Ion localization and X-ray microanalysis.
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Cryopreservation↗
Biomedical subjects
M J Hodson
Publications and source records attributed to M J Hodson.
Detecting plant silica fibres in animal tissue by confocal fluorescence microscopy.
Silica fibres from the inflorescence bracts of the grass Phalaris canariensis L. cause dermatitis, and have been implicated in the aetiology of oesophageal cancer in northeastern Iran. Here we describe a method for labelling these fibres so that they can be located in mammalian tissue. Fluorescein was covalently linked to isolated, purified fibres with the silane coupling agent 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane. The labelled hairs were then rubbed into the backs of mice. These were later killed and their skin fixed, stained and sliced at a thickness of 250 microns. A confocal laser scanning microscope gave brilliant images of the fibres at any depth up to 100 microns or more beneath the surface of the slice. Fibres penetrated deeply into the dermis. Several cubic millimetres of tissue could be surveyed in 1 h. The number of fibres present was approximately 2 mm-3 initially, falling to 0.1 mm-3 after 7 days.
Animals↗
Silica in higher plants.
Opaline silica deposits are formed by many vascular (higher) plants. The capacity of these plants for silica absorption varies considerably according to genotype and environment. Plant communities exchange silica between soil and vegetation, especially in warmer climates. Silica deposition in epidermal cell walls offers mechanical and protective advantages. Biogenic silica particles from plants are also implicated in the causation of cancer. Recent techniques are reviewed which may aid in the identification of plant pathways for soluble silica movement to deposition sites and in the determination of ionic environments. Botanical investigations have focused on silicification of cell walls in relation to plant development, using scanning and transmission electron microscopy combined with X-ray microanalysis. Silica deposition in macrohair walls of the lemma of canary grass (Phalaris) begins at inflorescence emergence and closely follows wall thickening. The structure of the deposited silica may be determined by specific organic polymers present at successive stages of wall development. Lowering of transpiration by enclosure of Phalaris inflorescences in plastic bags reduced silica deposition in macrohairs. Preliminary freeze-substitution studies have located silicon, as well as potassium and chloride, in the cell vacuole and wall deposition sites during initial silicification.
Climate↗