Imaging cells using soft x-rays

A variety of microscopical methods are available to study the structure of cells. However, all of these have certain deficiencies such as low resolution, the inability to image whole cells, the possible introduction of artefacts into the final image due to chemical pre-treatment of the specimen or the restriction of the imaging to specific cell components. X-ray microscopy, especially using soft X-rays, has the potential to avoid most of these deficiencies by providing a method for examining the ultrastructure of intact, hydrated cells at high resolution and without chemical pre-treatment and therefore can provide a complementary method to other established microscopical techniques. Generation of soft X-rays from synchrotron radiation or plasmas produced by the impact of lasers on suitable targets is described, along with imaging systems such as contact imaging and transmission X-ray microscopy. The use of these techniques to study a variety of living cells is discussed along with more specialized techniques such as 3D imaging and elemental analysis.