Imaging of Copper, Zinc, and Other Elements in Thin Section of Human Brain Samples (Hippocampus) by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) was used to produce images of element distribution in 20-μm thin sections of human brain tissue. The sample surface was scanned (raster area ∼80 mm2) with a focused laser beam (wavelength 213 nm, diameter of laser crater 50 μm, and laser power density 3 × 109 W cm-2) in a cooled laser ablation chamber developed for these measurements. The laser ablation system was coupled to a double-focusing sector field ICPMS. Ion intensities of 31P+, 32S+, 56Fe+, 63Cu+, 64Zn+, 232Th+, and 238U+ were measured within the area of interest of the human brain tissue (hippocampus) by LA-ICPMS. The quantitative determination of copper, zinc, uranium, and thorium distribution in thin slices of the human hippocampus was performed using matrix-matched laboratory standards. In addition, a new arrangement in solution-based calibration using a micronebulizer, which was inserted directly into the laser ablation chamber, was applied for validation of synthetic laboratory standard. The mass spectrometric analysis yielded an inhomogeneous distribution (layered structure) for P, S, Cu, and Zn in thin brain sections of the hippocampus. In contrast, Th and U are more homogeneously distributed at a low-concentration level with detection limits in the low-nanogram per gram range. The unique analytical capability and the limits of LA-ICPMS will be demonstrated for the imaging of element distribution in thin cross sections of brain tissue from the hippocampus. LA-ICPMS provides new information on the spatial element distribution of the layered structure in thin sections of brain tissues from the hippocampus.