Intraneuronal investigations of organic components and trace elements with the use of synchrotron radiation

Three techniques based on synchrotron radiation microbeam analysis were applied to biochemical investigations of human central nervous system (CNS) tissue. Thin tissue slices representing Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and control cases were studied. Synchrotron radiation microbeam x‐ray fluorescence (micro‐SRXRF) was applied to the analysis of the elemental distribution inside single nerve cells. Investigation of copper oxidation state was performed with the use of micro x‐ray absorption near‐edge structure spectroscopy (micro‐XANES). Moreover, the organic components of the tissues were analyzed by means of synchrotron radiation Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (SR‐FTIRM). Topographic differences in elemental composition were observed for the nerve cell body. Higher levels of Fe, Zn and Ca were found for the neurons of PD cases in comparison with the control group. The IR spectra measured in neurons of PD, ALS and control cases showed differences in absorption bands associated with characteristic groups of selected biological molecules. Additionally, results of SR‐FTIRM measurements indicated inhomogeneous accumulation of the main organic components in PD nerve cells, in contrast to the control cases. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.