A LA-ICP-MS method based on a 213 nm Nd:YAG laser and a quadrupole ICP-MS was developed for mapping of mercury in root cross-sections of maize (Zea mays L.) to investigate the mechanism of mercury uptake from soil and its potential translocation to the edible parts. Spot analysis on a virtual grid on the surface of the root sections using washout times of 10s in between spots greatly alleviated problems related to mercury memory effects. This approach was successfully used to investigate the mercury distribution in root sections of maize grown in soil spiked to a level of 50 mg kg(-1) DW HgCl2. It was found that at given Hg concentrations in the substrate Hg ions practically do not cross root plasma membranes of the endodermal barrier, but are entirely retained in the root apoplastic space. This suggests that maize plants grown in Hg-contaminated areas translocate Hg to the upper edible parts of the plant only to a small extent.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2821455
A multi-elemental 3D laser ablation-ICP-mass spectrometry mapping procedure for high-resolution depth information retrieval to investigate surface layer phenomena was presented. The procedure is based on laser drilling on a virtual grid on the surface, followed by extraction of depth maps along the z-axis (for each element monitored). As a proof of concept, this approach was successfully used to investigate the degradation mechanisms of a medieval, weathered glass artifact by colocalization analysis of selected cross-sectional 2D elemental images in arbitrary planes of the volume images.
COBISS.SI-ID: 5202714
Kosteletzkya virginica is a wetland halophyte that is a good candidate for rehabilitation of degraded salt marshes and production of oil as biodiesel. Salt marshes are frequently contaminated by heavy metals. The distribution of Zn in vegetative and reproductive organs of adult plants, and the NaCl influence on this distribution remain unknown and were explored. Zinc distribution in reproductive organs of plants grown on Zn (100 μM), NaCl (50 mM) or Zn + NaCl was estimated by a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry procedure (LA-ICP-MS). Zinc reduced plant growth, inhibited photosynthesis and reduced seed yield. Zinc accumulation in the seeds was only two times higher in Zn-treated plants than in controls. Exogenous NaCl neutralized the damaging action of Zn and modified the Zn distribution through a preferential accumulation of toxic ions in older leaves. Zinc was present in seed testa, endosperm and, to a lower extent, in embryo. Additional NaCl induced a chalazal retention of Zn during seed maturation and reduced final Zn seed content. It was concluded that NaCl 50 mM had a positive impact on the response of K. virginica to Zn toxicity and acts through a modification in Zn distribution rather than a decrease in Zn absorption.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2812495