Evaluation of the efficacy of micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging compared with light microscopy to investigate the anatomy of modern and ancient waterlogged wood

Valeria Stagno; Claudia Moricca; Laura Sadori; Emanuele Dell'Aglio; Rita Reale; Silvia Capuani

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2023.06.011

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 Oct:102:164-178. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2023.06.011. Epub 2023 Jun 20.

Authors

Valeria Stagno¹, Claudia Moricca², Laura Sadori³, Emanuele Dell'Aglio⁴, Rita Reale⁵, Silvia Capuani⁶

Affiliations

¹ 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.
² Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: claudia.moricca@uniroma1.it.
³ Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁵ Chemistry Applied to Restoration, A. Galli Academy, Via Petrarca 9, 22100 Como, Italy.
⁶ 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.

PMID: 37348742
DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2023.06.011

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.

Keywords: Archaeological waterlogged wood; Light microscopy; Magnetic resonance imaging; Waterlogged wood; Wood imaging.

MeSH terms

Archaeology / methods
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Microscopy*
Wood*