Cell Culture on Silicon Nitride Membranes and Cryopreparation for Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Nano-analysis

Presented here is a protocol for cell culture on silicon nitride membranes and plunge-freezing prior to X-ray fluorescence imaging with a synchrotron cryogenic X-ray nanoprobe. When only room temperature nano-analysis is provided, the frozen samples can be further freeze-dried. These are critical steps to obtain information on the intracellular elemental composition.