QUANTITATIVE PIXE ANALYSIS OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIAL - SAMPLE PREPARATION, IRRADIATION AND QUALITY-CONTROL

High sensitivity, high spatial resolution and multielement determination are important properties of PIXE facilitating the elemental analysis of biomedical material. The possibility of simultaneous use of nuclear ion-beam techniques is also essential. In order to fully exploit the technique, the samples must be carefully prepared, the correct parameters must be chosen for target irradiation and the results must be carefully checked and interpreted. Biological/medical specimens have to be collected and processed in a suitable way in order to maintain the elemental information until irradiation without becoming contaminated. The mode of ion-beam irradiation (in or ex vacuo, macro- or microbeam) will depend on sample size, scientific questions to be answered and the risk of target degradation. Quality control and the use of reference material is an essential ingredient in all forms of analytical chemistry and should be used more frequently in PIXE analysis. © 1990.