3D structure reconstruction of nanoengineered polymeric capsules using Coherent X-Ray diffraction imaging

Abstract

Nanoengineered polymeric capsules (NPCs) are smart objects that can be filled in with some desired chemical substance. They are considered among the most versatile tools in biology, pharmacy, medicine etc. Most often they have been used as containers for drug delivery. Main tools for studying their structure are electron (SEM, TEM) and fluorescence microscopies. In the case of electron microscopies, the main peculiarity was connected to the necessity of dried samples usage. In the case of fluorescence microscopy, the possible resolution is restricted by diffraction limits. The natural environment of the NPCs is liquid medium. In this paper we have developed a method of NPCs’ structure investigation in liquid medium using coherent X-ray diffraction imaging (CXDI). The main points of this article are summarized as: • The procedure of NPCs’ synthesis using layer-by-layer technique including gold nanoparticles; • Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of the samples in liquid medium; • Imaging of objects without freezing of the sample.