ILSFUM'22 | The 12th ILSF Users' Meeting

May 17, 2022, 9:00 AM → May 18, 2022, 4:30 PM Asia/Tehran

Online

Iranian Light Source Facility will be holding The 12th ILSF Users' Meeting on May 17th & 18th 2022. The meeting provides a unique forum for experienced as well as potential users of synchrotron light source in Iran to discuss the scientific, technical, and practical issues about the use of synchrotron radiation in basic science, engineering, and medicine.

دوازدهمین همایش کاربران چشمه نور ایران در روزهای دوشنبه و سه‌شنبه ۲۷ و ۲۸ اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۱ به صورت آنلاین برگزار خواهد شد. در این همایش واپسین دستاوردهای پژوهشگران ایرانی و بین‌المللی در زمینه‌ی کاربردهای تابش سنکروترونی در علوم پایه مهندسی و پزشکی ارائه‌ خواهد شد و فرصتی مناسب برای آشنایی و گفتگو میان کاربران باتجربه چشمه‌های نور سنکروترونی و پژوهشگران و کاربران بالقوه‌ در کشور خواهد بود.

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Announcment Poster

ILSFUM'22 Timetable

Tuesday, 17 May

9:00 AM → 9:30 AM Status Report on ILSF Project

Speaker: Dr Mojtaba Mohammadi NajafAbadi (IPM-ILSF)

9:30 AM → 10:00 AM Progress Report on ILSF Users’ Development Activities

Speaker: Dr Ehsan Salimi (IPM-ILSF)

10:00 AM → 10:30 AM Application of Synchrotron Radiation in Industry and Knowledge-Based Economy

Research and development process as well as problem-solving in the industry requires many factors such as scientific explorations, which can provide innovative ways. The variety of analytical experiments that can be performed using Synchrotron radiation provide in many cases the key to solving problems arising from technological challenges in industrial research or development. In this present, the application of Synchrotron radiation in materials characterization utilized by industry worldwide have been discussed. The previous and current industrial project that has been done using different light sources such as Diamond light source (UK), National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS, USA), Pohang light source (PLS, Korea), ALBA Synchrotron (Spain) and etc., will be presented.

Speaker: Dr Mehdi Khodaei (K.N. Toosi University of Technology)

10:30 AM → 11:10 AM Fundamentals of Synchrotron Radiation and Its Applications

Synchrotron radiation is a gigantic worldwide enterprise serving tens of thousands of users. With more than fifty operating facilities and several more underway, its research produced so far more than 300,000 publications and several Nobel prizes. However, synchrotron radiation is also widely considered a complicated phenomenon, difficult to understand for non-specialists. But this is far from the truth: over the years, we developed an extreme relativistic description that explains its properties in very simple terms and with minimal formalism. The characteristics so presented include the spectral range, flux, collimation, brightness, time structure, polarization and coherence. Similarly simple are the descriptions of the main applications, including imaging, absorption and photoemission spectroscopy and structural techniques. The approach is also extended to x-ray free electron lasers and their novel applications.

Speaker: Dr Giorgio Margaritondo (EPFL)

11:10 AM → 11:30 AM Tea Break

11:30 AM → 12:10 PM SESAME, An Opportunity for Science and Growth

Investigating matter and decoding its secrets are at the heart of humanity's quest to understand the world around us. Providing radiation sources over a wide range of frequencies, tens of million times as intense as those available in conventional laboratories, Synchrotron light facilities allow addressing complexity in condensed matter and life sciences, linking functions and properties to the structure of atoms.
75 years after the first observation of emission from a particle accelerator, the importance of synchrotron light as a scientific tool has grown across the globe. There are now more than 60 facilities worldwide, serving ~50,000 users worldwide, the largest scientific community in the world.
SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) is a "third-generation" synchrotron light source that was officially opened in Allan (Jordan) on 16 May 2017. It addresses critical global challenges in health, environment, energy, food and material science, among other fields. It is the first synchrotron light source in the Middle East and neighboring countries and the Region's first major international center of excellence. SESAME's core mission is to develop, construct, and operate state-of-the-art synchrotron instruments to benefit the scientific community in the Region and beyond, train the next generation of scientists, engineers and technical staff, and organize and sponsor international cooperation in science.

Speaker: Dr Andrea Lausi (Scientific Director, SESAME Light Source)

12:10 PM → 12:50 PM Investigation of the Electronic Structure of Solids by Spectroscopy Techniques

The high brightness light source of synchrotron radiation provides a variety of experimental techniques for probing the material. Some techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) are widely used for the investigation of the electronic structure of occupied electronic states of solid. While the details of the unoccupied states can be obtained by the x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Furthermore, near ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) is used for a variety of material such as catalyst due to the much technological application. In my talk, these spectroscopy techniques with some examples are explained.

Speaker: Dr Aliakbar Ghafari (The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion)

12:50 PM → 2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00 PM → 4:15 PM OPENING CEREMONY

4:15 PM → 4:45 PM Tea Break

4:45 PM → 5:15 PM Phase Stability, EXAFS Investigation and Correlation Between Magnetism and Local Order in Fe-Rich Thin Films

The changes in behaviour that could occur on the magnetic properties due to the structural evolution during the doping process is actually subject of our discussion. The Curie temperature (Tc) of amorphous Fe-rich alloys can be greatly enhanced by doping with light elements. In this investigation, ion implantation is used to dope Fe thin films with H, He, B, C, and N. We present a preliminary study of the structural evolution of the Fe sample during the first steps of adding impurities.
The magnetic and local structural characterization from two experimental probes, SQUID magnetometry and X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), are ideal experimental techniques to perform this study. The conservation of the amorphous nature of the Fe-rich metallic glasses as-grown and implanted samples and the effect of incorporating dopant atoms in this structure is confirmed by EXAFS measurements on the Fe K-edge. EXAFS results indicate an almost negligible thermal expansion at temperatures below while normal thermal expansion takes place at higher temperatures. Such expansion seems to promote a reinforcement of the ferromagnetic interactions among Fe-Fe atoms that would account for the observed spontaneous increase in the magnetization as well as for the evolution of the coercive field. Finding the correlation between the structure and the magnetic properties could, with the use of simple sphere-stacking models allow us to create structures with desired magnetic properties. We found a shortening of the Fe-Fe bond when the dopant content was increased, which can explain the experimentally observed decrease in the magnetic moment and Curie temperature.

Speaker: Dr Atieh Zamani (Pasargad Institute for Advanced Innovative Solutions)

5:15 PM → 5:35 PM Synchrotron Results on Catalysts, Graphene Nanoplatelets, and Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles

Small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) is used to study structures of size about 10 Å or larger, in particular, the shape and fractal nature of particles. The Guinier law allows determination of the radius of gyration Rg of a particle of unknown shape and size. Radius of gyration is the root-mean-square distance of all points in the particle from its center of mass. The Porod law, on the other hand, allows determination of the shape of the object, along with its fractal nature. In three separate studies, these values were determined for some catalysts, graphene nanoplatelets, and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles using SAXS data.

Speaker: Dr Hossein Siadati (K.N. Toosi University of Technology)

5:35 PM → 6:00 PM Analysis of Cementitious Building Materials by Synchrotron X-ray Imaging

Cement manufacturing especially Portland Cement, the main component for the fabrication of concretes, is the most used building and construction material which has complex hierarchical microstructures. Quantitative characterization of cementitious materials microstructures is of paramount importance for assessing the performance and durability of the final products. To gain a deeper insight into the microstructures of building materials, synchrotron X-ray nano- and micro-tomography with an appropriate spatial resolution would help. we will report the analysis of porosity and the different components and phases of different types of cement pastes, regarding their hydration ages.

Speaker: Ms Shiva Shirani (University of Malaga)

Wednesday, 18 May

9:00 AM → 9:30 AM At the Synchrotron: All Nights Long

All about what to do – and what not to do – once you decided to become a synchrotron researcher.

Speaker: Dr Amir S. H. Rozatian (University of Isfahan)

9:30 AM → 10:00 AM Synchrotron Based XRD and Neutron Diffraction Studies of Multiferroic Materials

Multiferroic materials simultaneously contain both the magnetic and ferroelectric orders. In recent years, extensive efforts have been devoted to the study of crystal and magnetic structure of these materials, because of rich fundamental physics and technological applications. In this seminar, we report and discuss the results of synchrotron XRD and neutron diffraction studies on multiferroic materials (e.g., KNiPO4) in different temperature ranges.

مطالعات پراش اشعه ایکس سینکروترون و تابش نوترون بر روی مواد چند فرویی
مواد چندفروئی شامل دو نظم مغناطیسی و فروالکتریکی به صورت همزمان هستند. با توجه به فیزیک غنی و کاربردهای فناورانه این مواد، در سالهای اخیر توجه زیادی صرف شناخت ساختار بلوری و مغناطیسی این مواد و همچنین یافتن مواد چندفروئی جدید شده است. در این سمینار، مطالعات پراش اشعه ایکس سینکرترون و پراش نوترون در محدوده های دمایی مختلف بر روی مواد چندفروئی (از جمله KNiPO4) گزارش می شود و نتایج حاصله مورد بحث قرار می گیرد.

Speaker: Dr Hossein Ahmadvand (Isfahan University of Technology)

10:00 AM → 10:30 AM On the Trace of Arsenic Copper Production in 3th BC: High Resolution Micro-XRD for Characterization of Metallurgical Residues, and Ores

New excavations at prehistoric site of Espidej (3th Millennium BC) in south east Iranian orogeny led to a magnificent opportunity for re-examining the metallurgical records about the archaeometallurgy of Cu-As alloy long south-eastern cultural zone of Iran. The triangle of Jiroft-Tepe Yahya-Shahdad and the metallic Bronze objects from these areas are amongst the most important remarks for considering the technology of producing of arsenic Bronze as the first human mane copper alloy (Lamberg-Karlovsky, 1972). This study will focus on the tracing of As-bearing minerals in some metals – mainly Bronzes – from this site in south central Iran during the third millennium BC with an essential emphasize on synchrotron application for characterizing the crystalline phase determination. However, subsidy investigation on the consideration of arsenic Bronzes from Espidej was to allocate of possible natural sources.
Synchrotron based micro X-ray diffraction (SR-μXRD) data of the sample demonstrates traces of arsenic-bearing minerals in the corrosion products indicative of types of ores used in alloying processes. This area is part of hydrothermal mineralization zone consisting of arsenopyrite (FeAsS), sinnerite (Cu6As4S9), bornite (Cu5FeS4) and algodonite (Cu6As). Noticeable arsenic-bearing phases within the metallic core of the sample were frequently characterized as sinnerite and algodonite.

Speaker: Dr Amin Emami (Art University of Isfahan)

10:30 AM → 11:00 AM Tea Break

11:00 AM → 11:30 AM How To Write a Good Proposal for Synchrotron Beamtime

Speaker: Dr Sharmin Kharrazi (Tehran University of Medical Sciences)

11:30 AM → 12:00 PM X-ray Optics in Diamond Light Source

اپتیک پرتو ایکس در خطوط باریکه شتابدهنده دایموند

شتابدهنده سنکروترونی دایموند در انگلستان با بیش از 30 خطوط باریکه از فعالترین شتابدهنده های سنکروترونی دنیا است که با انجام طرح به روز رسانی دایموند-دو در چند ساله پیش رو و کاهش امیتنس خود به حدود 80 پیکومتر به یکی از به روزترین فناوریهای روز سنکروترونی دنیا تبدیل خواهد شد. تنوع زیادی از خطوط باریکه از پرتوهای با انرژی بسیار پایین فروسرخ تا پرتوهای ایکس با انرژی بالای 50 کیلو الکترون ولت، و محدوده وسیعی از خطوط باریکه با کاربردهای مختلف باعث شده که طراحی و بررسی بسیار دقیق قطعات اپتیکی به خصوص در ناحیه پرتو ایکس از اهمیت بسیار زیادی در موفقیت این شتابدهنده داشته باشد. گروه اپتیک پرتو ایکس دایموند یکی از بزرگترینهای خود در دنیا است و با حدود 20 محقق به فعالیتهای مختلفی از طراحی تا راه اندازی و بهینه سازی خطوط باریکه و بررسی مشخصات باریکه فوتونی تا مترولوژی قطعات اپتیکی در آزمایشگاه پیشرفته مترولوژی و تحقیق و توسعه در زمینه های مختلف نورشناختی پرتو ایکس فعالیت دارد. مدلسازی تغییر سطوح قطعات اپتیکی با توان تابشی یا فشارهای موضعی نصب قطعات و بررسی تجربی آنها تا بررسی فوق دقیق موتورهای نانو اپتو-مکانیک در آزمایشگاه نانومترولوژی بخشی دیگر از این فعالیتهاست. همچنین اختصاص خط باریکه B16 به صورت ویژه به این گروه باعث شده که امکان اندازه گیری قطعات اپتیکی در شرایط پرتو سنکروترونی برای محدوده متنوعی از قطعات اپتیکی فراهم باشد. در این سخنرانی خلاصه ای از فعالیتهای این گروه در 15 سال گذشته و برنامه های پیش روی آن در طرحهای توسعه و به ویژه طرح دایموند-دو مرور خواهد شد.

Speaker: Dr Hossein Khosroabadi (Diamond Light Source)

12:00 PM → 12:30 PM Bio-medical Imaging Using Synchrotron Radiation

Microscopy of biological tissue is a valuable tool for many research questions in medicine and biology. With synchrotron radiation micro-tomography, phase-contrast imaging can be exploited to reveal three-dimensional structure of soft tissue, complementing the classical visual histology. In this talk I will present the concepts behind phase-contrast imaging and how volumetric imaging of soft tissue can benefit medical research

Speaker: Dr Martin Bech (Lund University)

12:30 PM → 2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00 PM → 2:20 PM Data Analysis Procedure of Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

An original complex with europium on the basis of diazafluoren, such that dafone is 4,5- diazaf1uoren-9-one is fabricated and characterized using Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS), IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Since the europium complex structure is not achievable via typical crystallographic approaches, an XAFS spectrum was acquired for LIII Eu crystal edge at 6977 eV energy. EXAFS for structural recognition, the complex Eu(dafone)zCl2.(H2O)2(H2O) was assessed. Both of the ligands were completely coordinated in regard to the metal with four nitrogen sites for Eu(dafone)zClz.(H2O)2(H2O). Close-neighbor correlations from nitrogen atoms on macrocycli cages are evident within the spectra as well as to the adjoining carbon backbones. Debye-Waller factors and Bond distances are also reported. For the purpose of exploring the links between the biological and structural characteristics, in vitro antibacterial characteristics and DNA/BSA binding propensity were also evaluated. The DNA complex interaction mode was evaluated using electronic absorption titration, circular dichroism spectroscopy, viscometric assessment, thermodynamic studies, impact of ionic strength, competitive binding experiment, and luminescence titration. The outcomes show that the complex binds to FS-DNA at adequate intercalation ability with planar dafone ligand partial insertion among the double-stranded DNA base stacks via binding constant (Kb) of 2.4 x 10⁵ M ’. The DNA viscosities and CD spectra present significant evidence of intercalation. Also, this complex interacts with bovine serum (BSA) albumin proteins have been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy technique and the obtained results reveal an excellent binding propensity in this case. A Eu (III) complex in vitro antibacterial efficacy on a set of Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria show that the complex displays marked antibacterial behavior. The minimum complex inhibitory concentrations show that it displays significantly higher antibacterial impact on conventional Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains compared to those of silver sulfadiazine and europium nitrate. The Eu (III), bacterial inhibitions are closely linked to relevant DNA binding affinities.

Speaker: Dr Abdolhamed Shahedi (Kerman Graduate University of Advanced Technology)

2:20 PM → 2:40 PM Investigation of the Possibility of Breast Cancer Diagnosis Using Synchrotron-based X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) Technique from Human Hair and Nail Samples

Speaker: Ms Sahel Ganji (MaxIV Synchrotron)

2:40 PM → 3:00 PM Investigations On Effect of Curcumin-Au Nanoparticles on SK-N-SH Cell Line Using Synchrotron Radiation Based IR Microspectroscopy

The contribution of oxidative stress in several chronic and degenerative diseases suggests that antioxidant therapy can be a promising therapeutic strategy. However, in the case of many antioxidants, their biodistribution and bioactivity are restricted due to low water solubility. Curcumin is a powerful free radical scavenger that upon conjugation to gold nanoparticles results in the formation of stable gold nanoparticles that act as highly water-soluble carriers for the curcumin molecules. In the present study, the effect of curcumin-coated gold nanoparticles (Cur-GNPs) on the H2O2-treated human neuroblastoma (SK-N-SH) cell line was evaluated by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy. Biochemical changes in cells resulting from exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant treatment on cells were investigated. Analyzing changes in PO2- bands and amide bands in the fingerprint region and
also changes in the ratio of CH2 (asym) to CH3 (asym) bands in the lipid region revealed that post-treatment with Cur-GNPs could effectively decrease the damage on DNA caused by H2O2 treatment, whereas pretreatment of cells with Cur-GNPs was found to be more effective at preventing lipid peroxidation than post-treatment. Further analysis of the CH2(asym) to CH3(asym) ratio provided information on not only the lipid peroxidation level in cells, but also the interaction of nanoparticles with the plasma membrane, as confirmed by lactate dehydrogenase assay.

Speaker: Dr Fatemeh Karimi (Tehran University of Medical Sciences)

3:00 PM → 3:30 PM Synchrotron Radiation for Cultural Heritage Investigations. Case Studies in Conservation of Prehistoric Caves in Dordogne (France), Characterization of Ancient Ceramics and Pigments (Italy) and Neolithic Potteries (Iran)

From very large, to ultra-small (from meter to manometer); this is how this study of an alteration process on prehistorical cave walls, was dealt. On wall surfaces in some prehistorical caves, a ‘white veil’ has appeared and is being observed quite frequently now. Its origin is not very well defined. For more than 20 years, researchers have been observing and analysing this phenomenon which may contribute to a total degradation of artworks in some of the caves of the Vézère valley in Dordogne, France (UNESCO patrimony). After many campaigns in the fields, a unique cave (the Leye Cave, located in Dordogne, close to the well-known Lascaux cave) has been identified and selected to proceed with all available types of analytical investigations, one of them being the use of Synchrotron radiation (SR). In this specific cave no artwork is present, enabling to proceed to any type of analyses either invasive or not. Thus, the so-called white veil has been defined as composed of 2 types of crystallizations: moonmilk and coralloids. In both cases calcium carbonate crystals have been identified using traditional methods such as optical microscopy, scanning microscopy-energy dispersive X ray spectrometry, X ray fluorescence, Raman spectrometry, Laser-Induced-Breakdown-Spectrometry. At this stage, a deeper study was needed to know more about the crystals through their defects at the atomic and structural level. This is why SR was used thanks to a strong collaboration between the universities of the Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the SOLEIL Synchrotron at Saclay near Paris, under a consortium agreement (NACRES project). The objective was to look for potential tracers of the growth mechanisms involved, both from a chemical and crystallographic point of view. Experiments were carried out on three different beamlines combining X-ray diffraction analyses on single crystals (PROXIMA2 beamline), micro-spectrofluorimetry analyses to assess the presence of organic matter (DISCO beamline), and X-ray imaging with a resolution of 150 x 150 nm in order to determine local chemical variations (Nanoscopium beamline). The work presents a synthesis of the results obtained, giving new insights regarding the discussion on the origin of moonmilk (Oral communication to be given by L. Bassel at inArt conference, Paris, 28 June-1 July 2022).

Speaker: Dr Rémy Chapoulie (University Bordeaux Montaigne)

3:30 PM → 4:10 PM Structural Biology at Diamond Light Source: What Have We Learnt About Covid-19?

Macromolecular crystallography (MX) has been the most successful synchrotron technique contributing to several Nobel prices in Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine. The atomic models obtained as results of the diffraction experiments give detailed structural insight into the function of proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes. It has become an important tool in basic science and drug design and the public protein data bank (PDB) contains now more than 165,000 X-ray structures. In recent years cryo-electron microscopy (EM) has undergone several technical advances and can now also provide very accurate structural models for large complexes. While not a synchrotron radiation-based method, many Light Sources run dedicated EM facilities as part of their user programs.
In my presentation I will give an overview on the facilities available for structural biology at Diamond Light Source. In addition, I will highlight several projects in which both MX and EM have contributed to the understanding of the receptor binding of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and work towards COVID-19 drugs inhibiting the main protease (MPRO) of this virus.

Speaker: Dr Armin Wagner (I23 Principal Beamline Scientist, Diamond Light Source)

4:10 PM → 4:30 PM CONCLUDING REMARKS