Digestion of Concentrated Water Samples of Diatoms for Environmental Purpose by a Newly Designed Method

Abstract

Diatoms analysis in water samples is laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, speedy digestion and clear diatoms frustules are the foremost criteria for the detection of diatoms in concentrated water samples. Here, we have described a novel method for diatoms analysis from water samples containing a large amount of debris/sediments. The samples were digested using nitric acid and hydrochloric acid in a ratio of 1:1:1 on a ceramic hot plate under a fume hood for two hour. Then concentrated solution formed was again diluted with deionized water and again heated then allowed to stand undisturbed for two hours for sedimentation. The processed samples were mounted, dried, and then visualized under a light microscope at 1000X magnification. The processed samples were fixed for SEM analysis. The method is reproducible, offers fast, resulted in complete digestion of sediments retained diatoms frustules, and maintains structural arrangements of areolae and striae as well able to recover diversity of diatoms. The method is fast, economical, time-saving sensitive, labor-saving, and accurate for qualitative and quantitative diatom analysis. This method is suitable both for ecological, taxonomic descriptions, forensic and paleontological studies where a large sample quantity is required for the study of the diversity of diatoms.