ChemistryOpen have published an article by Gräfenstein et Al which uses “μ-X-ray fluorescence imaging in combination with rapid freezing to resolve the elemental distribution of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, and zinc in huntingtin exon-1-mYFP expressing HeLa cells”. Protein aggregation, in which metal ions play a role, is a hallmark of several severe neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, or Alzheimer’s disease.
For the cell culture preparation, cells were seeded onto Silson’s 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm silicon nitride membranes.
Their conclusion finishes: “for future studies, we intend to use the technique to investigate ion homeostasis in neuropathological processes on the multi-cellular to organism level”.
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