NORMAL HUMAN BRAIN ANALYSIS

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.