Detection of aluminium by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis at high accelerating voltages with semi-thin sections of biological sample.

Aluminium (Al) was detected in semi-thin sections of three organs, the duodenum, liver and kidney, of ddY strain mouse by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis at high accelerating voltages around 300 kV. Firstly, to determine the conditions best for detecting Al, several adult ddY mice were injected intraperitoneally with aluminium chloride (AlCl3) and the duodenums were fixed, embedded and sectioned at various thicknesses and subjected to energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis at various accelerating voltages from 100 to 400 kV. From the results obtained, 1.0 microm-thick sections observed at 300 kV resulted in the highest peak-counts/background ratios and were shown to be the most suitable for X-ray microanalysis. Secondly, ddY mice aged four weeks were administered orally with 2% AlCl3 at pH 2.5 for two weeks and the three organs (duodenum, liver and kidney) were subjected to X-ray microanalysis under the same condition found above. The results were compared with light microscopic Al staining of the same tissues. Aluminium was detected in lysosomes of the three kinds of tissues with higher sensitivity by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis by light microscopic observation. From the results, it was suggested that Al dissolved in acidic water was absorbed in the duodenum and accumulated in the liver and kidney.