Trace elements in human bone determined by neutron activation analysis

There is an evidence that some of the essential trace elements are crucial determinants of bone health. Excess or deficiency of these elements has a role in the development of bone diseases, therefore research on trace elements in bone is very important. Iliac crest bone biopsies were optioned from twelve persons undergoing orthopedic surgery due to any reason than osteoporosis. Cortical and trabecular parts were separated, and blood and fats were removed. Up to 30 minor and trace elements were determined in these samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis and other techniques and their relations were discussed.     

The incorporation of selenium and ytterbium into some organs of mice determined by neutron activation analysis

The concentration of Se and Yb in the livers, kidneys, spleens and pancreases of mice were determined after the injection of selenodiglutathione and ytterbium chloride (singly or together) by neutron activation analysis. Both Se and Yb were incorporated into all the investigated organs and subcellular liver fractions. The highest Se level was found in the liver and kidneys and the highest Yb level was found in the pancrease and spleen.     

Trace elements in Turkish tobacco determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis

The concentration of 20 trace elements in nine different brands of Turkish cigarette tobacco and in a brand of pipe tobacco and in tobacco ash has been determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The percent transference of elements into smoke has been estimated from the amounts remaining in the ash.     

Determination of trace elements in hair of some local population in Iran by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Scalp hair samples from 100 individual residents in Isfahan, Iran were analyzed for Al, Br, Ca, Cu, Hg, I, K, Mg, Mn, Na, S, V, and Zn by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The results of this investigation show that the ranges of the concentration of trace elements in hair are somewhat wide, for example Mg has the range of 20 to 209 ppm for 100 subjects. The results are compared with the data reported in the literatures. A substantive correspondence between the present data and literature values from different countries, have been observed but they did not show any regular dependence. The level of iodine is significantly different from other countries and is strongly linked to local environmental factors. The correlation coefficient for Al–V, Mn–Al, Ca–Mg, and V–Mg pairs was 0.823, 0.821, 0.830 and 0.746, respectively.     

The distribution of trace elements in normal human liver determined by semi-automated radiochemical neutron activation analysis

The eight segments of five normal human livers are analysed for 25 trace elements by radiochemical NAA. This consits of an automated wet destruction of the samples and two distillations, followed by ion exchange procedures. Ru is used as triple-comparator for the standardisation. Short-lived and matrix-isotopes are standardised by the Bowen's kale powder. The results reveal that the coefficient of variation within the liver is smaller than 10% for the elements Cd, Cl, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Rb, Se and Zn. The highest range observed for the elements As, Br, Co, Cr, Hg, La, Mo, Na and Sb within a liver is smaller than the range observed between the five livers.     

The determination of some trace elements in rainwater by neutron activation analysis

A routine method for the determination of 12 elements in small rain water samples is presented. Instrumental neutron activation analysis is applied for the determination of Mn, Na, Cl, V and Al. Bromine and iodine are isolated by isotope exchange between the irradiated water and a solution of Br₂ resp. I₂ in CCl₄. Extraction with APDC/MIBK is used for the separation of the shortlived isotopes of Co, V, Cr, Zn and In.     

Determination of trace elements in various organs of rats by thermal neutron activation analysis

The trace element levels in various organs of normal rats have been determined by means of thermal neutron activation followed by high-resolution gamma-spectroscopy. Abundances for 11 elements (Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, Rb, Sb, Se, Cr, Co, Cs and Sc) were evaluated in the individual subjects. The present results were generally found within the ranges of the literature values, except for ultra-trace elements. Reliability of the method was assessed by analyzing NBS standard reference materials, Orchard Leaves and Bovine Liver. The trace element contents of the rat diet have also been measured, and comparison of them with those of the rat organs was given.     

Use of neutron activation analysis for determination of gold in some human scalp hair samples

In the Egyptian society, it is usual until now that females wear extensively gold jewelry since their birth. The present work is carried out to determine gold content in scalp hair samples from some selected female donors of various ages. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, with gamma ray spectrometry was applied for this study. The obtained data are compared with the available published data for analysis of hair samples from other countries. The correlation between age and gold concentration in hair samples is discussed. Interpretation of the influence of other factors which possibly may affect the contents of gold in the analyzed hair samples is also presented.     

Quantitative investigation of some trace elements in renal stones by neutron activation analysis

The quantitative determination of iron, zinc, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, seleniuj, strontium, copper, bromine, sodium and potassium in renal concrements by neutron activation analysis is described.     

Determination of trace elements in scalp hair of an elderly population by neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation analysis was applied to assess trace elements concentrations in head hair from healthy elderly people living in the São Paulo metropolitan area. Concentrations of As, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mn, Na, Sb, Se and, Zn were determined. Comparisons were made between the results obtained for dyed and non-dyed hair as well as for hair from females and males of two different age groups. The results were also compared with range values established by clinical laboratories and published data.     

The mercury content of some laboratory chemicals and materials determined by neutron activation analysis

An activation method was used to determine the mercury content of typical laboratory reagents and materials, in particular, filter paper and substances used in the analysis for mercury. Typical values for filtering materials are in the tens of nanogram range but in some types they can be considerably higher. Results for some other reagents also show that a thorough checking for background levels of substances used in analysis is essential. A minor modification of the volatilization method is also described for the analysis of substances rich in sulfur or evolving large quantities of halogen acid.     

Trace elements in 11 fruits widely-consumed in the USA as determined by neutron activation analysis

While there is a lot of information on the elemental content of food for nutritional and pollution studies, the analysis of fruits has received little attention. We have investigated 11 commonly eaten fruits for their trace and minor element constituents by neutron activations including thermal and epithermal neutron activation analysis. Our results revealed that both blueberries and strawberries had the most of top two highest elemental concentrations followed by raspberries, oranges and mango. Bananas, grapes, plums, apples, pears, and cherries had the fewest or none of the most elevated elemental concentrations.     

Distribution of aluminum species in normal urine as determined by chemical neutron activation analysis

A procedure developed for separating and quantifying non protein and protein fractions of aluminum species in urine was applied to four consecutive 24 hr collections of five healthy subjects. The total Al content of urine was determined by a chemical neutron activation analysis technique reported elsewhere. Results from the analysis of all subjects indicate that the majority of aluminum is bound to protein (>88%) with minor fractions as citrate complexes. These data are comparable with other speciation experiments with blood plasma indicating 90% of the aluminum was bound to plasma proteins.     

Determination of trace elements in human nail clippings by neutron activation analysis

In this work instrumental neutron activation analysis was applied todetermine trace elements in nail clippings and to make a comparison betweenthe results obtained from samples from healthy children and those with cysticfibrosis (CF) disease. The findings indicated that fingernails from the CFgroup present higher concentrations of Cl, Cr, K and Na than those found inthe control group. On the other hand, the lowest concentrations for Cr werefound in the CF group. For the Al, As, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn elementsthere were no differences between the results obtained for the CF and controlgroups. The quality control of the results was evaluated by analysing NIST1577b Bovine Liver and NIST 1566a Oyster Tissue standard reference materials.     

Determination of certain elements in human serum albumin by neutron activation analysis

Instrumental activation analysis was used to determine the contents of certain elements in human serum albumin (HSA). Sample irradiation was performed with a thermal neutron flux of 1.5·10¹³ n·cm⁻²·sec⁻¹ in the RA nuclear reactor of the Boris Kidrič Institute, Vinča. Measurements were performed on a 4096-channel analyser with a high-resolution Ge(Li) detector. The Na, Cu, Br, Au, Hg, Cr, Fe, Ag, Sc, Ba and Co contents were determined in HSA produced by the Institute for Blood Transfusion, Belgrade.     

Determination of some elements by epithermal neutron activation analysis for the Arctic aerosol

Summary We have determined nineteen trace elements in 685 aerosol filter samples collected during 1964-1978 in northern Finland by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. In this paper we present some procedures and results for very short (~25 s), short (~3-54 min), and medium (12-35 h) lived isotopes as determined by epithermal NAA in conjunction with and without Compton suppression. Elements with a I_γ/σthratio are favorable to be determined by epithermal NAA. Silver was determined by a one minute epithermal irradiation because of a very short ¹¹⁰Ag half-life. Antimony, arsenic, cobalt, bromine, indium, iodine, potassium, silicon, tin, tungsten, and zinc were determined by a ten minute epithermal irradiation. For silver determination, samples were counted without transferring the filter from the irradiated vial, however, for ten minute irradiation all samples were transferred to a non-irradiated vial and counted both in the normal and Compton mode by the HPGe gamma-spectrometry system with a decay time of about 10 minutes and counting time of 15 minutes. Each day a maximum of 16 samples were irradiated and immediately following the short counting, these samples were loaded into an automatic sample changer in sequence of irradiation and counted for an hour in both normal and Compton modes. This has proven to be an extremely cost effective measure thus reducing the need to employ long-lived NAA to analyze other elements such as Ag, Co, Sn and Zn and Ag for air pollution source receptor modeling.     

Distribution and location of selenium and other elements in different mitochondrial compartments of human liver by neutron activation analysis

Summary  Vezetéknév     

Determination of trace elements in some Nigerian vegetable based oils by neutron activation analysis

The concentrations of some essential micronutrient elements leadingto short-lived activation products in four Nigerian vegetable based oils (palmoil, palm kernel oil, sheabutter and groundnut oil) have been determined byneutron activation analysis using a small research reactor. One sample ofeach material was analysed and presented as an introduction for further investigations.Results indicate that the concentration range of the elements are 19.4–44.0µg/g for Al; 30.0–81.0 µg/g for Ca; 11.9–60.4 µg/gfor Cl; 1.43–5.96 µg/g for Cu; 7.3–28.1 µg/g for Mg;0.47–1.69 µg/g for Mn; 17.5–72.8 µg/g for Na and 0.04–0.07µg/g for V. The experimental procedure is suitable for routine determinationof micronutrient element in foods for control and monitoring purposes.     

Distribution patterns of rare-earth elements in biological materials evaluated by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

This study deals with the quantitative determination of eight REE's viz, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, and Lu as an Integral part of a post-irradiation chemical separation scheme for the determination of 14 trace elements in biological materials. REE values are given for NBS Orchard Leaves SRM 1571, NBS Bovine Liver SRM 1577 and Bowen's Kale, as well as for some other biological (reference) materials of plant, animal and human origin. Chondritic-normalized REE patterns of these materials are discussed. It is shown that differentiations in REE-pattern between soil and plant may occur, and also that within the human body different modes of fractionation of REE's take place.     

Determination of molybdenum in hair and wool by neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation analysis was applied to the determination of molybdenum in hair and wool. Ashed samples of hair and wool were irradiated for 15 min at a flux of 5·10¹³ n/cm²/sec to produce ¹⁰¹Mo. An acid solution of the ash was first boiled in the presence of sodium bromide and bromate to volatilize bromine (⁸⁰Br and ⁸²Br radioisotopes interfere) and then extracted with 0.1% α-benzoinoxime in chloroform to remove ¹⁰¹Mo from other interfering radionuclides. The ¹⁰¹Tc daughter from ¹⁰¹Mo was measured over the 0.31-MeV γ-ray photopeak after allowing the separated ¹⁰¹Mo to decay for 15 min. The molybdenum concentration in hair varied from 0.02 to 0.13μg/g while wool was found to contain 0.04–0.58 μg/g.