Quantifying Trace Metals in Gunflint Microfossils by 3D Correlative X-ray Nanoimaging
-rich chert matrix. The specimen is unfractured and contains organic matter comparable to that of modern bacterial cells of similar volume. The trace sensitivity achieved in the multimetal three-dimensional maps, combined with precise volumetric quantification at nanometer scales, enabled accurate determination of metal concentrations in fossil compartments. Iron and manganese levels comparable to those of extant photosynthetic microorganisms, together with manganese-calcium-enriched iron silicate cores, suggest a cyanobacterial lineage and provide new insights into early microbial metabolisms. This correlative workflow, enabling high-sensitivity multielement trace analysis of low-Z nanostructured mesoscopic systems without physical subsampling, is broadly transferable to applications ranging from biominerals and geobiological materials to advanced functional materials such as catalysts, batteries, and nanocomposites.
Authors
- A. Manceau
- Lara Maldanis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8835-4679)
- Darío Ferreira Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2825-2886)
- Wout De Nolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2258-9402)
- Laurent Bonneviot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9092-8966)
- P. Cloetens
- Laurence Lemelle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7082-5564)
- Juan C. Fontecilla-Camps
- A. Simionovici
- M. Holler
- R. S. Shapiro
- Rémi Tucoulou
- Elisabeth Agnes Müller Gubler
- Kurt Konhauser
- Dmitry Karpov
Institutions
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Lyon College (US)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (FR)
- Paul Scherrer Institute (CH)
- CEA Grenoble (FR)
- Ider University (MN)
- California State University, Chico (US)
- Primary Source (US)
- Institut des Sciences de la Terre (FR)
- Laboratoire de Chimie (FR)
- Institut de Biologie Structurale (FR)
- Université Gustave Eiffel (FR)
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement (FR)
- École d'Ingénieurs en Chimie et Sciences du Numérique (FR)
- Université Savoie Mont Blanc (FR)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Analytical Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5c07712
- Primary Topic
- Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung