Abstract
Crucial to many investigations on the ecophysiology of hyperaccumulator plants is visualization of the spatial distribution of metal(loid)s in their tissues. A wide variety of methods can be used to obtain information on the distribution of elements in plant tissues, and X-ray elemental mapping techniques are especially widely used. Microanalytical investigations place strict demands on sample collection, preparation, and analytical conditions, in order to avoid elemental redistribution, chemical modification, or ultrastructural alterations. This chapter summarizes a range of techniques that can be used to visualise the elemental distribution in hyperaccumulator plants, including synchrotron and laboratory-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (micro-XRF), proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), scanning/transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/TEM-EDS), laser ablation-inductively-coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), nanoscale secondary ion mass spectroscopy (NanoSIMS), autoradiography, histochemical methods, and confocal microscopy using fluorophores.
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