Ingrain, a rock physics company, has introduced its NanoXCT imaging device that can reveal nano-scale, 3D imaging for non-destructive, non-invasive investigations in a range of scientific applications, including drug discovery and molecular imaging.

The 3D NanoXCT is capable of focusing an x-ray source onto a small region of interest within a rock sample—as small as 20-60 microns. The best resolution of the new device is 0.05 microns (50 nanometers), the company said.

The Houston-based Ingrain said its NanoXCT creates multiple views of a rock sample by focusing its x-ray source through a condensing lens on a particular region of interest. The x-rays exit the object and pass through a device that focuses the beam onto a detector to form each view. The views are combined to create a virtual, 3D image, the company said.