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Large MJ, Bizzarri M, Calcagnile L, Caprai M, Caricato AP, Catalano R, Cirrone GAP, Croci T, Cuttone G, Dunand S, Fabi M, Frontini L, Gianfelici B, Grimani C, Ionica M, Kanxheri K, Lerch MLF, Liberali V, Martino M, Maruccio G, Mazza G, Menichelli M, Monteduro AG, Moscatelli F, Morozzi A, Pallotta S, Papi A, Passeri D, Pedio M, Petringa G, Peverini F, Piccolo L, Placidi P, Quarta G, Rizzato S, Rossi A, Rossi G, de Rover V, Sabbatini F, Servoli L, Stabile A, Talamonti C, Tosti L, Villani M, Weadon RJ, Wyrsch N, Zema N, Petasecca M. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon high flux x-ray detectors for synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy. Phys Med Biol 2023. [PMID: 37267990 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/acdb43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is an alternative emerging radiotherapy treatment modality which has demonstrated effective radioresistant tumour control while sparing surrounding healthy tissue in preclinical trials. This apparent selectivity is achieved through MRT combining ultra-high dose rates with micron-scale spatial fractionation of the delivered X-ray treatment field. Quality assurance dosimetry for MRT must therefore overcome a significant challenge, as detectors require both a high dynamic range and a high spatial resolution to perform accurately. 
Approach: In this work, a series of radiation hard a-Si:H diodes, with different thicknesses and carrier selective contact configurations, have been characterized for X-ray dosimetry and real-time beam monitoring applications in extremely high flux beamlines utilised for MRT at the Australian Synchrotron. 
Results: These devices displayed superior radiation hardness under constant high dose-rate irradiations on the order of 6000 Gy/s, with a variation in response of 10% over a delivered dose range of approximately 600 kGy. Dose linearity of each detector to X-rays with a peak energy of 117 keV is reported, with sensitivities ranging from (2.74 ± 0.02) nC/Gy to (4.96 ± 0.02) nC/Gy. For detectors with 0.8 µm thick active a-Si:H layer, their operation in an edge-on orientation allows for the reconstruction of micron-size beam profiles (microbeams). The microbeams, with a nominal full-width-half-max of 50 µm and a peak-to-peak separation of 400 µm, were reconstructed with extreme accuracy. The full-width-half-max was observed as 55 ± 1 µm. Evaluation of the peak-to-valley dose ratio and dose-rate dependence of the devices, as well as an X-ray induced charge (XBIC) map of a single pixel is also reported. 
Significance: These devices based on novel a-Si:H technology possess a unique combination of accurate dosimetric performance and radiation resistance, making them an ideal candidate for X-ray dosimetry in high dose-rate environments such as FLASH and MRT. 
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew James Large
- Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, AUSTRALIA
| | - Marco Bizzarri
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | | | - Mirco Caprai
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | | | - Roberto Catalano
- INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S.Sofia 62, Catania, 95123, ITALY
| | | | - Tommaso Croci
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Giacomo Cuttone
- INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S.Sofia 62, Catania, Sicilia, 95123, ITALY
| | - Sylvain Dunand
- Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IME), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rue de la Maladière 71, Neuchatel, 2000, SWITZERLAND
| | - Michele Fabi
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, 50135, ITALY
| | - Luca Frontini
- INFN Sezione di Milano, Via Celoria,16, Milan, 20133, ITALY
| | | | - Catia Grimani
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, 50135, ITALY
| | - Maria Ionica
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Keida Kanxheri
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Michael L F Lerch
- Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, AUSTRALIA
| | | | | | | | - Giovanni Mazza
- INFN Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria, 1, Torino, 10125, ITALY
| | - Mauro Menichelli
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | | | | | - Arianna Morozzi
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Stefania Pallotta
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, 50135, ITALY
| | - Andrea Papi
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Daniele Passeri
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Maddalena Pedio
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Giada Petringa
- INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S.Sofia 62, Catania, Sicilia, 95123, ITALY
| | | | - Lorenzo Piccolo
- INFN Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria, 1, Torino, 10125, ITALY
| | - Pisana Placidi
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | | | - Silvia Rizzato
- INFN Lecce, VIA ARNESANO, 0, Lecce, Puglia, 73100, ITALY
| | - Alessandro Rossi
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Giulia Rossi
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Vincent de Rover
- Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, AUSTRALIA
| | - Federico Sabbatini
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, Tuscany, 50135, ITALY
| | - Leonello Servoli
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | | | - Cinzia Talamonti
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, 50135, ITALY
| | - Luca Tosti
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Mattia Villani
- Dipartimento di Fisica Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche "Mario Serio", INFN Sezione di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, Firenze, Tuscany, 50135, ITALY
| | | | - Nicolas Wyrsch
- Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IME), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rue de la Maladière 71, Neuchatel, 2000, SWITZERLAND
| | - Nicola Zema
- INFN Sezione di Perugia, via Pascoli s.n.c., Perugia, 06123, ITALY
| | - Marco Petasecca
- Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, AUSTRALIA
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Dombrowsky AC, Burger K, Porth AK, Stein M, Dierolf M, Günther B, Achterhold K, Gleich B, Feuchtinger A, Bartzsch S, Beyreuther E, Combs SE, Pfeiffer F, Wilkens JJ, Schmid TE. A proof of principle experiment for microbeam radiation therapy at the Munich compact light source. Radiat Environ Biophys 2020; 59:111-120. [PMID: 31655869 DOI: 10.1007/s00411-019-00816-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), a preclinical form of spatially fractionated radiotherapy, uses an array of microbeams of hard synchrotron X-ray radiation. Recently, compact synchrotron X-ray sources got more attention as they provide essential prerequisites for the translation of MRT into clinics while overcoming the limited access to synchrotron facilities. At the Munich compact light source (MuCLS), one of these novel compact X-ray facilities, a proof of principle experiment was conducted applying MRT to a xenograft tumor mouse model. First, subcutaneous tumors derived from the established squamous carcinoma cell line FaDu were irradiated at a conventional X-ray tube using broadbeam geometry to determine a suitable dose range for the tumor growth delay. For irradiations at the MuCLS, FaDu tumors were irradiated with broadbeam and microbeam irradiation at integral doses of either 3 Gy or 5 Gy and tumor growth delay was measured. Microbeams had a width of 50 µm and a center-to-center distance of 350 µm with peak doses of either 21 Gy or 35 Gy. A dose rate of up to 5 Gy/min was delivered to the tumor. Both doses and modalities delayed the tumor growth compared to a sham-irradiated tumor. The irradiated area and microbeam pattern were verified by staining of the DNA double-strand break marker γH2AX. This study demonstrates for the first time that MRT can be successfully performed in vivo at compact inverse Compton sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annique C Dombrowsky
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Karin Burger
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Ann-Kristin Porth
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Marlon Stein
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin Dierolf
- Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Benedikt Günther
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Klaus Achterhold
- Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Gleich
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Annette Feuchtinger
- Research Unit Analytical Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Bartzsch
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Elke Beyreuther
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- OncoRay, National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stephanie E Combs
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
- German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, Deutsches Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung (dktk), Technical University Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Franz Pfeiffer
- Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiobiology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan J Wilkens
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Thomas E Schmid
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany.
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Ghita M, Fernandez-Palomo C, Fukunaga H, Fredericia PM, Schettino G, Bräuer-Krisch E, Butterworth KT, McMahon SJ, Prise KM. Microbeam evolution: from single cell irradiation to pre-clinical studies. Int J Radiat Biol 2018; 94:708-718. [PMID: 29309203 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2018.1425807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This review follows the development of microbeam technology from the early days of single cell irradiations, to investigations of specific cellular mechanisms and to the development of new treatment modalities in vivo. A number of microbeam applications are discussed with a focus on pre-clinical modalities and translation towards clinical application. CONCLUSIONS The development of radiation microbeams has been a valuable tool for the exploration of fundamental radiobiological response mechanisms. The strength of micro-irradiation techniques lies in their ability to deliver precise doses of radiation to selected individual cells in vitro or even to target subcellular organelles. These abilities have led to the development of a range of microbeam facilities around the world allowing the delivery of precisely defined beams of charged particles, X-rays, or electrons. In addition, microbeams have acted as mechanistic probes to dissect the underlying molecular events of the DNA damage response following highly localized dose deposition. Further advances in very precise beam delivery have also enabled the transition towards new and exciting therapeutic modalities developed at synchrotrons to deliver radiotherapy using plane parallel microbeams, in Microbeam Radiotherapy (MRT).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihaela Ghita
- a Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology , Queen's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
| | | | - Hisanori Fukunaga
- a Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology , Queen's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
| | - Pil M Fredericia
- c Centre for Nuclear Technologies , Technical University of Denmark , Roskilde , Denmark
| | | | | | - Karl T Butterworth
- a Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology , Queen's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
| | - Stephen J McMahon
- a Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology , Queen's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
| | - Kevin M Prise
- a Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology , Queen's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
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4
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Schmid TE, Friedland W, Greubel C, Girst S, Reindl J, Siebenwirth C, Ilicic K, Schmid E, Multhoff G, Schmitt E, Kundrát P, Dollinger G. Sub-micrometer 20MeV protons or 45MeV lithium spot irradiation enhances yields of dicentric chromosomes due to clustering of DNA double-strand breaks. Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen 2015; 793:30-40. [PMID: 26520370 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2015.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/25/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In conventional experiments on biological effects of radiation types of diverse quality, micrometer-scale double-strand break (DSB) clustering is inherently interlinked with clustering of energy deposition events on nanometer scale relevant for DSB induction. Due to this limitation, the role of the micrometer and nanometer scales in diverse biological endpoints cannot be fully separated. To address this issue, hybrid human-hamster AL cells have been irradiated with 45MeV (60keV/μm) lithium ions or 20MeV (2.6keV/μm) protons quasi-homogeneously distributed or focused to 0.5×1μm(2) spots on regular matrix patterns (point distances up to 10.6×10.6μm), with pre-defined particle numbers per spot to provide the same mean dose of 1.7Gy. The yields of dicentrics and their distribution among cells have been scored. In parallel, track-structure based simulations of DSB induction and chromosome aberration formation with PARTRAC have been performed. The results show that the sub-micrometer beam focusing does not enhance DSB yields, but significantly affects the DSB distribution within the nucleus and increases the chance to form DSB pairs in close proximity, which may lead to increased yields of chromosome aberrations. Indeed, the experiments show that focusing 20 lithium ions or 451 protons per spot on a 10.6μm grid induces two or three times more dicentrics, respectively, than a quasi-homogenous irradiation. The simulations reproduce the data in part, but in part suggest more complex behavior such as saturation or overkill not seen in the experiments. The direct experimental demonstration that sub-micrometer clustering of DSB plays a critical role in the induction of dicentrics improves the knowledge on the mechanisms by which these lethal lesions arise, and indicates how the assumptions of the biophysical model could be improved. It also provides a better understanding of the increased biological effectiveness of high-LET radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- T E Schmid
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München, Germany.
| | - W Friedland
- Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - C Greubel
- Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany
| | - S Girst
- Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany
| | - J Reindl
- Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany
| | - C Siebenwirth
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München, Germany; Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany
| | - K Ilicic
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München, Germany
| | - E Schmid
- Department for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Germany
| | - G Multhoff
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München, Germany
| | - E Schmitt
- Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - P Kundrát
- Institute of Radiation Protection, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - G Dollinger
- Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany
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Tomita M, Matsumoto H, Funayama T, Yokota Y, Otsuka K, Maeda M, Kobayashi Y. Nitric oxide-mediated bystander signal transduction induced by heavy-ion microbeam irradiation. Life Sci Space Res (Amst) 2015; 6:36-43. [PMID: 26256626 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2015.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 06/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In general, a radiation-induced bystander response is known to be a cellular response induced in non-irradiated cells after receiving bystander signaling factors released from directly irradiated cells within a cell population. Bystander responses induced by high-linear energy transfer (LET) heavy ions at low fluence are an important health problem for astronauts in space. Bystander responses are mediated via physical cell-cell contact, such as gap-junction intercellular communication (GJIC) and/or diffusive factors released into the medium in cell culture conditions. Nitric oxide (NO) is a well-known major initiator/mediator of intercellular signaling within culture medium during bystander responses. In this study, we investigated the NO-mediated bystander signal transduction induced by high-LET argon (Ar)-ion microbeam irradiation of normal human fibroblasts. Foci formation by DNA double-strand break repair proteins was induced in non-irradiated cells, which were co-cultured with those irradiated by high-LET Ar-ion microbeams in the same culture plate. Foci formation was suppressed significantly by pretreatment with an NO scavenger. Furthermore, NO-mediated reproductive cell death was also induced in bystander cells. Phosphorylation of NF-κB and Akt were induced during NO-mediated bystander signaling in the irradiated and bystander cells. However, the activation of these proteins depended on the incubation time after irradiation. The accumulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a downstream target of NO and NF-κB, was observed in the bystander cells 6 h after irradiation but not in the directly irradiated cells. Our findings suggest that Akt- and NF-κB-dependent signaling pathways involving COX-2 play important roles in NO-mediated high-LET heavy-ion-induced bystander responses. In addition, COX-2 may be used as a molecular marker of high-LET heavy-ion-induced bystander cells to distinguish them from directly irradiated cells, although this may depend on the time after irradiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masanori Tomita
- Radiation Safety Research Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-11-1 Iwado Kita, Komae, Tokyo 201-8511, Japan.
| | - Hideki Matsumoto
- Division of Oncology, Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaitsuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
| | - Tomoo Funayama
- Microbeam Radiation Biology Group, Radiation Biology Research Division, Quantum Beam Science Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan
| | - Yuichiro Yokota
- Microbeam Radiation Biology Group, Radiation Biology Research Division, Quantum Beam Science Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan
| | - Kensuke Otsuka
- Radiation Safety Research Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-11-1 Iwado Kita, Komae, Tokyo 201-8511, Japan
| | - Munetoshi Maeda
- Radiation Safety Research Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-11-1 Iwado Kita, Komae, Tokyo 201-8511, Japan; Proton Medical Research Group, Research and Development Department, The Wakasa Wan Energy Research Center, 64-52-1 Nagatani, Tsuruga-shi, Fukui 914-0192, Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Kobayashi
- Microbeam Radiation Biology Group, Radiation Biology Research Division, Quantum Beam Science Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan
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Abstract
Biominerals have complex and heterogeneous architectures, hence diffraction experiments with spatial resolutions between 500 nm and 10 μm are extremely useful to characterize them. X-ray beams in this size range are now routinely produced at many synchrotrons. This chapter provides a review of the different hard X-ray diffraction and scattering techniques, used in conjunction with efficient, state-of-the-art X-ray focusing optics. These include monochromatic X-ray microdiffraction, polychromatic (Laue) X-ray microdiffraction, and microbeam small-angle X-ray scattering. We present some of the most relevant discoveries made in the field of biomineralization using these approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobumichi Tamura
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
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7
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Abstract
In order to overcome the difficulties and hurdles too much often encountered in crystallizing a protein with the conventional techniques, our group has introduced the innovative Langmuir-Blodgett (LB)-based crystallization, as a major advance in the field of both structural and functional proteomics, thus pioneering the emerging field of the so-called nanocrystallography or nanobiocrystallography. This approach uniquely combines protein crystallography and nanotechnologies within an integrated, coherent framework that allows one to obtain highly stable protein crystals and to fully characterize them at a nano- and subnanoscale. A variety of experimental techniques and theoretical/semi-theoretical approaches, ranging from atomic force microscopy, circular dichroism, Raman spectroscopy and other spectroscopic methods, microbeam grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering to in silico simulations, bioinformatics, and molecular dynamics, has been exploited in order to study the LB-films and to investigate the kinetics and the main features of LB-grown crystals. When compared to classical hanging-drop crystallization, LB technique appears strikingly superior and yields results comparable with crystallization in microgravity environments. Therefore, the achievement of LB-based crystallography can have a tremendous impact in the field of industrial and clinical/therapeutic applications, opening new perspectives for personalized medicine. These implications are envisaged and discussed in the present contribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Pechkova
- Nanobiotechnology and Biophysics Laboratories (NBL), Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; Nanoworld Institute Fondazione ELBA Nicolini (FEN), Pradalunga, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
- Nanobiotechnology and Biophysics Laboratories (NBL), Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; Nanoworld Institute Fondazione ELBA Nicolini (FEN), Pradalunga, Bergamo, Italy; School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Claudio Nicolini
- Nanobiotechnology and Biophysics Laboratories (NBL), Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; Nanoworld Institute Fondazione ELBA Nicolini (FEN), Pradalunga, Bergamo, Italy; Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
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