1. X-Ray Laser Microscopy of Rat Sperm Nuclei
- Author
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James E. Trebes, Joe W. Gray, Catherine Lee, David Attwood, B. J. MacGowan, Stanley Mrowka, Dieter P. Kern, James M. Brase, Erik H. Anderson, Richard A. London, Jeffrey A. Koch, Gary Stone, Rod Balhorn, Michele Corzett, Troy W. Barbee, Dennis L Matthews, and L. B. Da Silva
- Subjects
Male ,Brightness ,Materials science ,Tantalum ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Zone plate ,Cell Fractionation ,law.invention ,X-ray laser ,Optics ,law ,Microscopy ,Animals ,Cell Nucleus ,Epididymis ,Multidisciplinary ,business.industry ,Lasers ,X-Rays ,DNA ,Laser ,Immunohistochemistry ,Spermatozoa ,Sperm ,Chromatin ,Rats ,Lens (optics) ,chemistry ,business - Abstract
The development of high brightness and short pulse width (200 picoseconds) x-ray lasers now offers biologists the possibility of high-resolution imaging of specimens in an aqueous environment without the blurring effects associated with natural motions and chemical erosion. As a step toward developing the capabilities of this type of x-ray microscopy, a tantalum x-ray laser at 44.83 angstrom wavelength was used together with an x-ray zone plate lens to image both unlabeled and selectively gold-labeled dried rat sperm nuclei. The observed images show approximately 500 angstrom features, illustrate the importance of x-ray microscopy in determining chemical composition, and provide information about the uniformity of sperm chromatin organization and the extent of sperm chromatin hydration.
- Published
- 1992
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