Analysis of Synchrotron X-ray Based Absorption Data of Fe and Zn Atoms in Consumer Product Tissue Samples

The iron and zinc environments in selected tissue samples have been studied with EXAFS at Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source and the scientific process including data analysis has been used to show community college preengineering students about hand-on experience in student research projects.The EXAFS data collection was done using the Fe and Zn K-edges.The selected tissue samples were from consumer products which included yeast, vegetable and meat.The Zn bond length in fresh yeast samples was found to be about 25 pm shorter than reconstituted yeast samples, whereas about 10 pm difference was found in chicken breast versus the drumstick with shorter Zn bond length.The Fe bond length in chayote seed center seed outer layer samples was found to be about 8 pm shorter as compared to the chayote skin tissue samples.The extension to the development of functional synchrotron imaging for tissue engineering application based on spectroscopic technique is discussed.