The "Historical Materials BAG": A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has recently commissioned the new Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The gain in brightness as well as the continuous development of beamline instruments boosts the beamline performances, in particular in terms of accelerated data acquisition. This has motivated the development of new access modes as an alternative to standard proposals for access to beamtime, in particular via the "block allocation group" (BAG) mode. Here, we present the recently implemented "historical materials BAG": a community proposal giving to 10 European institutes the opportunity for guaranteed beamtime at two X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) beamlines-ID13, for 2D high lateral resolution XRPD mapping, and ID22 for high angular resolution XRPD bulk analyses-with a particular focus on applications to cultural heritage. The capabilities offered by these instruments, the specific hardware and software developments to facilitate and speed-up data acquisition and data processing are detailed, and the first results from this new access are illustrated with recent applications to pigments, paintings, ceramics and wood.

Rediscovering Ducos du†Hauron's Color Photography through a Review of His Three-Color Printing Processes and Synchrotron Microanalysis of His Prints.

Louis Ducos du Huron (1837-1920) dedicated his entire life to the elaboration of physical-chemical processes for color photography. This study aimed at highlighting his unique contribution to three-color printing through 1) an in-depth review of the many protocols he published and 2) the synchrotron-based IR and X-ray microanalysis of fragments sampled in three artworks. Ducos du Hauron's method relied on the preparation and assembly of three monochromes (red, blue, yellow). This study brings to light complex multistep recipes based on photochemistry (carbon print), organic, and inorganic chemistry. The various ingredients involved (e.g., pigments, dichromate gelatin, collodion, resin) were identified and localized through their spectroscopic signature, confirming the relevance of synchrotron spectromicroscopy for the characterization of historical photographs. The impressive correlation between texts and chemical analyses calls for a wider application to the history of photography.

Tracking sulfur and phosphorus within single starch granules using synchrotron X-ray microfluorescence mapping.

BACKGROUND: Native starch accumulates as granules containing two glucose polymers: amylose and amylopectin. Phosphate (0.2-0.5%) and proteins (0.1-0.7%) are also present in some starches. Phosphate groups play a major role in starch metabolism while granule-bound starch synthase 1 (GBSS1) which represents up to 95% of the proteins bound to the granule is responsible for amylose biosynthesis. METHODS: Synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) was used for the first time for high-resolution mapping of GBSS1 and phosphate groups based on the XRF signal of sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P), respectively. Wild-type starches were studied as well as their related mutants lacking GBSS1 or starch-phosphorylating enzyme. RESULTS: Wild-type potato and maize starch exhibited high level of phosphorylation and high content of sulfur respectively when compared to mutant potato starch lacking glucan water dikinase (GWD) and mutant maize starch lacking GBSS1. Phosphate groups are mostly present at the periphery of wild-type potato starch granules, and spread all over the granule in the amylose-free mutant. P and S XRF were also measured within single small starch granules from Arabidopsis or Chlamydomonas not exceeding 3-5µm in diameter. CONCLUSIONS: Imaging GBSS1 (by S mapping) in potato starch sections showed that the antisense technique suppresses the expression of GBSS1 during biosynthesis. P mapping confirmed that amylose is mostly present in the center of the granule, which had been suggested before. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: µXRF is a potentially powerful technique to analyze the minor constituents of starch and understand starch structure/properties or biosynthesis by the use of selected genetic backgrounds.

New challenges in beamline instrumentation for the ESRF Upgrade Programme Phase II.

Although beamline instrumentation is by nature driven by science, some recent examples serve as reminders that new technologies also enable new science. Indeed, exploiting the full scientific potential of forthcoming new storage rings with unprecedented source characteristics will, in many cases, require the development and implementation of novel instrumentation. In comparison with present synchrotron radiation facilities, the majority of beamlines should reap immediate performance benefits from the improved source emittance, principally through increased flux and/or horizontal beam size reduction at the sample. Instrumentation will have to develop along similar quantitative and qualitative trends. More speculative and more challenging is anticipating instrumentation that will be required by the new science made possible thanks to the unique coherence properties of diffraction-limited storage rings (DLSRs). ESRF has recently carried out a detailed feasibility study for a new ultra-low-emittance 6 GeV hybrid multibend storage ring, identified as ESRF Upgrade Programme Phase II. Although its performance is not expected to be equivalent to a DLSR source, the successful implementation of the ESRF Phase II project has to address scientific instrumentation issues that are also common to DLSRs. This article aims at providing a comprehensive review of some of the challenges encountered by the ESRF, in the context of the preparation of Phase II of its upgrade programme.

Investigation of organic matter entrapped in synthetic carbonates--a multimethod approach.

Organic matter (OM) entrapped in calcite is regularly used for environmental studies; however, insertion mechanisms and types of interaction remain poorly understood. The present study used a new methodology to investigate interactions between OM and the calcite matrix during crystallization processes with humic acid (HA) entrapment. A multimethod approach confirmed that HA is both adsorbed onto the calcite surface and incorporated into the calcite lattice during crystallization. Our results also confirm the log-linear correlation between fluorescence intensity and calcite matrix HA concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that HA in colloidal conformation is adsorbed onto the calcite surface as a result of the structure of the OH stretching band. We also developed a new method based on synchrotron analysis that uses sulfur as a tracer element for entrapped HA and that localizes the OM electrostatically adsorbed onto the calcite surface. Changes in the sulfur environment, determined using X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, indicated more complex insertion mechanisms than simple adsorption of HA during calcite crystallization. Desorption experiments revealed the stability of the OM atomic structure and its layered nature. These results allowed us to draw up a general model of OM insertion in calcite.

Probing quantum confinement within single core-multishell nanowires.

Theoretically core-multishell nanowires under a cross-section of hexagonal geometry should exhibit peculiar confinement effects. Using a hard X-ray nanobeam, here we show experimental evidence for carrier localization phenomena at the hexagon corners by combining synchrotron excited optical luminescence with simultaneous X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Applied to single coaxial n-GaN/InGaN multiquantum-well/p-GaN nanowires, our experiment narrows the gap between optical microscopy and high-resolution X-ray imaging and calls for further studies on the underlying mechanisms of optoelectronic nanodevices.

The Extremely Brilliant Source storage ring of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

The Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) is the experimental implementation of the novel Hybrid Multi Bend Achromat (HMBA) storage ring magnetic lattice concept, which has been realised at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. We present its successful commissioning and first operation. We highlight the strengths of the HMBA design and compare them to the previous designs, on which most operational synchrotron X-ray sources are based. We report on the EBS storage ring's significantly improved horizontal electron beam emittance and other key beam parameters. EBS extends the reach of synchrotron X-ray science confirming the HMBA concept for future facility upgrades and new constructions.

Status of the hard X-ray microprobe beamline ID22 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

The ESRF synchrotron beamline ID22, dedicated to hard X-ray microanalysis and consisting of the combination of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, diffraction and 2D/3D X-ray imaging techniques, is one of the most versatile instruments in hard X-ray microscopy science. This paper describes the present beamline characteristics, recent technical developments, as well as a few scientific examples from recent years of the beamline operation. The upgrade plans to adapt the beamline to the growing needs of the user community are briefly discussed.

Structure and composition of myelinated axons: a multimodal synchrotron spectro-microscopy study.

We report elemental mappings on the sub-cellular level of myelinated sciatic neurons isolated from wild type mice, with high spatial resolution. The distribution of P, S, Cl, Na, K, Fe, Mn, Cu was imaged in freeze-dried as well as cryo-preserved specimen, using the recently developed cryogenic sample environment at beamline ID21 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). In addition, synchrotron radiation based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy was used as a chemically sensitive imaging method. Finally single fiber diffraction in highly focused hard X-ray beams, and soft X-ray microscopy and tomography in absorption contrast are demonstrated as novel techniques for the study of single nerve fibers.

Submicrometer hyperspectral X-ray imaging of heterogeneous rocks and geomaterials: applications at the Fe k-edge.

Because of their complex genesis, rocks and geomaterials are commonly polycrystalline heterogeneous systems, with various scale-level chemical and structural heterogeneities. Like most other µ-analytical techniques relying on scanning instruments with pencil-beam, the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) technique allows elemental oxidation states to be probed with high spatial resolution but suffers from long acquisition times, imposing practical limits on the field of view. Now, regions of interest of sample are generally several orders of magnitude larger than the beam size. Here, we show the potential of coupling XANES and full-field absorption radiographies with a large hard X-ray beam. Thanks to a new setup, which allows both the acquisition of a XANES image stack and the execution of polarization contrast imaging, 1 to 4 mega-pixel crystallographic orientations and Fe oxidation state mapping corrected from polarization effects are obtained in a couple of hours on polycrystalline materials with submicrometric resolution. The demonstration is first carried out on complex metamorphic rocks, where Fe(3+)/Fe(total) images reveal subtle redox variations within single mineralogical phases. A second application concerns a bentonite analogue considered for nuclear waste and CO(2) storage. Proportion mappings of finely mixed phases are extracted from hyperspectral data, imaging the spatial progress of reaction processes essential for the safety of such storage systems.

Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy for art conservation: looking back and looking forward.

A variety of analytical techniques augmented by the use of synchrotron radiation (SR), such as X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF) and X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD), are now readily available, and they differ little, conceptually, from their common laboratory counterparts. Because of numerous advantages afforded by SR-based techniques over benchtop versions, however, SR methods have become popular with archaeologists, art historians, curators, and other researchers in the field of cultural heritage (CH). Although the CH community now commonly uses both SR-XRF and SR-XRD, the use of synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (SR-XAS) techniques remains marginal, mostly because CH specialists rarely interact with SR physicists. In this Account, we examine the basic principles and capabilities of XAS techniques in art preservation. XAS techniques offer a combination of features particularly well-suited for the chemical analysis of works of art. The methods are noninvasive, have low detection limits, afford high lateral resolution, and provide exceptional chemical sensitivity. These characteristics are highly desirable for the chemical characterization of precious, heterogeneous, and complex materials. In particular, the chemical mapping capability, with high spatial resolution that provides information about local composition and chemical states, even for trace elements, is a unique asset. The chemistry involved in both the object's history (that is, during fabrication) and future (that is, during preservation and restoration treatments) can be addressed by XAS. On the one hand, many studies seek to explain optical effects occurring in historical glasses or ceramics by probing the molecular environment of relevant chromophores. Hence, XAS can provide insight into craft skills that were mastered years, decades, or centuries ago but were lost over the course of time. On the other hand, XAS can also be used to characterize unwanted reactions, which are then considered alteration phenomena and can dramatically alter the object's original visual properties. In such cases, the bulk elemental composition is usually unchanged. Hence, monitoring oxidation state (or, more generally, other chemical modifications) can be of great importance. Recent applications of XAS in art conservation are reviewed and new trends are discussed, highlighting the value (and future possibilities) of XAS, which remains, given its potential, underutilized in the CH community.

Microspectroscopy of spectral biomarkers associated with human corneal stem cells.

PURPOSE: Synchrotron-based radiation (SRS) Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy potentially provides novel biomarkers of the cell differentiation process. Because such imaging gives a "biochemical-cell fingerprint" through a cell-sized aperture, we set out to determine whether distinguishing chemical entities associated with putative stem cells (SCs), transit-amplifying (TA) cells, or terminally-differentiated (TD) cells could be identified in human corneal epithelium. METHODS: Desiccated cryosections (10 microm thick) of cornea on barium fluoride infrared transparent windows were interrogated using SRS FTIR microspectroscopy. Infrared analysis was performed through the acquisition of point spectra or image maps. RESULTS: Point spectra were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to identify distinguishing chemical entities. Spectral image maps to highlight SCs, TA cells, and TD cells of the cornea were then generated. Point spectrum analysis using PCA highlighted remarkable segregation between the three cell classes. Discriminating chemical entities were associated with several spectral differences over the DNA/RNA (1,425-900 cm(-1)) and protein/lipid (1,800-1480 cm(-1)) regions. Prominent biomarkers of SCs compared to TA cells and/or TD cells were 1,040 cm(-1), 1,080 cm(-1), 1,107 cm(-1), 1,225 cm(-1), 1,400 cm(-1), 1,525 cm(-1), 1,558 cm(-1), and 1,728 cm(-1). Chemical entities associated with DNA/RNA conformation (1,080 cm(-1) and 1,225 cm(-1)) were associated with SCs, whereas protein/lipid biochemicals (1,558 cm(-1) and 1,728 cm(-1)) most distinguished TA cells and TD cells. CONCLUSIONS: SRS FTIR microspectroscopy can be employed to identify differential spectral biomarkers of SCs, TA cells, and/or TD cells in human cornea. This nondestructive imaging technology is a novel approach to characterizing SCs in situ.

Probing the structure of heterogeneous diluted materials by diffraction tomography.

The advent of nanosciences calls for the development of local structural probes, in particular to characterize ill-ordered or heterogeneous materials. Furthermore, because materials properties are often related to their heterogeneity and the hierarchical arrangement of their structure, different structural probes covering a wide range of scales are required. X-ray diffraction is one of the prime structural methods but suffers from a relatively poor detection limit, whereas transmission electron analysis involves destructive sample preparation. Here we show the potential of coupling pencil-beam tomography with X-ray diffraction to examine unidentified phases in nanomaterials and polycrystalline materials. The demonstration is carried out on a high-pressure pellet containing several carbon phases and on a heterogeneous powder containing chalcedony and iron pigments. The present method enables a non-invasive structural refinement with a weight sensitivity of one part per thousand. It enables the extraction of the scattering patterns of amorphous and crystalline compounds with similar atomic densities and compositions. Furthermore, such a diffraction-tomography experiment can be carried out simultaneously with X-ray fluorescence, Compton and absorption tomographies, enabling a multimodal analysis of prime importance in materials science, chemistry, geology, environmental science, medical science, palaeontology and cultural heritage.

Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy identifies symmetric PO(2)(-) modifications as a marker of the putative stem cell region of human intestinal crypts.

Complex biomolecules absorb in the mid-infrared (lambda = 2-20 microm), giving vibrational spectra associated with structure and function. We used Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy to "fingerprint" locations along the length of human small and large intestinal crypts. Paraffin-embedded slices of normal human gut were sectioned (10 microm thick) and mounted to facilitate infrared (IR) spectral analyses. IR spectra were collected using globar (15 microm x 15 microm aperture) FTIR microspectroscopy in reflection mode, synchrotron (

CM01: a facility for cryo-electron microscopy at the European Synchrotron.

Recent improvements in direct electron detectors, microscope technology and software provided the stimulus for a `quantum leap' in the application of cryo-electron microscopy in structural biology, and many national and international centres have since been created in order to exploit this. Here, a new facility for cryo-electron microscopy focused on single-particle reconstruction of biological macromolecules that has been commissioned at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is presented. The facility is operated by a consortium of institutes co-located on the European Photon and Neutron Campus and is managed in a similar fashion to a synchrotron X-ray beamline. It has been open to the ESRF structural biology user community since November 2017 and will remain open during the 2019 ESRF-EBS shutdown.

Intracellular chemical imaging of the developmental phases of human neuromelanin using synchrotron X-ray microspectroscopy.

The microchemical environment of neuromelanin (NM) in whole neurons from formalin fixed and paraffin embedded human substantia nigra sections were characterized using synchrotron chemical X-ray microscopy. Concentrations of NM-associated elements increased in the developing brain; the highest levels of most elements were found in the mature brain but the temporal pattern of the accumulation of different elements varied. High spatial resolution investigations, using a unique hard X-ray nanoprobe, revealed iron-rich microdomains colocalized with other elements within the pigment. These microdomains represent the first visualization of a structure regulating the metal-binding properties of NM and supporting a physiological role for NM in the regulation of functionally important elements in pigmented neurons. Our results demonstrate that the local chemical environment of iron in NM is similar to that found in ferritin and points to a possible role of iron in NM biosynthesis. Intracellular speciation of sulfur contained in NM revealed the presence of reduced sulfur compounds and various forms of oxidized sulfur compounds which have not previously been reported. Further, a significant increase in sulfonate in NM in the mature brain suggests that in vivo metabolism of the pigment via an as yet unidentified pathway occurs. The current data add to our understanding of the development and regulation of NM in the human brain.

Structure and composition of the nacre-prisms transition in the shell of Pinctada margaritifera (Mollusca, Bivalvia).

A microstructural, mineralogical, and chemical study of the nacre-prisms boundary in the shells of Pinctada margaritifera shows that this boundary is not an abrupt transition, but that there exists a distinct fibrous layer with clear topographic structures and evidence of growth lines. A three-step biomineralization process is proposed that involves changes in the chemical and biochemical composition of the last growth increments of the calcite prisms, formation of the fibrous layer, and development of regular tablets in the nacreous layer.

New methodological approach for the vanadium K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure interpretation: application to the speciation of vanadium in oxide phases from steel slag.

This paper presents a comparison between several methods dedicated to the interpretation of V K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) features. V K-edge XANES spectra of several V-bearing standard compounds were measured in an effort to evaluate advantages and limits of each method. The standard compounds include natural minerals and synthetic compounds containing vanadium at various oxidation state (from +3 to +5) and in different symmetry (octahedral, tetrahedral, and square pyramidal). Correlations between normalized pre-edge peak area and its centroid position have been identified as the most reliable method for determining quantitative and accurate redox and symmetry information for vanadium. This methodology has been previously developed for the Fe K edge. It is also well adapted for the V K edge and is less influenced by the standard choice than other methods. This methodology was applied on an "environmental sample," i.e., a well-crystallized leached steel slag containing vanadium as traces. Micro-XANES measurements allowed elucidating the microdistribution of vanadium speciation in leached steel slag. The vanadium exhibits an important evolution from the unaltered to the altered phases. Its oxidation state increases from +3 to +5 together with the decrease of its symmetry (from octahedral to tetrahedral).

Diffractive optical elements for differential interference contrast x-ray microscopy.

In this paper we introduce phase diffractive optical elements (DOEs) that beside simple focusing, can perform new optical functions in the range of x-rays. In particular, the intensity of the wavefront can be distributed with almost complete freedom. We calculated and fabricated high resolution DOEs that can focus a monochromatic x-ray beam into multiple spots displaced in a single or two planes along the optical axis or can shape the beam into a desired continuous geometrical pattern. The possibility to introduce a specified phase shift between the generated spots, which can increase the image contrast, is demonstrated by preliminary results obtained from computer simulations and experiments performed in visible light. The functionality of the DOEs has been tested successfully in full-field differential interference contrast (DIC) x-ray microscopy at the ID21 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) operated at 4 keV photon energy.

Diffracting aperture based differential phase contrast for scanning X-ray microscopy.

It is demonstrated that in a zone plate based scanning X-ray microscope, used to image low absorbing, heterogeneous matter at a mesoscopic scale, differential phase contrast (DPC) can be implemented without adding any additional optical component to the normal scheme of the microscope. The DPC mode is simply generated by an appropriate positioning and alignment of microscope apertures. Diffraction from the apertures produces a wave front with a non-uniform intensity. The signal recorded by a pinhole photo diode located in the intensity gradient is highly sensitive to phase changes introduced by the specimen to be recorded. The feasibility of this novel DPC technique was proven with the scanning X-ray microscope at the ID21 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation facility (ESRF) operated at 6 keV photon energy. We observe a differential phase contrast, similar to Nomarski's differential interference contrast for the light microscope, which results in a tremendous increase in image contrast of up to 20 % when imaging low absorbing specimen.