{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:18:43Z","timestamp":1760145523216,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,3]],"date-time":"2024-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation","award":["G2000163"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G2000163"]}]},{"name":"National Health and Medical Research Council","award":["G2000163"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G2000163"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Placental health and foetal development are dependent upon element homeostasis. Analytical techniques such as mass spectroscopy can provide quantitative data on element concentrations in placental tissue but do not show spatial distribution or co-localisation of elements that may affect placental function. The present study used synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy to elucidate element content and distribution in healthy and pathological placental tissue. The X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) beamline at the Australian Synchrotron was used to image trace metal content of 19 placental sections from healthy term (n = 5, 37\u201339 weeks), foetal growth-restricted (n = 3, &lt;32 weeks, birth weight &lt;3rd centile), postdate (n = 7, &gt;41 completed weeks), and stillbirth-complicated pregnancies (n = 4, 37\u201340 weeks). Samples were cryo-sectioned and freeze-dried. The concentration and distribution of fourteen elements were detected in all samples: arsenic, bromine, calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, molybdenum, phosphorous, potassium, rubidium, selenium, strontium, sulphur, and zinc. The elements zinc, calcium, phosphorous, and strontium were significantly increased in stillbirth placental tissue in comparison to healthy-term controls. Strontium, zinc, and calcium were found to co-localise in stillbirth tissue samples, and calcium and strontium concentrations were correlated in all placental groups. Molybdenum was significantly decreased in stillbirth, foetal growth-restricted, and postdate placental tissue in comparison to healthy-term samples (p &lt; 0.0001). Synchrotron-based XFM reveals elemental distribution within biological samples such as the placenta, allowing for the co-localisation of metal deposits that may have a pathological role. Our pilot study further indicates low concentrations of placental molybdenum in pregnancies complicated by foetal growth restriction, postdate delivery, and stillbirth.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16152549","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,5]],"date-time":"2024-08-05T11:28:54Z","timestamp":1722857334000},"page":"2549","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Placental Element Content Assessed via Synchrotron-Based X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy Identifies Low Molybdenum Concentrations in Foetal Growth Restriction, Postdate Delivery and Stillbirth"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3271-4046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vladimira","family":"Foteva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle 2305, Australia"},{"name":"School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle 2308, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaushik","family":"Maiti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle 2305, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0505-0598","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joshua J.","family":"Fisher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle 2305, Australia"},{"name":"School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle 2308, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yixue","family":"Qiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy, Xi\u2019an Jiao Tong Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0409-9012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David J.","family":"Paterson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Australian Synchrotron, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Clayton 3168, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0720-8715","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael W. M.","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia"},{"name":"Central Analytical Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4000, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4720-0280","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roger","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle 2305, Australia"},{"name":"School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle 2308, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1509","DOI":"10.1152\/physrev.00029.2015","article-title":"Placental Origins of Chronic Disease","volume":"96","author":"Burton","year":"2016","journal-title":"Physiol. 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