Multielement Plant Tissue Analysis Using ICP Spectrometry

Plant tissue analysis is a valuable tool for evaluating the nutritional status and quality of crops and is widely used for scientific and commercial purposes. The majority of plant analyzes are now performed by techniques based on ICP spectrometry such as inductively coupled plasma—optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) or ICP—mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These techniques enable fast and accurate measurements of multielement profiles when combined with appropriate methods for sample preparation and digestion. This chapter presents state-of-the-art methods for digestion of plant tissues and subsequent analysis of their multielement composition by ICP spectrometry. Details on upcoming techniques, expected to gain importance within the field of multielement plant tissue analysis over the coming years, are also provided. Finally, attention is given to laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) for multielement bioimaging of plant tissues. The presentation of the methods covers instructions on all steps from sampling and sample preparation to data interpretation.