Quantitative NMR microscopy on intact plants

Quantitative high resolution images on intact young maize plants were acquired by using magnetization-prepared NMR microscopy. Although the spatial resolution is low compared with that of light microscopy, the calculated spin density and T₁ maps exhibit contrasts that are in excellent agreement with photomicrographic images. The T₂ map gives image contrasts that are not visible in a usual light microscopic image. The diffusion images show an anisotropic behavior of the water self-diffusion coefficient in the vascular bundles, which can be understood by the cell morphology in this plant section. This work demonstrates that quantitative imaging on intact plant systems is possible and that long total acquisition times are no obstacle. Furthermore, the different single parameter maps give a better insight into the morphology of plants under in vivo conditions.