Biomaterial Surface and Interface Analysis by Means of Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Thanks to the development of gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) such as an Ar cluster ion beam, the application of TOF-SIMS has been growing, especially in biological fields. GCIB enables sputtering of soft materials including biological cells and tissues to provide 3D images. The features of the latest TOF-SIMS related techniques and applications of TOF-SIMS into biological samples, such as hair, skin, cells, and tissues, and bio-model samples for biomolecule investigation are briefly introduced in this article.