NSLS-II User Profiles: Ryan Tappero and Jason Unrine
November 17, 2016
Ryan Tappero, the lead scientist at the X-Ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), and Jason Unrine, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
Ryan Tappero (NSLS II, X-Ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM)) and Jason Unrine (University of Kentucky, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences) collaborate on a project to elucidate the mechanisms of nanoparticle uptake by plants. Several groups have been using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence to map and determine the speciation of nanoparticles by plants. In their studies Tappero
and Unrine proposed to take these studies a step further taking advantage of the unsurpassed imaging resolution of NSLS II Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe. To understand the abundance and localization of nanomaterials in tissues and cells of exposed organisms to nanoparticles they used tomato plants exposed to CeO2 nanoparticles. Imaging different tissues and cells they were able to shed light on possible transformations, toxicity, and potential for transfer via the food chain.
2016-6734 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
