Physico-chemical fate of chromium compounds in the sheep lung model.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and laser microprobe for mass analysis (LAMMA) were used to follow the fate of chromium compounds deposited in the sheep tracheal lobe. Four chromium compounds were used: two chromium(VI) compounds (lead chromate and chromium trioxide) and two chromium(III) compounds (chronic oxide and chromium sulfate). Chromium trioxide is very soluble and the other three are slightly soluble. The compositions, concentrations, and sizes of particles were determined in the bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) at d 2, 3, 5, and 30 after instillation and on the lung samples collected at d 31. The concentrations of particles in the BAL samples separated the chromium compounds in two groups where Cr2O3 and PbCrO4 (as Pb) were higher than Cr2(SO4)3, PbCrO4 (as Cr), and CrO3. The half-life for alveolar clearance of Cr2O3 and Cr2(SO4)3 has been calculated respectively at 11 and 80 d. Prismatic PbCrO4 particles break up in the lung and sustain a high concentration of isometric particles of lead chromate and another lead-containing compound in the BAL. The CrO3 instilled particles react with endogenous compounds or are transformed to insoluble hydroxyl complexes instead of diffusing very rapidly through the alveolar-capillary barrier. The alveolar clearance as measured in the BAL is not different from the control.

Laser microprobe mass spectrometry in biology and biomedicine.

An overview is given of laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LMMS) in biology and biomedicine (1989-1993). The present instrumentation and its analytical features are surveyed. Applications are presented with special attention on human and animal tissue samples, as well as plant material. The capabilities of LMMS to study the element distribution in histological sections, to identify the chemical composition of inorganic inclusions and to generate structural information from organic compounds are evidenced.

X-ray micro-analysis of aluminium in pumpkinseed gills.

Energy dispersive X-ray micro-analysis was applied to study the (sub-) cellular distribution of aluminium at the gill level of "acid-resistant pumpkinseeds (Lepomis gibbosus) exposed to acidified water (pH = 4.2) and an elevated level of aluminium (1.4 mg Al/l, exposure period = 21 days). Electron dense deposits, located in invaginations as well as inside the gill tissue, were shown to contain elevated levels of aluminium and phosphorus. The micro-analytical findings suggest that the pumpkinseed possesses a defence mechanism, in which the intracellular accumulation of aluminium is limited to restricted sites and to storage in macrophages.

Laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA) of aluminum and lead in fine roots and their ectomycorrhizal mantles of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.).

Fine roots and ectomycorrhizal root tips were sampled in a Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stand in the eastern part of the Belgian Ardennes. The cellular and partly subcellular localizations of aluminum and lead were identified by the micro-analytical laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA) technique. In fine roots with secondary structure, localization of aluminum was limited to the peripheral cell layers. Lead was found in the outer layers, and also in the primary phloem. Aluminum penetrated the mycorrhizal mantle, but lead was seldom detected in ectomycorrhizae.