A new X-ray scanner will zoom in on intact biological samples at nanoscale resolution while simultaneously capturing the whole structure at lower magnification—like navigating a digital map from continent to street level without ever switching tools. This matters because current imaging techniques force a trade-off: you can see the entire organ at low resolution, or a tiny patch in exquisite detail, but not both. The proposed nanoscope breaks that limit, spanning six orders of scale—from five centimetres down to 50 nanometres—in a single, non-destructive scan. It also exploits phase effects to generate multiple contrast modes, revealing details invisible to conventional absorption-based X-rays. If successful, the instrument will become a multi-user facility serving cell biology, pathology, musculoskeletal and respiratory medicine, tissue engineering, and child health. Researchers could, for example, map the full architecture of a developing lung, then zoom into individual alveoli without cutting or staining the tissue. The scanner’s wide energy range and multi-contrast capability mean it can probe soft tissues, hard tissues, and synthetic biomaterials alike—offering a single platform for questions that currently require several different machines.
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We are seeking to acquire the resources to develop a unique X-ray 3D nanoscope. We will need: custom-source, isolation, manipulators, custom-detector, radiation-safe enclosure, two PDRAs (hardware- and software-focussed) and 1year system engineer for the transition to the long-term maintenance/management of the instrument. We plan to build a nano-resolution multi-contrast 3D scanner with transformative potential across diverse disciplines, including cellular structural biology, pathology, musculoskeletal and respiratory medicine, tissue engineering and child health. This will create a multi-user tool, benefitting researchers across multiple specialties. The simultaneous attainment of nano-scale resolution, unprecedented scale range (six orders of magnitude,5cm/50nm), multi-contrasts and a wide energy range will make the X-ray nanoscope proposed here a unique non-destructive 3D imaging tool. Its key advancements will be ultra-high-resolution zoom-ins on intact samples, whose entire structure is measured at a lower resolution, combined with multi-contrast modes arising from phase effects. A simple analogy of this new X-ray tomography paradigm is the way we navigate digital maps. We use coarse resolution at large scales, blowing-up in precise locations of interest. Both capabilities must be concurrently present: it would not be useful to navigate large areas at highest resolution (lost in space) and having only coarse resolution would lack invaluable insights.
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