POSSIBLE CHARACTERIZATION OF MOUSE STRAINS BY PLASMA ANALYSIS WITH PIXE

We investigated the elemental composition of mouse blood plasma with PIXE method. We measured quantitative X-ray yields of S, Cl, K and Ca by changing sample volume from 1.25 to 15.0 µl to find the most profitable volume of plasma for elemental analysis. Linear relationships were confirmed between the applied volume (1.25^~5.0 µl) and the counts of X-ray from each element. Some elements showed, however, saturated curves over 5.0 µl. Five μl was enough to analyze some important elements of blood plasma and used in the present analysis. We propose 5.0 µl as a standard amount of sample in plasma analysis. We found differences in the elemental ratio of X-ray counts in plasma among five mouse strains used in the present experiment. This result suggests that the strain differences in the elemental constitution of mouse blood plasma are related to those of physiological states such as the number of blood cells and the radio sensitivity.