Low-dose nuclear microscopy as a necessity for accurate quantitative microanalysis of biological samples

Some aspects of quantitative analysis of biological samples - including a r eview of the relevant literature - are discussed, Special emphasis is put o n the accuracy of trace elemental results despite severe sample damage whic h occurs during analysis. The occuring mass loss can be corrected by combin ing quantitative STIM and PIXE. It is also possible to characterize the vol atility of most of the minor and trace elements of the sample. The comparis on between the presented model and matrix determination with RES, a widely used method, definitely demonstrates that the concentrations obtained using RES correction only may be too high by a factor of two. We recommend at le ast one low-dose analysis to do correct quantification, (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.