Detection of iron in tissues from slugs (deroceras reticulatum müller) after ingestion of iron chelates, by means of energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM)

Two iron chelates, one toxic (iron ‘butan’) and the other not (iron ‘octan’), were ingested by slugs (Deroceras reticulatum) at either a low (5 g kg−1 diet) or a high (100 g kg−1 diet) dose rate. In tissue sections of the digestive gland and body wall, iron was detected by energy‐filtering transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM), using electron spectroscopical imaging (ESI) and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS). The strongest signals for iron were obtained in secondary lysosomes of the resorptive cells in the digestive gland of slugs treated with a low dose of either compound, or with the high dose of iron ‘octan’. At the cell apices of these cells, in endocytotic vesicles and in apically located lysosomes, iron was detected only in slugs fed with either dose of iron ‘octan’. In slugs fed with the high dose of iron ‘butan’, iron could clearly be localised in the epithelial and mucus cells of the skin. The results are discussed with respect to differences in the toxicity of the two iron chelates. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry