In situ elemental analyses of living biological surface using NanoSuit and EDS methods in FE-SEM.

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K08150
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Insect science
• Research Institution: Hamamatsu University School of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Takaku Yasuharu 浜松医科大学, 光尖端医学教育研究センター, 特任研究員 (60378700)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 針山 孝彦 浜松医科大学, 光尖端医学教育研究センター, 特任教授 (30165039)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: NanoSuit / 高真空 / 元素分析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

An energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) carried out with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a common technique for elemental analysis. However, for studying the ‘wet’ biological systems, conventional sample preparation methods require complex pre-treatments to stabilize these specimens under high vacuum conditions of high-resolution SEM, which often produces unwanted artifacts. In the present study, we have examined the suitability of the NanoSuit method (e.g. Takaku et al, 2013) for the elemental analyses of living biological specimens in FE-SEM. We found that the specific fine hairy structures in some living insects collected from the natural environment showed the expression and distribution of aluminum (Al) elements. The specimens prepared by the conventional methods did not display such the elemental signal in the EDS data due to the various pre-treatments. The proposed NanoSuit method can improve the quality of in situ elemental analysis for biological samples.

Free Research Field

形態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により確立された新技術により、生きたままの生物試料を高分解能観察・EDS解析することで解明される生命現象は、これまでの観察結果を正確にするだけでなく、生命現象そのものについて新たな超微形態的知見を与えることは明白である。本研究によるNanoSuit法とそれを基礎とした生きた元素分析による解析結果は、生命科学全体に新たな視点をもたらし、農学・生物学・医学・物理化学・材料工学などの分野にこれまでにない新機構を提案するとともに、バイオミメティクス研究の推進に貢献できる。