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Timothy Lowe,¹ Quan Chen,¹ Quintus Fernando,¹ Rodney Keith,² and A. Jay Gandolfi²

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA; ²Department of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724 USA

Abstract

We optimized proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) for tissue analysis in a toxicity-disposition study.We used cultured rabbit renal slices as the biological system to demonstrate the use of PIXE analysis. The renal slices were exposed to HgCl₂, CdCl₂, K₂Cr₂O₇, or NaAsO₂ alone or in a mixture. The PIXE analysis provides information on concentrations of elements above atomic number 11, and it is the only analytical technique that can determine 20-30 elements nondestructively in a single, small sample (˜5 mg) with detection limits of 1-5 ppm (dry weight) . The renal slices are thin targets that yield X-ray emission spectra with low backgrounds and high elemental sensitivities. The nondestructive nature of PIXE and the ability to simultaneously measure uptake of multiple metals and endogenous elements are unique to this methodology.Key words: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, elemental analysis, interactive toxicity, mercury, metal analysis, nephrotoxicity, proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) , X-ray emission. Environ Health Perspect 101:000-000(1993) .

Address correspondence to Q. Fernando.

These studies were supported by NIEHS Superfund grant P42 ES 04940. We thank M.D. Ashbaugh, R.P. Cox, J.A. Leavitt, L.C. McIntyre, Jr., and Z. Liu of the Physics Department's Ion Beam Analysis Facility for providing the analysis beam and for assistance in designing and constructing the equipment. We also thank Sharon J. McGuinness for her consultations concerning the renal slice incubations.

Received 22 January 1993 ; accepted 27 May 1993.