Nilsson E.J.C., Pallon J., Przybylowicz W.J., Wang Y.D., Jönsson K.I.
Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden; Materials Research Department, IThemba LABS, National Research Foundation, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West 7129, South Africa; AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; School of Education and Environment, Kristianstad University, SE-291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden; Department of Molecular Biosciences, Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Nilsson, E.J.C., Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden; Pallon, J., Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden; Przybylowicz, W.J., Materials Research Department, IThemba LABS, National Research Foundation, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West 7129, South Africa, AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; Wang, Y.D., Materials Research Department, IThemba LABS, National Research Foundation, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West 7129, South Africa; Jönsson, K.I., School of Education and Environment, Kristianstad University, SE-291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden, Department of Molecular Biosciences, Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Although heavy on labor and equipment, thus not often applied, cryoanalysis of frozen hydrated biological specimens can provide information that better reflects the living state of the organism, compared with analysis in the freeze-dried state. In this paper we report a study where the cryoanalysis facility with cryosectioning capabilities at Materials Research Department, iThemba LABS, South Africa was employed to evaluate the usefulness of combining three ion beam analytical methods (μPIXE, RBS and STIM) to analyze a biological target where a better elemental compositional description is needed - the tardigrade. Imaging as well as quantification results are of interest. In a previous study, the element composition and redistribution of elements in the desiccated and active states of two tardigrade species was investigated. This study included analysis of both whole and sectioned tardigrades, and the aim was to analyze each specimen twice; first frozen hydrated and later freeze-dried. The combination of the three analytical techniques proved useful: elements from C to Rb in the tardigrades could be determined and certain differences in distribution of elements between the frozen hydrated and the freeze-dried states were observed. RBS on frozen hydrated specimens provided knowledge of matrix elements. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.