Multimodal Profiling of Iron Heterogeneity at the Nanoscale
Life is inherently heterogeneous, and visualizing this heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of biometals offers valuable insights into various biological processes. While biometal mapping provides superior spatial resolution compared to other bioanalytical techniques, it alone cannot fully explain the functional roles of biometals in health and disease. In this study, we introduced a novel method using specially designed sample grids to facilitate beam-, X-ray-, and ion-beam-based imaging of biometals on the same tissue section. This innovative approach aligns and integrates nanoscale-resolved iron profiles across spatial, chemical, and isotopic dimensions. By combining these analyses, we achieved unprecedented spatial resolution and detail, revealing the complex regulatory framework of iron homeostasis in liver tissues following iron overload. These findings demonstrate that enhancing both the information content and spatial resolution of biometal analysis can overcome current limitations, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying biometal functions.
Authors
- Wanqin Dai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8148-9180)
- Fengliang Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6008-7011)
- Jialong Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4898-1023)
- Wenhe Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0042-9988)
- Lei Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9046-6485)
- Yayun Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8513-6772)
- Jiaqi Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8498-4841)
- Yuhui Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7031-4596)
- Xiao He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5188-4382)
- Zhiyong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9753-0873)
- Changjian Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2062-430X)
- Ruiying Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9708-6901)
- Yun Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8619-0455)
- Lijuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3469-9855)
- Jie Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8343-8531)
- Yuliang Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9586-9360)
- Weiyou Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3607-3514)
- Junzhe Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4299-5566)
- Zhuda Song
- Chaofan Xue
Institutions
- Shandong University of Technology (CN)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Center for NanoScience (DE)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics (CZ)
- Artemis (United States) (US)
- Nanomaterials Research (United States) (US)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- Institute of Biophysics (CN)
- Institute of Geology and Geophysics (CN)
- Materia (United States) (US)
- Institute of High Energy Physics (CN)
- Institute for Advanced Study (DE)
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (CN)
- China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2025-03-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00557
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Trace Elements in Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.36
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation
- National Key Research and Development Program of China