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Results for “cell analysis”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Ambient Single-Cell Analysis and Native Tissue Imaging Using Laser-Ablation Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry with Increased Spatial Resolution

Laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI-MS) is an emerging method that has the potential to transform the field of metabolomics. This is in part due to LAESI-MS being an ambient ionization method that requires minimal sample preparation and uses (endogenous) water for in situ analysis. This application note details the employment of the ‘LAESI microscope’ source to perform spatially resolved MS analysis of cells and MS imaging (MSI) of tissues at high spatial resolution. This source configuration utilizes a long-working distance reflective objective that permits both visualization of the sample and a smaller LAESI laser beam profile than conventional LAESI setups. In this work, we analyzed 200 single cells of Allium cepa (red onion) and imaged Fittonia argyroneura (nerve plant) in high spatial resolution using this source coupled to a Fourier transform mass spectrometer for high mass resolution and high mass accuracy metabolomics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Droplet array for single-cell analysis

Techniques, systems, and devices are described for implementing a droplet array for single-cell analysis. A method of conducting single-cell analysis comprises generating a plurality of droplets, wherein each of the plurality of droplets contains a core material surrounded by a protective shell; loading the plurality of droplets, via a carrying fluid, onto an array including a plurality of trap structures, wherein the plurality of droplets are held by the plurality of trap structures; selecting a target droplet, held by a trap structure, from the plurality of droplets; and releasing the target droplet from the trap structure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microstructure-based modeling of inner oxygen pressure in solid oxide electrolysis cells: Analysis of electrode delamination and mitigation

One major degradation mechanism during long-term operation of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) is delamination of oxygen electrodes (OEs). The driving force for the electrode delamination could be the generated high inner oxygen pressure near the electrode-electrolyte interface during operation. However, the effects of transport properties and electrode thickness on the inner oxygen partial pressure are not well understood. Here a microstructure-based electrochemical model, which includes the conduction of electrons and oxygen ions coupled with Butler-Volmer-type chemical reactions at triple-phase-boundaries (TPBs), is employed to investigate the oxygen pressure in lanthanum strontium manganate (LSM)-based SOECs. The model is applied to both two-dimensional (2D) prototype microstructures and three-dimensional (3D) realistic microstructures, and the oxygen pressure is analyzed as a function of transport properties and electrode thickness under both potentiostatic and galvanostatic operations. The simulation results suggest strategies to suppress electrode delamination. The simulation results are compared to an analytical solution, and the discrepancies are attributed to the Butler-Volmer-type kinetics included in the microstructure-based model.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Three-Dimensional Particle-in-Cell Analysis of Mechanical Design Tolerances of the Scorpius Injector With Warp

Here, this article examines the mechanical design tolerances for the Scorpius injector using a 3-D particle-in-cell (PIC) code. In order to meet its objective as a high-fidelity, multipulse flash X-ray source, the accelerator has requirements for the electron beam in order to minimize the spot size of the beam focused onto a foil target to create high fluence X-rays at energies greater than 10 MeV. The requirements for alignment of the cathode, anode beam pipe, focusing solenoids, and transport solenoids specified using Trak and AMBER are independently verified using a 3-D electrostatic/magnetostatic model of the Scorpius injector, including transverse magnetic field errors that arise from mechanical alignment errors. It is predicted that the injector will meet the performance requirements for radiographic operation and has a design margin to correct for potentially unforeseen operating conditions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Voronoi cell analysis: The shapes of particle systems

Many physical systems can be studied as collections of particles embedded in space, often evolving in time. Natural questions arise concerning how to characterize these arrangements—are they ordered or disordered? If they are ordered, how are they ordered and what kinds of defects do they possess? Voronoi tessellations, originally introduced to study problems in pure mathematics, have become a powerful and versatile tool for analyzing countless problems in pure and applied physics. Here we explain the basics of Voronoi tessellations and the shapes that they produce and describe how they can be used to characterize many physical systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

ToF-SIMS spectral data analysis of Paenibacillus sp. 300A biofilms and planktonic cells

Analysis of bacterial biofilms is particularly challenging and important with diverse applications from systems biology to biotechnology. Among the variety of techniques that have been applied, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has many promising features in studying the surface characteristics of biofilms. ToF-SIMS offers high spatial resolution and high mass accuracy, which permit surface sensitive analysis of biofilm components. Thus, ToF-SIMS provides a powerful solution to addressing the challenge of bacterial biofilm analysis. This dataset covers ToF-SIMS analysis of Paenibacillus sp. 300A (300A) isolated from the Hanford site in Richland, WA. The strain is known to have metal and sulfur reducing properties and can be used for bioremediation, wastewater treatment, bioengineering and technology development. There is a current need to identify small molecules and fragments produced from bacterial biofilms. Static ToF-SIMS spectra of 300A were obtained using an IONTOF TOF-SIMS V instrument equipped with a 25 keV Bi 3 + metal ion gun. Identified molecules and molecular fragments are compared against known biological databases and the reported peaks have at least 65 ppm mass accuracy. These molecules range from lipids and fatty acids to flavonoids, quinolones, and other naturally occurring organic compounds. It is anticipated that the spectral identification of key peaks will assist detection of metabolites, extracellular polymeric substance molecules like polysaccharides, and biologically relevant small molecules using ToF-SIMS in future surface and interface research of bacterial biofilms.

Biofilms↗
DOE OSTI2018

Finding order in a bustling construction zone: quantitative imaging and analysis of cell wall assembly in plants

Assembly of polysaccharide-based walls by plant cells involves the rapid synthesis, trafficking, and deposition of complex biopolymers, but how these events are controlled and coordinated to achieve a strong, resilient extracellular matrix has remained obscure for decades. Recent quantitative analyses of fluorescence microscopy data have revealed details of the trafficking and synthetic activity of cellulose synthases, and new methods for labeling matrix polymers have unveiled aspects of their regulated deposition in the wall. Detailed studies of the identity, architecture, activity, and trafficking of the proteins and protein complexes that synthesize wall polymers, combined with advances in image acquisition and analysis, will aid future efforts to dissect wall assembly.

biofuels (including algae and biomass), bio-inspir↗
DOE OSTI2026

Classifying biophysical subpopulations of insulin secretory granules using quantitative whole-cell structure analysis

Pancreatic beta cells contain insulin secretory granules (ISGs), organelles where proinsulin is converted into insulin. As ISGs mature, they undergo extensive biophysical remodeling, producing a spectrum of subpopulations with heterogeneous molecular and spatial characteristics. However, systematic methods to define ISG subpopulations remain underdeveloped. To address this gap in knowledge, we employed soft X-ray tomography (SXT), which can quantitatively measure the biochemical density of ISGs within whole beta cells. Using unsupervised clustering, we classified subpopulations based on molecular density, size, and spatial positioning. Across different insulin secretory stimuli, we observed shifts toward mature and releasable subtypes, demonstrating that exogenous signals can dynamically remodel ISG subpopulation distributions. We extended this methodology to primary beta cells characterized using volume electron microscopy (vEM). Integrating subpopulations from SXT and vEM uncovered insights inaccessible by a single method in isolation. This strategy establishes a framework for defining therapeutic approaches aimed at enriching physiologically beneficial ISG subpopulations.

dense-core granules↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data for Spatial Analysis of Cell Patterning to Aid Genetic and Phenotypic Understanding of Grass Stomatal Density: A Case Study in Maize

Biological processes involve complex hierarchies where composite traits result from multiple component traits. However, holistically understanding of how sets of component traits interact to underpin genotype-to-phenotype relationships is generally lacking. Stomatal density (SD) is a tractable model system for exploring how high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) data could be exploited by a new spatial analysis approach to better understand a developmentally and functionally important trait. SD is a composite trait, resulting from various components related to cell identity and size, which are themselves governed by a series of spatio-developmental processes. Data from 192 recombinant inbred lines of maize [Zea mays (L.)] were analyzed by a new stomatal patterning phenotype (SPP) to (1) describe the average spatial probability distribution of the nearest neighboring stomata; (2) derive a core set of component traits related to cell size, cell packing, and positional probabilities; (3) build a structural equation model of component traits underlying SD; and (4) identify stomatal patterning quantitative trait loci (QTL). The core set of SPP-derived traits explained 74% of the variation in SD. Analyzing SPP component traits allowed some loci previously identified as generic SD QTL to be recognized as specific to lateral versus longitudinal elements of stomatal patterning. Therefore, this study highlights how novel insights can be gained by decomposing a composite trait (e.g., SD) into a set of component traits that were present in HTP data but not previously exploited.

AI/ML↗
DOE OSTI2020

Protein Spherical Nucleic Acids for Live-Cell Chemical Analysis

We report the development of a new strategy for the chemical analysis of live cells based on protein spherical nucleic acids (ProSNAs). The ProSNA architecture enables analyte detection via the highly programmable nucleic acid shell or a functional protein core. As a proof-of-concept, we use an i-motif as the nucleic acid recognition element to probe pH in living cells. By interfacing the i-motif with a forced-intercalation readout, we introduce a quencher-free approach that is resistant to false-positive signals, overcoming limitations associated with conventional fluorophore/quencher-based gold NanoFlares. Using glucose oxidase as a functional protein core, we show activity-based, amplified sensing of glucose. This enzymatic system affords greater than 100-fold fluorescence turn on in buffer, is selective for glucose in the presence of close analogs (i.e., glucose-6-phosphate), and can detect glucose above a threshold concentration of ~5 μM, which enables the study of relative changes in intracellular glucose concentrations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Single-cell raman spectroscopy for the non-destructive, non-invasive analysis of cells and cellular components

Raman spectra of cells, such as normal human T- and B-cells from peripheral blood or human tonsil and the corresponding transformed cells are obtained by optically trapping the cells and obtaining their Raman spectra. The trapped cells can be subjected to one, two, or more different excitation wavelengths, and each wavelength of the corresponding Raman spectra can be stored in a separate channel. In preferred embodiments, two spectra are subtracted from each other to give a difference spectrum and each channel is analyzed independently to characterize the trapped cell. Alternatively, the Raman spectrum can be subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in order to characterize the trapped cell. The trapped cell thus classified can be sorted, or further manipulated.

Chan, James W.↗
DOE OSTI2021

An Analysis of the Impact of Particle Growth on Transport Losses in Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Voltage cycling causes catalyst nanoparticles in polymer-electrolyte fuel cells to grow. The concomitant loss of interfacial area results in larger kinetic, transport, and possibly ohmic overpotentials. This paper uses recently published experimental data and mathematical models to investigate the evolutions of transport and ohmic resistances to platinum nanoparticles located on the surface and inside the micropores of carbon black supports. Resistance to oxygen transport rises as surface area declines primarily because the flux to each remaining larger platinum particle increases. The path lengths governing oxygen diffusion to surface and buried platinum sites also increase as nanoparticles grow. Platinum nanoparticles on the surface become relatively less favorable as voltage cycling proceeds because they grow faster than platinum in micropores. Because voltage cycling causes total interfacial area to decline, and the fraction located inside micropores to increase, nanoscale ohmic losses increase as a catalyst layer decays. The practical importance of this effect is difficult to discern because proton conductivity in carbon micropores is not well characterized.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Physics-Based Analysis of Cell Imbalances and Aging in Lithium-Ion Battery Modules and Packs

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) packs are a key solution for grid-scale energy storage, enabling grid resilience and supporting critical infrastructure. LIB modules and packs experience current imbalances and uneven cell aging due to various design and operational factors, and require a battery management system (BMS) to continuously monitor and control. In this context, a physics-based modeling framework for LIB modules and packs (liionpack) was enhanced to identify design and control strategies that minimize current imbalance and improve module/pack operation. Simulations of an 8-cell parallel-connected module demonstrate that reducing current imbalance leads to more uniform cell aging and improved module/pack-level degradation predictions. The analysis shows that current imbalance are affected by the electrical resistances. Terminal location significantly affects imbalance, with opposite-end terminal connections at intermediate branches minimizing the imbalance, and the pack circuit construction influences the accuracy of physics-based analysis at the pack scale. This framework enables design optimization of modules and packs through a fast and easy evaluation of pack performance and aging, and supports the development of aging-informed balancing strategies compatible with BMS implementation. Thereby, offering practical pathways to improve reliability and cycle life predictions in large-scale battery energy storage systems.

Ayalasomayajula, Surya Mitra [Oak Ridge National L↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optical Microscopy-Guided Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry: Ambient Single Cell Metabolomics with Increased Confidence in Molecular Identification

Single cell analysis is a field of increasing interest as new tools are continually being developed to understand intercellular differences within large cell populations. Laser-ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI-MS) is an emerging technique for single cell metabolomics. Over the years, it has been validated that this ionization technique is advantageous for probing the molecular content of individual cells in situ. Here, we report the integration of a microscope into the optical train of the LAESI source to allow for visually informed ambient in situ single cell analysis. Additionally, we have coupled this ‘LAESI microscope’ to a drift-tube ion mobility mass spectrometer to enable separation of isobaric species and allow for the determination of ion collision cross sections in conjunction with accurate mass measurements. This combined information helps provide higher confidence for structural assignment of molecules ablated from single cells. Here, we show that this system enables the analysis of the metabolite content of Allium cepa epidermal cells with high confidence structural identification together with their spatial locations within a tissue.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗