Determination of vanadium in animal tissues by PIXE and AAS

Proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) were used for vanadium determination in animal tissues. The vanadium concentration levels were determined in blood, kidneys and livers taken from rats. Two groups of the animals were treated with different diets. The diet for the first group was supplemented with vanadium compounds while the diet for the second one was assumed to be a normal diet. The second group was treated as control. In order to achieve the best minimum detectable limit (MDL)(1) the samples were subject to a special sample preparation procedure. Blood and kidneys were mineralized with an APDC compound. The mineralization process was performed according to the procedure described previously.(2) The application of PIXE3 is very useful for different types of samples. PIXE measurements were performed with a proton beam at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Cracow, Poland while the AAS measurements were done at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Jagiellonian University, Poland. The concentration levels of vanadium in blood and kidneys are compared and discussed. There were no significant statistical differences between results of vanadium concentration levels determined by the abovementioned techniques. The PIXE technique had the advantage over the AAS technique of giving a broad spectrum of trace elements analyzed in a single measurement. Therefore with the help of sample preparation procedure the application of the PIXE method seems to be suitable for such analyzes.