Lecture
Multi-elemental imaging of soft biological tissue with cellular resolution using LA-ICP-TOF-MS
- at -
- ICM Saal 5
- Type: Lecture
Lecture description
Søren Husted, Copenhagen, DK, Daniel Persson, Noemi Thibaut, Francesco Minutello, Augusta Szameitat
As photo-autotrophic organisms, plants produce all their organic metabolites based on just 14 mineral elements, CO2 and H2O. The uptake and assimilation of these essential mineral elements in metabolism are tightly controlled by a complex set of physical cellular
barriers and transport proteins to maintain the elements within a homeostatic range to support plant growth and development.
We have developed a range of LA-ICP-MS and parallel inorganic imaging techniques to study the fundamentals of mineral ion uptake all the way from the root to the shoot. In my presentation I will show you some of our most recent and powerful analytical developments to study these processes at the tissue and cellular level.
One of the most critical steps in inorganic bio-imaging is to ensure that the mineral ions do not leak out of the cell or displace during sample preparation. I will show examples of various preparation methods based on both freeze dried and snap frozen samples to be
analysed using two different modifications of the laser ablation (LA) chamber.
Combining the LA chamber with an ICP-QQQ-MS allow us to analyse 4-5 different mineral elements simultaneously, but in combination with a fast-scanning ICP-TOF-MS we can expand this to encompass 12 out of the 14 essential mineral ions per image.
There is a growing interest in analysing how nanoparticles carrying a cargo of mineral elements are acquired by plant cells. These nanoparticles can be designed to target and deliver essential mineral elements to plants by a triggered response caused by
differences in e.g. pH and redox conditions as they interact with the plant cell. In the presentation, I will show how we can label those nanoparticles with tracer elements and stable isotopes to image their pathways and behaviour, not least when LA-ICP-MS is combined with other inorganic imaging techniques such as nano-CT scanning and confocal laser scanning techniques.
Literature:
Kopittke PM et al. (2020). Methods to visualize elements in plants. Plant Physiology, DOI: 10.1104/pp.19.01306
Szameitat A et al. (2021). Unravelling the interactions between nano-hydroxyapatite and the roots of phosphorus deficient barley plants. Environ. Sci. Nano, DOI:10.1039/d0en00974a
Kristensen et al (2025). 3D X-ray Microscopy Lights up Nanoparticles in Plants. ACS Nano. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c06203
As photo-autotrophic organisms, plants produce all their organic metabolites based on just 14 mineral elements, CO2 and H2O. The uptake and assimilation of these essential mineral elements in metabolism are tightly controlled by a complex set of physical cellular
barriers and transport proteins to maintain the elements within a homeostatic range to support plant growth and development.
We have developed a range of LA-ICP-MS and parallel inorganic imaging techniques to study the fundamentals of mineral ion uptake all the way from the root to the shoot. In my presentation I will show you some of our most recent and powerful analytical developments to study these processes at the tissue and cellular level.
One of the most critical steps in inorganic bio-imaging is to ensure that the mineral ions do not leak out of the cell or displace during sample preparation. I will show examples of various preparation methods based on both freeze dried and snap frozen samples to be
analysed using two different modifications of the laser ablation (LA) chamber.
Combining the LA chamber with an ICP-QQQ-MS allow us to analyse 4-5 different mineral elements simultaneously, but in combination with a fast-scanning ICP-TOF-MS we can expand this to encompass 12 out of the 14 essential mineral ions per image.
There is a growing interest in analysing how nanoparticles carrying a cargo of mineral elements are acquired by plant cells. These nanoparticles can be designed to target and deliver essential mineral elements to plants by a triggered response caused by
differences in e.g. pH and redox conditions as they interact with the plant cell. In the presentation, I will show how we can label those nanoparticles with tracer elements and stable isotopes to image their pathways and behaviour, not least when LA-ICP-MS is combined with other inorganic imaging techniques such as nano-CT scanning and confocal laser scanning techniques.
Literature:
Kopittke PM et al. (2020). Methods to visualize elements in plants. Plant Physiology, DOI: 10.1104/pp.19.01306
Szameitat A et al. (2021). Unravelling the interactions between nano-hydroxyapatite and the roots of phosphorus deficient barley plants. Environ. Sci. Nano, DOI:10.1039/d0en00974a
Kristensen et al (2025). 3D X-ray Microscopy Lights up Nanoparticles in Plants. ACS Nano. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c06203
