| 1. |
- Munke, Anna
(författare)
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Small Particles with Big Impact : Structural Studies of Viruses and Toxicological Studies of Nanodiamonds
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Nanoparticles (NPs) can be found everywhere and their existence has both beneficial and harmful consequences for the environment and living beings. The investigations on which this thesis is based upon have contributed to an increased understanding of some of these particles and to the development of a method that could be used to study their structure.Three different NPs have been studied by different means. In the first study, I describe how single-particle cryo-electron microscopy was used to determine the atomic structure of an algal virus; Chaetoceros tenuissimus RNA virus type II. This virus is taxonomically classified in the order Picornavirales, which includes viruses that infect a wide range of organisms, including humans, plants and insects. By comparing the algal virus structure to structures of related viruses in the order, we could identify a number of traits that were likely acquired or lost among these viruses during the course of evolution. In the second study, rice dwarf virus was utilised as a test sample to develop a new structural biology method, single-particle coherent diffractive imaging (CDI). The method aims to study macromolecules in a single-particle fashion at room temperature with the help of an X-ray free-electron laser, thus enabling studies of fast dynamics without the need to crystallize or freeze the sample. The study was the first of several within a large international collaboration and the first single-particle CDI experiment reported using femtosecond hard X-ray pulses. Despite several advances by the team, many challenges remain for the method to reach its full potential. In the third study, I describe in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies of detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs). I could demonstrate that some DNDs are toxic and that the toxicity is dependent both on the core and surface of the particles. DNDs are suggested for numerous different biomedical applications that alternately utilise their toxic properties or require biocompatibility. The results presented show that these contrasting properties can be exhibited by similar DNDs and that thorough characterisation and close control of the manufacturing process is essential for biomedical applications.This thesis explores how studies of some of nature’s nanoparticles - viruses - can lead to biological insight, how virus NPs can play a role in developing new technologies that may enable an even deeper understanding and explores issues that need to be considered for NPs to reach their potential in biomedical applications.
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| 2. |
- Bellisario, Alfredo
(författare)
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Deep learning assisted phase retrieval and computational methods in coherent diffractive imaging
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent years, advances in Artificial Intelligence and experimental techniques have revolutionized the field of structural biology. X-ray crystallography and Cryo-EM have provided unprecedented insights into the structures of biomolecules, while the unexpected success of AlphaFold has opened up new avenues of investigation. However, studying the dynamics of proteins at high resolution remains a significant obstacle, especially for fast dynamics. Single-particle imaging (SPI) or Flash X-ray Imaging (FXI) is an emerging technique that may enable the mapping of the conformational landscape of biological molecules at high resolution and fast time scale. This thesis discusses the potential of SPI/FXI, its challenges, recent experimental successes, and the advancements driving its development. In particular, machine learning and neural networks could play a vital role in fostering data analysis and improving SPI/FXI data processing. In Paper I, we discuss the problem of noise and detector masks in collecting FXI data. I simulated a dataset of diffraction patterns and used it to train a Convolutional Neural Network (U-Net) to restore data by denoising and filling in detector masks. As a natural continuation of this work, I trained another machine learning model in Paper II to estimate 2D protein densities from diffraction intensities. In the final chapter, corresponding to Paper III, we discuss another experimental method, time-resolved Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), and a new algorithm recently developed for SAXS data, the DENsity from Solution Scattering (DENSS) algorithm. I discuss the potential of DENSS in time-resolved SAXS and its application for structural fitting of AsLOV2, a Light-Oxygen-Voltage (LOV) protein domain from Avena sativa.
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| 3. |
- Daurer, Benedikt J.
(författare)
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Algorithms for Coherent Diffractive Imaging with X-ray Lasers
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) has become a very popular technique over the past two decades. CDI is a "lensless" imaging method which replaces the objective lens of a conventional microscope by a computational image reconstruction procedure. Its increase in popularity came together with the development of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) which produce extremely bright and coherent X-rays. By facilitating these unique properties, CDI enables structure determination of non-crystalline samples at nanometre resolution and has many applications in structural biology, material science and X-ray optics among others. This work focuses on two specific CDI techniques, flash X-ray diffractive imaging (FXI) on biological samples and X-ray ptychography.While the first FXI demonstrations using soft X-rays have been quite promising, they also revealed remaining technical challenges. FXI becomes even more demanding when approaching shorter wavelengths to allow subnanometre resolution imaging. We described one of the first FXI experiments using hard X-rays and characterized the most critical components of such an experiment, namely the properties of X-ray focus, sample delivery and detectors. Based on our findings, we discussed experimental and computational strategies for FXI to overcome its current difficulties and reach its full potential. We deposited the data in the Coherent X-ray Database (CXIDB) and made our data analysis code available in a public repository. We developed algorithms targeted towards the needs of FXI experiments and implemented a software package which enables the analysis of diffraction data in real time.X-ray ptychography has developed into a very useful tool for quantitative imaging of complex materials and has found applications in many areas. However, it involves a computational reconstruction step which can be slow. Therefore, we developed a fast GPU-based ptychographic solver and combined it with a framework for real-time data processing which already starts the ptychographic reconstruction process while data is still being collected. This provides immediate feedback to the user and allows high-throughput ptychographic imaging.Finally, we have used ptychographic imaging as a method to study the wavefront of a focused XFEL beam under typical FXI conditions. We are convinced that this work on developing strategies and algorithms for FXI and ptychography is a valuable contribution to the development of coherent diffractive imaging.
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| 4. |
- van der Schot, Gijs, 1984-
(författare)
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Imaging Living Cells with an X-ray Laser
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Imaging living cells at a resolution higher than the resolution of optical microscopy is a significant challenge. Fluorescence microscopy can achieve a degree of super-resolution via labeling cellular components with a fluorescent dye. Reaching nanometer or sub-nanometer resolution requires high-energy radiation with significantly shorter wavelength than that of optical light. X-rays and electrons have the requisite wavelengths and could be suitable for such studies; however, these probes also cause significant radiation damage. A dose in excess of 100,000,000 Gray (Gy, J/kg) would be required to reach nanometer resolution on a cell, and no cell can survive this amount of radiation. As a consequence, much of what we know about cells at high resolution today comes from dead material.Theory predicts that an ultra-short and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse from an X-ray free-electron laser can outrun key damage processes to deliver a molecular-level snapshot of a cell that is alive at the time of image formation. The principle of ‘diffraction before destruction’ exploits the difference between the speed of light (the X-ray pulse) and the much slower speed of damage formation. The femtosecond pulse ‘freezes’ motion in the cell at physiological temperatures on the time scale of atomic vibrations, offering unprecedented time resolution and a plethora of new experimental possibilities.This thesis describes the first test experiments on imaging living cells with an X-ray laser. I present results in three essential areas of live cell imaging. (i) We have used an aerosol injector to introduce live cyanobacteria into the X-ray focus, and recorded diffraction patterns with extremely low background at very high hit rates. (ii) We demonstrated scattered signal beyond 4 nm resolution in some of these experiments. (iii) The thesis also describes image reconstruction, using a new fully automated pipeline that I developed during my studies. The reconstruction of diffraction patterns was successful for all patterns that did not have saturated pixels. The new software suite, called RedFlamingo, selects exposures with desired properties, can sort them according to sample size, shape, orientation, exposure, the number and type of objects in the beam during the exposure, their distance from each other, and so forth. The software includes validation tools to assess the quality of the reconstructions.
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