TY - JOUR A1 - Zancajo, V. M. R. A1 - Lindtner, T. A1 - Eisele, M. A1 - Huber, A. J. A1 - Elbaum, R. A1 - Kneipp, Janina T1 - FTIR Nanospectroscopy Shows Molecular Structures of Plant Biominerals and Cell Walls N2 - Plant tissues are complex composite structures of organic and inorganic components whose function relies on molecular heterogeneity at the nanometer scale. Scattering-type near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) in the mid-infrared (IR) region is used here to collect IR nanospectra from both fixed and native plant samples. We compared structures of chemically extracted silica bodies (phytoliths) to silicified and nonsilicified cell walls prepared as a flat block of epoxy-embedded awns of wheat (Triticum turgidum), thin sections of native epidermis cells from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) comprising silica phytoliths, and isolated cells from awns of oats (Avena sterilis). The correlation of the scanning-probe IR images and the mechanical phase image enables a combined probing of mechanical material properties together with the chemical composition and structure of both the cell walls and the phytolith structures. The data reveal a structural heterogeneity of the different silica bodies in situ, as well as different compositions and crystallinities of cell wall components. In conclusion, IR nanospectroscopy is suggested as an ideal tool for studies of native plant materials of varied origins and preparations and could be applied to other inorganic–organic hybrid materials. KW - Cells KW - Plants KW - Organic polymers KW - Silica KW - Infrared light PY - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c00271 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 92 IS - 20 SP - 13694 EP - 13701 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-54445 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -