STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, ISIS Facility, Harwell, UK.
Scientific Computing Department, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, STFC, Harwell, UK.
J Microsc. 2018 Dec;272(3):242-247. doi: 10.1111/jmi.12761. Epub 2018 Oct 15.
Neutron imaging has been employed in life sciences in recent years and has proven to be a viable technique for studying internal features without compromising integrity and internal structure of samples in addition to being complementary to other methods such as X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging. Within the last decade, a neutron imaging beamline, IMAT, was designed and built at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, UK, to meet the increasing demand for neutron imaging applications in various fields spanning from materials engineering to biology. In this paper, we present the first neutron imaging experiments on different biological samples during the scientific commissioning of the IMAT beamline mainly intended to explore the beamline's capabilities and its potential as a noninvasive investigation tool in fields such as agriculture (soil-plants systems), palaeontology and dentistry. LAY DESCRIPTION: Neutrons form a highly penetrating radiation passing through matter without damaging or structurally modifying it, a property that makes them the ideal tool for many kinds of complementary material investigations. Moreover, the strong interaction of neutrons with hydrogen and their ability to distinguish between hydrogen and deuterium with no radiation damage make neutrons a good probe for imaging biological specimens. The recent technological developments of sources and detectors improved the capabilities of neutron imaging instruments and also have facilitated the use of neutron imaging on a much wider scale than before. Neutron imaging is proving its advantages as being complementary to other known methods of investigation such as X-ray imaging or magnetic resonance imaging and it is no surprise that it is not only employed in engineering or archaeology, but also in life sciences. This definitely opens new perspectives for a more interdisciplinary approach in contemporary science. Within the last decade a neutron imaging beamline, IMAT, was designed and built at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, UK, to meet the increasing demands of researchers from different fields, spanning from materials engineering to biology. The results presented here, acquired from first measurements on different biological samples during the scientific commissioning of IMAT beamline show the instrument capability and its suitability to palaeontology, agriculture (soil-plants systems) or dentistry applications.
近年来，中子成像技术已在生命科学领域得到应用，它被证明是一种可行的技术，可以在不破坏样品完整性和内部结构的情况下研究内部特征，并且与 X 射线或磁共振成像等其他方法互补。在过去的十年中，英国 ISIS 中子和μ子源设计并建造了一条中子成像光束线 IMAT，以满足各个领域（从材料工程到生物学）对中子成像应用日益增长的需求。在本文中，我们主要介绍了在 IMAT 光束线的科学调试过程中对不同生物样品进行的第一批中子成像实验，旨在探索光束线的功能及其作为农业（土壤-植物系统）、古生物学和牙科等领域非侵入性研究工具的潜力。
中子是一种具有高度穿透性的辐射，能够穿透物质而不会对其造成损坏或结构上的改变，这种特性使它们成为许多互补材料研究的理想工具。此外，中子与氢的强烈相互作用以及它们能够区分氢和氘而不会造成辐射损伤的能力，使中子成为成像生物样本的良好探针。近年来，源和探测器的技术发展提高了中子成像仪器的能力，也使得中子成像能够在比以前更广泛的范围内得到应用。中子成像正在证明其作为其他已知研究方法（如 X 射线成像或磁共振成像）的补充的优势，因此它不仅在工程或考古学中得到应用，而且在生命科学中也得到应用，这并不奇怪。这肯定为当代科学中更具跨学科性的方法开辟了新的前景。在过去的十年中，英国 ISIS 中子和μ子源设计并建造了一条中子成像光束线 IMAT，以满足来自不同领域的研究人员的日益增长的需求，这些领域涵盖了从材料工程到生物学。本文介绍了在 IMAT 光束线的科学调试过程中对不同生物样品进行的第一批测量结果，这些结果表明了该仪器的功能及其在古生物学、农业（土壤-植物系统）或牙科应用中的适用性。
