Ion microscopy for elemental tissue characterisation in plant and food sciences

Please join us for the Virtual Pub on February 27, 2026 at 13:00 CET. We welcome Paula Pongrac, Jožef Stefan Institute & University of Ljubljana and Blaž Režonja, University of Ljubljana, for a talk on "Ion microscopy for elemental tissue characterisation in plant and food sciences."

Understanding the (sub)cellular and tissue-specific distribution of elements in plant and food sciences is key for predicting elemental bioavailability in diets. Bridging existing gaps requires concerted effort to systematically map large number of edible parts of plants. Therefore, simple sample preparation and reliable workflows are needed. In this talk, we will present capabilities of the micro-particle induced X-ray emission (micro-PIXE) boasting micrometre resolution, 1-10 ppm (fully quantitative) sensitivity for elements from Na to U and a cryo-station available at the Microanalytical Centre of the Jožef Stefan institute, a member of the Slovenian Euro-Bioimaging Node (SiMBION). A case study in which a group of three undergraduate students conducted a micro-PIXE experiment on selected edible seeds will be introduced and discussed.