Soft X-ray Fluorescence and Near-Edge Absorption Microscopy for Investigating Metabolic Features in Biological Systems: A Review.

Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) provides the imaging of biological specimens allowing the parallel collection of localized spectroscopic information by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and/or X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES). The complex metabolic mechanisms which can take place in biological systems can be explored by these techniques by tracing even small quantities of the chemical elements involved in the metabolic pathways. Here, we present a review of the most recent publications in the synchrotrons' scenario where soft X-ray spectro-microscopy has been employed in life science as well as in environmental research.