Advances of Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging and Mapping Technologies of Plant Material

Abstract

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic imaging and mapping techniques have become essential tools for the detection and characterization of the molecular components of biological tissues [1]. These modern analytical techniques enable high-resolution molecular imaging of complex botanical samples [2]. Imaging and mapping are based on the absorption of IR radiations by vibrational transitions in covalent bonds and their major advantage is the acquisition of local molecular expression profiles, while maintaining the topographic integrity of the tissue by avoiding time-consuming extraction, purification and separation steps. All IR related information is recorded in a so called „hyperspectral cube“ from which any ingredient relevant information can be selectively extracted with a resolution of 4µm and transformed into an image as depicted for e.g. Urtica dioica in Figure 1. These new techniques enable global analysis of biological samples with highest spatial resolution and provide unique chemical-morphological information about the tissue status. With these non-destructive examination methods it is possible to get qualitative and quantitative information of heterogeneous samples. In this presentation recent applications of infrared spectroscopic imaging and mapping technologies of plant material are introduced and discussed. Keywords: Phytomics, tissue, instrumentation, data processing, transmission, reflection, hyper spectral imaging Acknowledgement: Eurasia-Pacific Uninet (EPU) (Salzburg, Austria), the Ministry for Science and Research and the Ministry for Health, Family and Youth (Vienna, Austria) (Novel Analytical Tools for Quality Control in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Project No. 80855), the Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck (Nachwuchsforderung) for financial support.