NCR AND SIMS STUDY OF WHETHER LITHIUM IONS HAVE LIMITED INTRACELLULARACCESS

Following NMR measurements and other data, Birch (1994) had suggested that Li+ ions might have limited intracellular access. Discussing data obtained from several different experimental approaches (Li-6/Li-7 is otopic exchanges, NCR study of entire glioma cells, lithium imaging in sections of Xenopus oocytes), we found nothing contradictory to Birch 's suggestion, without however being able to prove unambiguously the v alidity of this hypothesis. The present development of a method allowi ng the scanning SIMS study of frozen hydrated samples might provide a more direct way of studying this problem.