Setup and characterisation according to NEMA NU 4 of thePET scanner, a PET system dedicated for plant sciences.

ThePET system is a plant dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanner consisting of fully digital photo multipliers with lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate crystals and located inside a custom climate chamber. Here, we present the setup ofPET, its data processing and image reconstruction together with its performance.The performance characterization follows the national electrical manufacturers association (NEMA) standard for small animal PET systems with a number of adoptions due to the vertical oriented bore of a PET for plant sciences.

An electrochemical cell for in operando C nuclear magnetic resonance investigations of carbon dioxide/carbonate processes in aqueous solution.

In operando nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one method for the online investigation of electrochemical systems and reactions. It allows for real-time observations of the formation of products and intermediates, and it grants insights into the interactions of substrates and catalysts. An in operando NMR setup for the investigation of the electrolytic reduction of at silver electrodes has been developed.

Combined MRI-PET dissects dynamic changes in plant structures and functions.

Unravelling the factors determining the allocation of carbon to various plant organs is one of the great challenges of modern plant biology. Studying allocation under close to natural conditions requires non-invasive methods, which are now becoming available for measuring plants on a par with those developed for humans. By combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), we investigated three contrasting root/shoot systems growing in sand or soil, with respect to their structures, transport routes and the translocation dynamics of recently fixed photoassimilates labelled with the short-lived radioactive carbon isotope (11)C.