Detection, identification and mapping of iron anomalies in brain tissue using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

This work describes a novel method for the detection, identification and mapping of anomalous iron compounds in mammalian brain tissue using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. We have located and identified individual iron anomalies in an avian tissue model associated with ferritin, biogenic magnetite and haemoglobin with a pixel resolution of less than 5 μm. This technique represents a breakthrough in the study of both intra- and extra-cellular iron compounds in brain tissue. The potential for high-resolution iron mapping using microfocused X-ray beams has direct application to investigations of the location and structural form of iron compounds associated with human neurodegenerative disorders—a problem which has vexed researchers for 50 years.