BioXAS Spectroscopy Beamlines

There are two Hight-Sensitivity Spectroscopy Beamlines at BioXAS: Main and Side. They were specially designed to measure the XAS spectra of transition elements in bulk Biological samples with very diluted concentrations. In practice, this means the photon flux is usable from 5 to 32 keV (it peaks at ~12 keV), and that they have very sensitive fluoresce detectors. These makes the beamlines also very capable for Material and Environmental Science studies as well, where the concentration of the elements of interest are typically higher than in biological samples, so they are easier to measure.

Techniques

• x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES)
• Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)

Example Research Areas 

• Chemical forms of trace elements, metals, and metalloids in purified metalloproteins isolated from various biological tissues; for example, human disease specimens, plants, toxic wastes
• Speciation of toxic elements in mine impacted environment
• Speciation and crystal structure investigation of materials with applications as semiconductors, memory shape alloys, and catalyzers, among others.