Search

In synchrotron facilities, imaging techniques are on high demand from the scientific community. Those related to X-ray microscopy are among the most prominent ones. Such techniques include scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM), full-field transmission x-ray microscopy (TXM), and coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) which have a wide spectrum of applications ranging from clinical and biomedical sciences to nanotechnology and cultural heritage. Their advancement is achieved through specialisation and focused studies, often requiring dedicated beamline end-stations. On the other hand, scientific applications benefit from the combination of techniques in a complementary manner. Beamlines suitably designed to offer multiple techniques, instead of a single one, can host efficiently such combinatorial studies. In this paper, we present the diverse Soft X-ray microscopy techniques in use at the TwinMic beamline at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, namely, STXM combined with XRF spectroscopy, full-field TXM and Ptychography. We demonstrate the capabilities by examining two specific biological samples: U87MG cells exposed to CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and a stem section of a Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) plant. These specimens are representatives of a large sample class used in a wide range of scientific studies. The results show the potential that can be achieved in terms of imaging by accessing X-ray microscopy techniques during a single beamtime access in TwinMic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]