Abstract: Background:With short wavelengths, long penetration depth and excellent energy resolution of X-rays, synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy (XRM) has demonstrated its great potential for nanoscale cellular imaging. However, despite of the high-quality sub-cellular morphological details provided by XRM, it lacks appropriate molecular probes capable of localizing cellular targets.Purpose: This study aims to perform the preparation of X-ray imaging tags. Methods:In vitro chemical catalytic reaction was introduced to get the X-ray imaging tags.Results: By exploiting the excellent energy resolution of X-rays, synchrotron-based X-ray imaging tags were prepared with the imaging resolution of 30 nm when observed by soft X-ray microscopy at Shanghai synchrotron radiation facility (SSRF). Conclusion: The results indicate high potential to design X-ray sensitive molecular probes for cell imaging.

Key words: 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB), Catalysis, Polymer, Synchrotron-based X-ray, Imaging tag