In the present work the establishment of optimal storage condition for
brain samples has been one of our aims. Storage should minimize alter
ations of the sample due to losses and contamination. The second aim w
as to investigate the applicability of microwave heating for dissoluti
on of brain samples. Eleven elements (Na, K, Mg, Ca, P, S, Al, Cu, Mn,
Sr, Zn) were measured in nine different regions from both hemispheres
of nine deep-frozen normal human brains. Simultaneous multielement an
alyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission
spectrometry (ICP-AES) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (I
NAA). The precision and accuracy were evaluated by analyzing certified
standard reference materials. Our results showed that microwave acid
digestion is a valuable method for the preparation of human brain samp
les for ICP-AES analysis. Compared to Parr bomb digestion in a regular
oven, microwave digestion is much faster, although it provides essent
ially the same precision and accuracy. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.