Wadsworth Center Featured Image
Concentration Of Lead (Pb) And Strontium (Sr) in a Cross Section Of Caprine Tibia (Goat Shin Bone)
This image shows the concentration of Lead (Pb) and Strontium (Sr) in a cross section of caprine tibia (goat shin bone), measured at a spatial resolution of 60 micrometers using an experimental X-ray fluorescence instrument developed in collaboration with XOS® Inc., East Greenbush, NY. The left edge of the image is the outer bone surface and the right edge the inner surface. It is well known that Pb accumulates in bone and this image shows how Pb is highly enriched at the outer surface of the bone and in discrete ‘hot spots’. However, Sr appears as two distinct bands within the bone. These data were used as part of a successful National Institutes of Health funding application to develop the analytical technology further. The technology is important for studying the microdistribution of toxic and essential elements in human tissues.
Credits: David J. Bellis and Patrick J. Parsons, Trace Elements Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY, and Zewu Chen, Danhong Li, and Walter M. Gibson, X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc. (XOS®), East Greenbush, NY.
The image and associated studies were presented at the Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, Feb 25 - Mar 1, 2007, Chicago, IL. "Element Distribution in Bone Measured by Focused Monochromatic Microbeam X-ray Fluorescence with a Low Power Source Coupled to Doubly Curved Crystal Optics. David J. Bellis, Zewu Chen, Walter M. Gibson and Patrick J. Parsons.
