We are anticipating a long shutdown in the beginning of April 2024

Fast-Scan implementation in Bluesky allows for time-resolved temperature studies on soils containing arsenic, an important contaminant. Prof. Baalousha from the University of South Carolina Environmental Health Sciences Department along with BioXAS beamline staff work together to expand beamline capabilities, developments, and implementation of quick scans to track structural changes in soil using in situ XAS for understanding the impact of wildfire on metals speciation in soils.

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U of S users of the BioXAS beamline studied Th L3 speciation to understand speciation on removal from minerals. Check the paper here.

Using thin metal oxides research at the BioXAS beamline studies the speciation of vanadium oxide for Organic Devices. See details here.

Users of the BioXAS beamline studies Ni and Cu K edges of crystalline metal oxides. See detailed here.

“Our research on how these proteins help plants respond to stress caused by elevated toxic metals in soil has the potential to bring significant benefits to society,” said researcher Macon Abernathy. “These proteins use copper and oxygen to form molecules that the plant can use to combat toxic metals, like cadmium, allowing the plant to survive and thrive in soils that would otherwise result in poor growth.” He is working alongside Ritimukta Sarangi, Jocelyn Richardson, Lisa Mydy, and Roland Kersten on this study. The team is hopeful that their project could offer economic benefits to farmers while also addressing food security concerns. Abernathy and colleagues with the University of Michigan and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource used the BioXAS-Main beamline at the CLS to better understand the copper binding process and how that copper is used to create the molecules that will defend the plant against toxic metals. Their findings could help to develop new strategies for increasing crop metal stress tolerance and lead to higher crop yields. #farming #crops #foodsecurity #agriculture #soil SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

CBC/Radio-Canada #synchrotron Tune in with Dr. Morgane Desmau

February 2022XAS workshop videos are now on Youtube!The Call for Proposals for Cycle 38, which runs July 1 – December 31, 2023, is now open. The deadline for submission of new proposals or beamtime requests (BTRs) is Wednesday, February 22 at 12pm (noon) CST. Please visit Applying for Beamtime for Information on how to submit Proposal to BioXAS-Spectroscopy Main and contact beamline staff for assistance.Associate Scientist position is now open at BioXAS-Spectroscopy beamline. We are looking for a motivated PostDoc with strong background in EXAFS and hands-on experience with beamline instrumentation. Apply before March 31st!January 2022We are testing the performance and sensitivity limits of BioXAS-Spectroscopy Main. For these tests we measured Sb K edge on a 115 ppm NIST standards. We are excited about these measurements! Please contact beamline staff to discuss the sensitivity for your experiments.November 2020Registrations for the Advanced XAS Workshop 2020 are now closed, but you can still submit your information to be considered for the next iteration of the workshop, which will be conducted at a later date (still to be decided).Fall shutdown at the CLS. At BioXAS, engineers and technicians are installing a new air conditioning system to keep the optical elements, detectors, and electronics operating within their optimal temperature ranges. This will increase beam stability and improve the detector signal to noise ratio. The work will be completed for the start of cycle 33 in January 2021.October 2020The CLS invited you to participate in the advanced XAS Data and Modeling Virtual workshop. The workshop is to be conducted in four-half day remote sessions hosted through WebEX. Online registration is free and open. We hope to see you there! More information and registration can be found at XAS Data Analysis Registration and InformationJuly 2020Due to Covid BioXAS moves to a Drop-in/Mail in mode exclusively. o external users are allowed on site. The measurements are to be conducted by staff, but users are encouraged to participate before, during and after the experiment. We hope that it will be possible for the users to control the experiments remotely.May 2019BioXAS spectroscopy beamlines are now fully operational and are in collection mode for various research projects.July 2018BioXAS main and side to begin receiving general user proposals for the January-June 2019 cycle. Proposals can be summitted to the CLS User Portal.

#OnTheBeamlines: Around the world, many soils and mine sites are contaminated with the elements copper, chromium, and nickel. Unfortunately, there are few effective on-site methods for removing or immobilizing these contaminants. The chemical form of these elements can dramatically change their toxicity and mobility, and hence, the risk they pose to plants and animals. Researchers from University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture and Bioresources used the CLS to study tailings from an active Canadian gold mine, to determine what chemical form the elements are in. While the concentrations of these elements in the tailings are high enough to be biologically toxic, they are not concentrated enough to be “seen” by many other detection techniques. What they’re learning using our Bio-XAS beamline will help the team make informed predictions and inferences about where these elements can move in the environment, how toxic they will be to a variety of organisms, and how they could be cleaned up. Researcher Levi Lundell (in photo) says their work could eventually lead to finding new ways of restoring contaminated sites to functional, healthy, ecosystems. #environment #mining

Click here for a demo on Bluesky data acquisition integrating quick scan with on the fly data analysis at BioXASWATCH on the fly EXAFS Processing with Bluesky and Signal Monitor

XANES/EXAFS measurement on solid samples of the following were tested at BioXAS-Main for determining performance and sensitivity limits.NIST 611 (415, 34.9 and 1.05 ppm) at the Sb K edge;Sub ppm measurements on solids: 500ppb at the Au L3 edgeNIST 614 ( 1 ppm) at the Eu L3 edgePlease contact beamline staff to discuss the sensitivity for your experiments!

New multisample wheel for ambient measurements!In-house designed 3D printed sample wheel that can hold 40+ samples.The sample wheel mount can be used to mount samples onto either square or circular holes for a workflow experimentPlease contact beamline scientist to discuss if this sampling mode is appropriate for your types of samples.

Thank you to all who joined us for the CLS Advanced XAS Workshop in November 2020! With over 60 participants and workshops by leaders in the field, our first virtual workshop was a tremendous success. We hope to meet you all in person for our next workshop.See you at the BioXAS beamlines!For workshop materials please see course page (Workshop 2020)The videos from the 2020 XAS Workshop at the CLS are on YouTube!Check back frequently as new videos are uploaded.Click here to view

Many improvements to the storage ring and beamlines were performed during the fall shutdown at the CLS. At BioXAS, CLS engineers and technicians installed a new air conditioning system to keep the optical elements, detectors, and electronics operating within their optimal temperature ranges. This will increase beam stability and improve the detector signal to noise ratio. The work will be completed for the start of cycle 33 in January 2021. Shown are pictures of the AC installation.

During peak COVID-19, no external users are allowed on-site. Mail-in samples can be sent for measurements. Measurements will be conducted by the staff, but soon it will be possible for users to control the experiments remotely. Details on the Mail-in program can be found at Shipping to CLS Contact the Beamline staff for more details if necessary. Please visit User Guide for additional information related to sample shipment.

In 2018, we successfully commissioned Fluorescence data at the high energy limit Fluorescence data on low concentrated samplesTransmissions data with high reproducibility and stability