Respective contributions of atomic emission spectrometry (AES) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to trace element quantification

: By means of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) it is possible to measure in situ the relative concentration of a given element in a volume of 1 micron 3. Atomic Emission Spectrometry (AES) allows absolute quantitation of tissue homogenates. The use of both techniques lead to correlate relative and absolute elemental concentrations. These methods have been applied to lithium and manganese quantitation after treatments at a therapeutic dose. The results assess the sensibility of SIMS analysis, around 0.1 ppm in biological specimens, and confirm the adequacy of the instrument to trace elements study.