title: Segment fusion of ToF-SIMS images.
abstract: The imaging capabilities of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) have not been used to their full potential in the analysis of polymer and biological samples. Imaging has been limited by the size of the dataset and the chemical complexity of the sample being imaged. Pixel and segment based image fusion algorithms commonly used in remote sensing, ecology, geography, and geology provide a way to improve spatial resolution and classification of biological images. In this study, a sample of Arabidopsis thaliana was treated with silver nanoparticles and imaged with ToF-SIMS. These images provide insight into the uptake mechanism for the silver nanoparticles into the plant tissue, giving new understanding to the mechanism of uptake of heavy metals in the environment. The Munechika algorithm was programmed in-house and applied to achieve pixel based fusion, which improved the spatial resolution of the image obtained. Multispectral and quadtree segment or region based fusion algorithms were performed using ecognition software, a commercially available remote sensing software suite, and used to classify the images. The Munechika fusion improved the spatial resolution for the images containing silver nanoparticles, while the segment fusion allowed classification and fusion based on the tissue types in the sample, suggesting potential pathways for the uptake of the silver nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 359 Natural Sciences Complex, Buffalo, New York 14260-3000.
authors.forename: Tammy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Milillo
authors.affiliation: Michigan Technological University, Research Institute, 3600 Green Ct #100, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105.
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: CUBRC, Inc., 4455 Genesee St., Buffalo, New York 14225.
authors.forename: Remo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fischione
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 359 Natural Sciences Complex, Buffalo, New York 14260-3000.
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montes
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 359 Natural Sciences Complex, Buffalo, New York 14260-3000.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gardella
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D012834:Silver / Q000378:metabolism*; D018629:Spectrometry, Mass, Secondary Ion / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012834:Silver