Determination of certain selected bulk and trace elements in the bovine liver matrix using neutron activation analysis

Abstract

Effective utilisation of neutron activation analysis (NAA) for the elemental analysis of biomedical samples with or without a radiochemical separation, especially when optimal Ge(Li) well type detectors are employed for the acquisition of complex spectra, is demonstrated by determining normal values for 25 elements in bovine liver. Optimal conditions for the determination of Ag, Br, Cl, Co, Cs, Fe, I, K, Mn, Na, P, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se and Zn with the aid of instrumental thermal neutron activation analysis (INAA) by varying the irradiation and decay time are presented. Where INAA was inadequate, simple post irradiation separation based on ion-exchange has been used to determine such elements as Au, Ca, Cd, Ce, Cr, Cu, La, Mo and W. Results from the IAEA intercomparison run for animal muscle (H-4) are also given. The influence of sample size with respect to within-tissue variation of the bulk and trace elements in liver and the contamination of liver samples from the interfering components such as residual blood are also discussed.