SIMPLE EMPIRICAL CALIBRATION OF ENERGY-DISPERSIVE X-RAY-ANALYSIS (EDXA) ON THE CORNEA

Monitoring of the corneal electrolyte content is important for the stu dy of chemical eye burns. This paper describes quantitative measuremen ts on gelatin standards, corneas and a cornea homogenate with an energ y dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Ten micrometers thick cryosections were freeze-dried and mounte d on solid carbon supports. The applied quantification procedure was a local peak background analysis with a specifically designed computer program. Similar chemical and physical properties of gelatin, cornea h omogenate, and cornea were proven by EDX-analysis and wet chemical ana lysis. Gelatin standards with known concentrations of different added salts showed linear correlations with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.95 for all considered elements. The local background generatio n on carbon supports was the same for gelatin standards and corneal ti ssue. The results demonstrate that quantitative EDX analysis of semi-t hin samples, mounted on neutral carbon supports, can be reliably used for the assessment of the corneal mineral composition.