Direct observation and x-ray microanalysis of frozen specimens of plant root in soil

Abstract

A new sample preparation technique of biological materials for X-ray microanalysis has een developed. The sample specimen is directly frozen in liquid nitrogen, and then observed and analyzed in that frozen state. Complicated processing such as fixation, drying, dehydration and impregnation of the specimen can be omitted. In this investigation, this technique was applied to the study on the localization of a few elements in the plant root grown in the soil. No morphological deformation was noticed, and water soluble and exchangeable ions such as potassium in the root and calcium at the epidermis were clearly detected. A few interesting findings were achieved and discussed.