Determination of Mg, Al, P, Cu and Mn in biological fluids by neutron activation analysis

Abstract

Thermal and epithermal neutron activation analysis has been applied to determine the concentrations of magnesium, aluminium, phosphorus, copper and manganese in two biological fluids: blood serum and market milk. Both epithermal neutron irradiation and radiochemical separation (a chromatographic column of HAP) were used to get rid of the interferences from 24-Na. Strongly acidic solutions of the irradiated samples were passed through the columns of HAP, where sodium was completely adsorbed while, Al, Cu, Mg and Mn were eluted with an efficiency of 99±1%. Since both Al and P were determined through the formation of²⁸Al (2.24 min) thermal and epithermal neutron activation have been applied in order to determine the contribution of each radionuclide to²⁸Al activity. The determination of Mg, Al and P in milk samples was done instrumentally, whereas in the case of blood serum with higher concentration of Na, a radiochemical separation is essential in both cases. The concentrations of Al, Cu, Mg, Mn and P in blood serum and market milk were found to be 0.24±0.02 and 1.85±0.09 μg Al/ml, 1.35±0.04 and 0.068±0.005 μg Cu/ml, 22.9±1 and 98.9±8.6 μg Mg/ml, 22±3 and 16±2 ng Mn/ml and 167±13 and 865±32 μg P/ml, respectively.