PlanTherm PT 100 device allows fast and precise estimation of heat stability of plants and algae. It is designed for measurement of conductivity and chlorophyll fluorescence in algae suspensions and plant samples (e.g. middle size leaves or leaf segments). Heat stability of the sample is determined by controlled linear increase of temperature in water bath with the submersed sample and simultaneous online measurement of conductivity and chlorophyll fluorescence transients. Samples submersed in water bath with distilled water can be gradually heated from 20 °C up to 70 °C in controlled temperature increase rate. The rate can be modified based on user-defined protocol (increase of 1-3 °C per minute). Homogenous heat distribution inside of the water bath is ensured by instantaneous mixing of the water with magnetic stirrer.
During linear heating, concurrent changes in the minimal chlorophyll fluorescence Ft value are continuously monitored together with changes in the conductivity of the deionized water. Kinetic curves, conductivity-temperature curves and fluorescence temperature curves are simultaneously recorded and automatically analyzed with the ProfileCon software. The conductivity temperature is used for determination of the threshold temperature (Tcond), which refers to critical temperature when cell membrane of plant material is disrupted resulting in ion leakage. PAM (pulse-amplitude measurement) measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence intensity (Ft) during linear heating of the sample is used for the analysis of the fluorescence temperature curve characterizing heat stability of primary photosynthetic processes. Together with critical threshold temperature, critical threshold fluorescence value (TF) is automatically determined.
PlanTherm PT 100 is supplied with a built-in mini-PC (based on Intel® NUC) unit with pre-installed Windows7 operating system, which offers intelligent and intuitive user interface. ProfileCon graphical user interface (GUI) allows experiment setting, data analysis and data export to text output files. Plot descriptions of running experiments, measured raw data and analyzed results can be displayed on the main screen.
KEY FEATURES:
Compact device including the measuring unit, magnetic stirrer, thermoregulator, and mini-computer in one case
Sample chamber for small to middle size leaves or leaf segments
Precisely controlled gradual (linear) heating of plant segments with the slope up to 3 °C/min
Accurate temperature measurements (+/-0.02 °C) within the range of 20 - 70 °C
High accuracy conductivity measurement within 0.01 – 1000 µS/cm
Measurement of minimum chlorophyll fluorescence intensity (F0 level)
Built-in scripting (R environment) language allows custom analysis of measured responses
Measured Fluorescence Parameters:
FT, ФPSII(T), Fluorescence/Temperature curve with up to four fluorescence critical points estimation
Measured Conductivity Parameters:
Conductivity/Temperature curve with conductivity critical point estimation
Fluorescence Module Excitation Light Sources:
460 nm for both the saturation light and FT measuring pulse; individual intensity settings
Protocols:
Custom-defined linear heating (1-3 °C/min) in the defined temperature range
Temperature Control Range:
20-70 °C
Water Bath Volume:
7 ml
Conductivity Measurement Resolution:
0.01 µS
Temperature Measurement Resolution:
0.01 °C
Stirrer Frequency:
0-2000 RPM
Data Sampling Frequency:
2 Hz
Typical Samples:
Detached leaf segments of maximum size 0.5cm x 2.0 cm
Analysis:
Predefined R script for critical point searching; analysis scripts free for custom modifications
Mini-PC Configuration:
Intel NUC Golden Lake D33217GKE i3-3217-U 1.8 GHz; min 90GB SSD HD, 2 GB DDR3 RAM
Power Input:
Maximum 70 W
Dimensions / Weight:
5 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm; 2 kg
Electrical:
90 - 240 V
