3D biological metal detection

摘要

The water flea is the testbed for a non-destructive 3D imaging method that pinpoints metals in vivo. Laszlo Vincze, from Ghent University, Belgium, and his colleagues in Belgium, Hungary and Germany have combined x-ray techniques to allow them to detect metal ions and their locations in biological samples - including living systems.rnThe study of trace metals within organisms - metallomics - is a rapidly expanding research area as metals play many vital roles in biological systems. Yet most of the techniques currently used in the field are destructive and give no clues about metal distribution.