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Stagno V, Moricca C, Sadori L, Dell'Aglio E, Reale R, Capuani S. Evaluation of the efficacy of micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging compared with light microscopy to investigate the anatomy of modern and ancient waterlogged wood. Magn Reson Imaging 2023:S0730-725X(23)00107-8. [PMID: 37348742 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2023.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Light microscopy is the conventional method used to investigate wood anatomy, identify the wood taxon, and assess its conservation state. It generally requires the mechanical cut of thin sections from a sample to obtain informative images. When dealing with wooden artworks or ancient remains (e.g., archaeological waterlogged wood), it is important to avoid sample destruction. In this work the efficacy of micro-magnetic resonance imaging (μ-MRI) to investigate the anatomy of waterlogged wood is assessed in comparison with light microscopy. Images along the three anatomical directions (transverse, tangential and radial) of six modern wood species and one archaeological specimen of waterlogged wood (from the Neolithic site "La Marmotta") were obtained both by μ-MRI and light microscopy. μ-MRI images were acquired virtually selecting 2D slices along the three wood anatomical directions. A 3D reconstruction was derived from 2D μ-MRI images. Conventional light microscopy histology was obtained by manually cutting thin sections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which high-resolution MR images and light microscopy images of the three anatomical directions of seven wood species are compared. The non-destructive μ-MRI approach allows to investigate the 2D and 3D topological organization of the whole waterlogged wood sample up to a resolution of 8 μm. Although the optical microscope attains higher image resolutions and remains superior in the observation of wood diagnostic characters, multi-parametric μ-MRI provides physiological investigation complementary to light microscopy, giving information concerning both a single section and the whole volume of the sample. The presented study may represent a starting point for further improvements of μ-MRI techniques applied to the non-destructive investigation of waterlogged wood samples, especially those of interest for cultural heritage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Stagno
- Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; National Research Council-Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Moricca
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
| | - Laura Sadori
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuele Dell'Aglio
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rita Reale
- Chemistry Applied to Restoration, A. Galli Academy, Via Petrarca 9, 22100 Como, Italy
| | - Silvia Capuani
- National Research Council-Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Stagno V, Egizi F, Corticelli F, Morandi V, Valle F, Costantini G, Longo S, Capuani S. Microstructural features assessment of different waterlogged wood species by NMR diffusion validated with complementary techniques. Magn Reson Imaging 2021; 83:139-151. [PMID: 34454984 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2021.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Wood is a hygroscopic, multi-scale and anisotropic natural material composed of pores with different size and differently oriented. In particular, archaeologically excavated wood generally is waterlogged wood with very high moisture content (400%-800%) that need to have a rapid investigation at the microstructural level to obtain the best treatment with preservative agents. Time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t) quantified by Pulse Field Gradient (PFG) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques provides useful information about complex porous media, such as the tortuosity (τ) describing pore connectivity and fluid transport through media, the average-pore size, the anisotropic degree (an). However, diffusion NMR is intrinsically limited since it is an indirect measure of medium microstructure and relies on inferences from models and estimation of relevant diffusion parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to validate the information obtained from NMR diffusion parameters through complementary investigations. In this work, the structures of five waterlogged wood species were studied by PFG of absorbed water. D(t) and τ of water diffusing along and perpendicular to vessels/tracheids main axes together with relaxation times and an were quantified. From these parameters, the pore sizes distribution and the wood microstructure characterization were obtained. Results among wood species were compared, validated and integrated by micro-imaging NMR (μ-MRI), environmental-scanning electron-microscope (ESEM) images, wood dry density and imbibition times measurement of all woods. The work suggests that an vs τ rather than the estimated pore size diversifies and characterize the different wood species. As a consequence diffusion-anisotropy vs tortuosity could be an alternative method to characterize and differentiate wood species of waterlogged wood when high resolution images (μ-MRI and ESEM) are not available. Moreover, the combined use of D(t) and micro-MRI expands the scale of dimensions observable by NMR covering all the interesting length scales of wood.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Stagno
- Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; National Research Council - Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - F Egizi
- National Research Council - Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - F Corticelli
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM) Bologna, P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - V Morandi
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM) Bologna, P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - F Valle
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (CNR-ISMN) Bologna, P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - G Costantini
- National Research Council - Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - S Longo
- National Research Council - Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Physics Science and Earth Sciences (MIFT), University of Messina, Messina 98166, Italy
| | - S Capuani
- National Research Council - Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Centro Fermi - Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Piazza del Viminale 1, 00184 Rome, Italy.
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Capuani S, Stagno V, Missori M, Sadori L, Longo S. High-resolution multiparametric MRI of contemporary and waterlogged archaeological wood. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY : MRC 2020; 58:860-869. [PMID: 32364650 DOI: 10.1002/mrc.5034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
High-resolution NMR images on three different present-day wood samples and an archaeological wood specimen were presented and discussed. Although the spatial resolution is still low to perform dendrology for the exact identification of the wooden species, the T2 -spin-density weighted images exhibit contrasts that are in excellent agreement with optical histological images. On the other hand, T2 * and T1 -weighted images provide physiological information that is not obtainable by the usual light microscopic investigations. Moreover, the diffusion-weighted images show the anisotropic behaviour of the water diffusion coefficient quantified along and perpendicularly to vascular bundles (vessels and tracheids), which can be related to the morphology and size of wooden microstructure. This work suggests that high-resolution multiparametric MRI may be a useful tool to increase the information obtainable from the waterlogged archaeological wood remains in a completely non-invasive and non-destructive approach. Therefore, it would be desirable to further develop the hardware and functional characteristics of MRI scanners to improve their potential application in the field of wooden cultural heritage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Capuani
- National Research Council-Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Centro Fermi-Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Stagno
- Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Mauro Missori
- National Research Council-Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Sadori
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Sveva Longo
- National Research Council-Institute for Complex Systems (CNR-ISC) c/o Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Physics Science and Earth Sciences (MIFT), University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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