Sample Preparation of Atherosclerotic Plaque for SAXS/WAXS Experimentation

Rebecca R Mackley; Steven Huband; Tara L Schiller

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c00060

Sample Preparation of Atherosclerotic Plaque for SAXS/WAXS Experimentation

ACS Omega. 2023 Apr 4;8(15):13833-13839. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00060. eCollection 2023 Apr 18.

Authors

Rebecca R Mackley^{1

2}, Steven Huband³, Tara L Schiller²

Affiliations

¹ Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
² Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
³ X-ray Diffraction Facility, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is often described as a single disease entity; however, the morphology of each plaque is unique to the individual. The field currently lacks a technique that can discriminate stable from unstable plaques, to identify those at risk of a thromboembolic event. Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) holds the potential to be able to identify key materials present in a plaque, such as cholesterol species, collagen, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and hydroxyapatite. Protocols have been established for the preparation of excised human atherosclerotic tissue that are investigated herein. This includes the fixing, sectioning, and substrate selection of the sample. Through several sample preparation methods, vast improvements have been made to sample-to-noise ratio and background subtraction.