Evo 50 variable pressure sem

Freshly collected tuber samples were sliced at various angles and the pieces were fixed overnight in 2.5 % glutaraldehyde in 0.2 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and washed in distilled water and dehydrated through increasing concentrations of ethanol (Hayat 2000 ). The dehydrated specimens were then dried in a Critical Point Dryer (Denton Vacuum, Moorestown, NJ, USA) using liquid CO₂. The fully dried samples were then mounted on aluminum stubs using sticky carbon tabs and sputter coated with gold (Hummer 6.2 Sputter Coater, Anatech USA, Union City, CA, USA). Digital images of the specimens were captured using a JSM-5600 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) (JEOL USA Inc., Peabody, MA, USA). Some of the critical point dried samples were coated with platinum (15 nm) using an EMS 150T ES Sputter Coater (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Hatfield, PA, USA). These samples were then mounted on aluminum stubs, viewed, and imaged using a JEOL JSM-6500F Field Emission SEM. Elemental analyses were done with a Bruker Quantax 200 X Flash EDX Spectrometer System attached to a Zeiss EVO 50 Variable Pressure SEM at 10 kV, using INCA-Mapping software.