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X-ray ptychographic computed tomography has recently emerged as a nondestructive characterization tool for samples with representative sizes of several tens of micrometers, yet offering a resolution currently lying in but not limited to the 100-nm range. Here we evaluate the quantitativeness of this technique using a model sample with a known structure and density, and we discuss its sensitivity as a function of resolution. Additionally, we show an example application for the determination of the mass density of individual 2-µm-sized SiO 2 microspheres with a relative error of 2%. The accuracy and sensitivity demonstrated in this paper will enable quantitative imaging, segmentation, and identification of different phases in complex materials at the nanoscale.

This study presents a novel self-welding-based interfacial reconfiguration strategy for preparing anisotropic tough hydrogels with user-programmed hierarchical orientation.

Synchrotron-based full-field tomographic microscopy established itself as a tool for noninvasive investigations. Many beamlines worldwide routinely achieve micrometer spatial resolution while the isotropic 100-nm barrier is reached and trespassed only by few instruments, mainly in the soft x-ray regime. We present an x-ray, full-field microscope with tomographic capabilities operating at 10 keV and with an isotropic resolution of 144 nm. Custom-designed optical components allow for ideal, aperture-matched sample illumination and very sensitive phase contrast imaging. We show here that the instrument has been successfully used for the nondestructive, volumetric investigation of single cells.

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