I need to preserve leaf samples for 30 hours minimum. carrying liquid nitrogen is not a feasible option.
Would dry ice (frozen CO2) be a viable option? How rapidly are your proteins likely to break down in storage prior to analysis?. Can you pre-process the samples in the field to "fix" the proteins.
What is the mass and volume of leaf samples? Are they being transported by truck, plane, rail way, automobile, ship, etc? Does protein analysis mean something like a Kjeldahl total protein determination or the enzyme activity of a particular protein? Will preserving moisture content be important? If preserving protein biological activity is relevant and thawing procedures make a difference then dry ice, -80C, may be the safest and most economical but be aware of packaging. Dry ice sublimes to give off CO2 which can diffuse into solutions/tissues to cause dramatic pH changes. This is a common problem in the biotechnology industry and containers have to be properly sealed to prevent liquid formulations from altering. Gas impermeable second bagging is done in many instances. Packaging with bags in this scenario may also permit better control of the thawing process which could affect the protein activity.
Ther would be some strong reason for direct sampling in situ, but usually a field lab should have some energy supply or the species under scrutiny are propagated and grown in greenhouses near facvilities. A cutting with attached leaves in bags over cold boxes in a camping fridge can tentatively survive for 30h by trial. Acclimatation at room temperature on nutrient solution asfter it can indicate living leaves by physiological tests. The next would then liquid nitrogen and rapid lùkill.
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