Toward Nanoscale Chemical Clarity: THz-Pulsed Atom Probe Tomography for Hydrated Biological Materials
Abstract
Chemically resolved analysis of fragile biomolecular systems remains challenging because nanoscale spatial information must be obtained without compromising the mass-spectral clarity. Ferritin serves as an effective nanoscale model system featuring an organic protein shell surrounding an Fe-rich mineral core. Here, ferritin-containing hydrated specimens were prepared using graphene encapsulation and analyzed by THz-pulsed atom probe tomography. Compared with conventional laser-pulsing conditions, THz excitation improved peak definition and reduced spectral background, enabling detection of Fe-containing ions and isolation of an Fe-rich cluster consistent with the ferritin core. Although molecular overlaps and low ion counts still limit unambiguous peak assignment, isotopic, spatial, and signal-quality analyses support the identification of an Fe-rich region within an organic environment with further improvements expected at increased electric field strength. These results demonstrate that terahertz-pulsed atom probe tomography substantially improves the chemical readability of hydrated biological materials, opening new perspectives for their nanoscale studies.
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BibTeX
@article{exertier2026toward,
title = {{Toward Nanoscale Chemical Clarity: THz-Pulsed Atom Probe Tomography for Hydrated Biological Materials}},
author = {Florant Exertier and Laurence Chevalier and Simona Moldovan and Leo Guiramand and Matteo de Tullio and Marc Ropitaux and Jonathan Houard and Linda Barbieri and Davide Prosperi and Ammar Hideur and Angela Vella},
journal = {Nano Letters},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03708},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05853235v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Toward Nanoscale Chemical Clarity: THz-Pulsed Atom Probe Tomography for Hydrated Biological Materials
AU - Florant Exertier
AU - Laurence Chevalier
AU - Simona Moldovan
AU - Leo Guiramand
AU - Matteo de Tullio
AU - Marc Ropitaux
AU - Jonathan Houard
AU - Linda Barbieri
AU - Davide Prosperi
AU - Ammar Hideur
AU - Angela Vella
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Nano Letters
DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03708
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05853235v1
AB - Chemically resolved analysis of fragile biomolecular systems remains challenging because nanoscale spatial information must be obtained without compromising the mass-spectral clarity. Ferritin serves as an effective nanoscale model system featuring an organic protein shell surrounding an Fe-rich mineral core. Here, ferritin-containing hydrated specimens were prepared using graphene encapsulation and analyzed by THz-pulsed atom probe tomography. Compared with conventional laser-pulsing conditions, THz excitation improved peak definition and reduced spectral background, enabling detection of Fe-containing ions and isolation of an Fe-rich cluster consistent with the ferritin core. Although molecular overlaps and low ion counts still limit unambiguous peak assignment, isotopic, spatial, and signal-quality analyses support the identification of an Fe-rich region within an organic environment with further improvements expected at increased electric field strength. These results demonstrate that terahertz-pulsed atom probe tomography substantially improves the chemical readability of hydrated biological materials, opening new perspectives for their nanoscale studies.
SN - 1530-6984
SN - 1530-6992
ER -