Critical comparison of performances of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and neutron activation analysis for the determination of elements in human lungs

Abstract

A study was carried out to assess the performance of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and neutron activation analysis (NAA) techniques for determining reference values for Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn, V and Zn in human lungs of urban non-smoking subjects. Experimental data were subjected to the usual basic statistical tests to evaluate the respective merits of the two basically different analytical techniques. Both approaches, if used under carefully optimised experimental conditions, can yield reliable results affected only minimally by systematic and random errors. On the other hand, on a more routine basis, particular attention should be paid to elements such as Al, Cd and V which may pose some problems with both techniques.