Metal Distribution and Quantification in Plants Leaves by LA-ICPMS

Abstract

Hyperaccumulator plants are complex family characterized by taking up high amounts of heavy metals in their roots, translocating them to the shoot to be finally accumulated in above-ground organs, especially leaves. One of their principal interests is due to the possibility of using this type of plants for phytoremediation of contaminated or natural metal-rich soils. A new approach to quantify locally metals by LA-ICP-MS technique in these plants is presented using external calibration with addition of yttrium as internal standard with SRM NIST of tomato pressed pellets. On the other hand, a study of the metal distribution in Arabidopsis halleri leaves is performed by the same technique and elemental mapping is compared for fresh and freeze-dried leaves, young and mature leaves as well as for thin sections.