Inorganic elements determination in human and animal whole blood samples by X-ray fluorescence technique (EDXRF)

Blood is a suspension of cells contained in a complex liquid called plasma. The term 'whole blood' refers to samples with both solid and liquid parts. Inorganic elements are responsible for essential functions, such as osmotic regulation, cardiac frequency and contractibility, blood clotting and neuromuscular excitability. The determination of inorganic elements in corporeal fluids such as blood, serum, plasma, tissue and urine is used as a monitor for a part or the whole organism. In this work, the X-Ray fluorescence technique (EDXRF) was used for the determination of inorganic elements in whole blood samples from humans and animals (golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus and crioula breed horses, Equus caballus). The reference intervals of Na (1788 - 1826 μg g'-1), Mg (63 - 75 μg g-1), P (602 - 676 μg g-1), S (1519 - 1718 μg g-1), Cl (2743 - 2867 μg g-1), K (1508 - 1630 μg g-1), Ca (214 - 228 μg g'-1), Cu (4 -6 μg g-1) e Zn (1 - 3 μg g'-1) were determined for human blood. The reference intervals, for golden hamster blood were found to be: Na (1714 - 1819 μg g-1), Mg (51 - 79 μg g-1), P (970 - 1080 μg g-1), S (1231 - 1739 μg g-1), Cl (2775 - 2865 μg g-1), K (1968 - 2248 μg g-1), Ca (209 - 257 μg g-1), Cu (4 - 6 μg g-1) e Zn (3 - 5 μg g-1). The reference intervals, for crioula breed horse blood, showed to be: Na (1955 - 2013 μg g-1), Mg (51 - 75 μg g-1), P (443 - 476 μg g-1), S (1038 - 1140 μg g-'1), Cl (2388 - 2574 μg g-1), K (1678 - 1753 μg g-1), Ca (202 - 213 μg g-1), Cu (4,1 - 4,5 μg g-1) e Zn (2,0 - 2,2 μg g-1). Comparative study between NAA and EDXRF, both techniques showed the same performance for the analyses of biological matrices. The results contribute for the establishment of reference intervals for the Brazilian healthy population and the referred animal species. (author)