Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

An Ultra-clean Multilayer Apparatus for Collecting Size Fractionated Marine Plankton and Suspended Particles
Published on: April 19, 2018
Quantitative elemental masses of a single marine phytoplankton evaluated with soft X-ray spectro-ptychography
Abstract:
We demonstrate quantitative, high-resolution imaging of oxygen and iron in a single centric diatom, Thalassiosira weissflogii, using soft X-ray spectro-ptychography (SP), capable of elemental mapping. The quantitative accuracy of SP is tested by measuring the oxygen mass of SiO2 microspheres. SP is then directly compared to scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy by measuring the iron mass within the same T. weissflogii cell, demonstrating consistent distributions with similar spatial resolution. The oxygen mass measurement of the T. weissflogii cell shows significantly higher resolution compared with iron due to the large edge jump ratio, showing the potential for quantitative measurements of the mass of light elements, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, in a single cell.
Related Concept Videos
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)
Mass Spectrum
Mass Spectrum: Interpretation
Mass Spectrometry: Isotope Effect
Mass Spectrometry: Overview

