Algae. 1988; 3(2): 147-163.

Investigations on Elemental Analysis in Laminaria saccharina ( L. ) Lamour.

Ik Kyo Chung, B . H . Brinkhuis, G . Schidlovsky

Department of Marine Science, Pusan National University, Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Department of Applied Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Elemental analysis of bulk specimens which had been prepared by air-drying, criticalpoint drying and freeze-fracturing methods and thin sections of plastic embedded materials did not show any sign of Cd presence in L. saccharina under the EDS system. Though cadmium could be detected by the SRIXE method, the concentration level of Cd in L. saccharina could be too low to be indentified under the EDS system. There was no indication of tightly bound subcellular accumulation of Cd in the tissue. Decrease in S possibly due to Cd effects on the protein structure was found in the chloroplasts and physodes. The importance of the concentration of elements in tissue and differences in sample preparation methods and analytical systems should no be understimated in any attempt at elemental analysis.

Keywords : Energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDS), Synchrotron induced x-ray Emission (SRIXE), Cadmium, L. saccharina