Compartmentalization of trace elements in guinea pig tissues by INAA [instrumental neutron activation analysis] and AAS [atomic absorption spectroscopy]

Human scalp hair analysis has received considerable attention from a variety of disciplines over the last 20 yr or so. Trace element levels of hair have been used in environmental, epidemiological, forensic, nutritional, predictive, and preventive medicine studies. There still exist confusion, skepticism, and controversy, however, among the experts as well as lay persons in the interpretation of hair trace element data. Much of the criticism stems from the lack of quantitative and reliable data on the ability of hair to accurately reflect dose-response relationships. To better define the significance or hair trace element levels (under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency), the authors have undertaken a controlled set of animal experiments in which trace element levels in hair and other tissues have been measured after a mild state of systemic intoxication by chronic, low-does exposure to cadmium and selenium. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) methods have been developed for the determination of several elements with a high degree of precision and accuracy