Fast Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering Tensor Tomography: An Outlook into Future Applications in Life Sciences
Journal article, 2025
Small Angle-X-ray Scattering Tensor Tomography (SAS-TT) is a relatively new but powerful technique for studying the multiscale architecture of hierarchical structures particularly relevant to life science applications. Currently, the technique is very demanding on synchrotron beamtime, which limits its applications, especially for cases requiring a statistically relevant number of samples. This study reports the first SAS-TT measurement at a macromolecular X-ray crystallography beamline, PX-I at the Swiss Light Source (SLS), with an improvement in acquisition time from 96 h/Mvoxel in the pilot experiments to 6 h/Mvoxel with comparable sampling, defining a new standard for fast SAS-TT with a micrometer beam size and allowing to record a full tomogram in 1.2 h. Measurements are performed on the long and lenticular process of the incus bone, one of the three human auditory ossicles. The main orientation and degree of alignment of the mineralised collagen fibrils are characterised, as well as the size and shape of the mineral particles which show relevant variations in different tissue locations. The study reveals three distinct regions of high fibril alignment, most likely important pathways of sound throughout the ossicular chain, and highlights the technique's potential to aid in future developments in middle ear reconstructive surgery.
incus
ossiculoplasty
saxs
hierarchically structured materials
nanostrucutral orientation
tensor tomography
Author
Christian Appel
Paul Scherrer Institut
Margaux Schmeltz
Paul Scherrer Institut
Irene Rodriguez-Fernandez
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)
Paul Scherrer Institut
Lukas Anschuetz
University of Lausanne
The Sense Innovation and Research Center
Leonard Nielsen
Chalmers, Physics, E-commons
Ezequiel Panepucci
Paul Scherrer Institut
Tomislav Marijolovic
Paul Scherrer Institut
Klaus Wakonig
Paul Scherrer Institut
Aleksandra Ivanovic
University of Bern
Paul Scherrer Institut
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Anne Bonnin
Paul Scherrer Institut
Filip Leonarski
Paul Scherrer Institut
Justyna Wojdyla
Paul Scherrer Institut
Takashi Tomizaki
Paul Scherrer Institut
Manuel Guizar-Sicairos
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)
Paul Scherrer Institut
Kate Smith
Paul Scherrer Institut
John H. Beale
Paul Scherrer Institut
Wayne Glettig
Paul Scherrer Institut
Katherine E. McAuley
Paul Scherrer Institut
Oliver Bunk
Paul Scherrer Institut
Meitian Wang
Paul Scherrer Institut
Marianne Liebi
Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics
Small Methods
23669608 (eISSN)
Vol. In PressSubject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Subatomic Physics
DOI
10.1002/smtd.202500162
PubMed
40665885