The Debrecen Scanning Nuclear Microprobe and its applications in biology and environmental science

Nuclear microscopy is one of the most powerful tools which are able to determine quantitative trace element distributions in complex samples on a microscopic scale. The advantage of nuclear microprobes are that different ion beam analytical techniques, like PIXE, RBS, STIM and NRA can be applied at the same time allowing the determination of the sample structure, major, minor and trace element distribution simultaneously. In this paper a nuclear microprobe setup developed for the microanalysis of thin complex samples of organic matrix at the Debrecen Scanning Nuclear Nficroprobe Facility is presented. The application of nuclear microscopy in life sciences is shown through an example, the study of penetration of TiO2 nanoparticles of bodycare cosmetics in skin layers.