谓的“水窗”软x射线显微镜允许完全水化的细胞样品的分辨率达到20nm，并且可以产生2-D和3-D断层成像图像。在水合细胞中解析亚细胞结构，并在几分钟而不是几天内创建这些图像的能力，可能会导致药物发现、疾病诊断、疾病治疗和更好地了解基本细胞过程方面取得更快速的进展。

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.