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Updated: May 17, 2026

Preparing Adherent Cells for X-ray Fluorescence Imaging by Chemical Fixation
Published on: March 12, 2015
Coupling transmission electron microscopy with synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence microscopy to image vascular
Zhenyu Qin1, Barry Lai, Julio Landero
1Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. qinz@uthscsa.edu
Abstract:
Recently, using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SRXRF), the copper accumulation in rat aortic elastin and copper topography in human THP-1 cell monolayer have been described. However, it is necessary to locate more accurately cellular copper in the vascular cells and tissues. In the current study, SRXRF coupling with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to image copper in sections of human THP-1 cells and mouse aorta. The results showed that sections of 1 µm thickness are required for SRXRF producing a correlative image with TEM between copper topography and cellular ultrastructure. As compared with SRXRF alone, coupling TEM with SRXRF can clearly identify the location of copper in the nucleus and nucleolus in non-dividing THP-1 cell sections, and can differentiate the copper location at elastic laminae from collagen in mouse aortic sections. Thus, these results revealed new information about the copper topography in vascular cells and tissues and highlighted the potential of TEM-SRXRF to investigate the role of copper in macrophage and aortic homeostasis.
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