Comparison of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for elemental imaging in Daphnia magna.
Visualization of elemental distributions in thin sections of biological tissue is gaining importance in many disciplines of biological and medical research. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (micro-XRF) are two widely used microanalytical techniques for elemental mapping. This article compares the capabilities of the two techniques for imaging the distribution of selected elements in the model organism Daphnia magna in terms of detection power and spatial resolution. Sections with a thickness of 10 and 20 microm of the fresh water crustacean Daphnia magna were subjected to LA-ICP-MS and micro-XRF analysis. The elemental distributions obtained for Ca, P, S and Zn allow element-to-tissue correlation. LA-ICP-MS and micro-XRF offer similar limits of detection for the elements Ca and P and thus, allow a cross-validation of the imaging results. LA-ICP-MS was particularly sensitive for determining Zn (LOD 20 microg g(-1), 15 microm spot size) in Daphnia magna, while the detection power of micro-XRF was insufficient in this context. However, LA-ICP-MS was inadequate for the measurement of the S distributions, which could be better visualized with micro-XRF (LOD 160 microg g(-1), 5 s live time). Both techniques are thus complementary in providing an exhaustive chemical profiling of tissue samples.
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S12, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Deepti.Gholap@UGent.be
Deepti S
DS
Gholap
Andrei
A
Izmer
Björn
B
De Samber
Johannes T
JT
van Elteren
Vid S
VS
Selih
Roel
R
Evens
Karel
K
De Schamphelaere
Colin
C
Janssen
Lieve
L
Balcaen
Inge
I
Lindemann
Laszlo
L
Vincze
Frank
F
Vanhaecke
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D003621:Daphnia / Q000737:chemistry*; D007834:Lasers; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000379:methods*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
D010758:Phosphorus; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium