Selenium determination in whole human blood by radiochemical neutron activation analysis: preliminary results in Argentina.

In Argentina there are no values regarding the content selenium in food or its effect on nutritional status. Neutron activation analysis and a radiochemical separation scheme for selenium has been adjusted for blood samples from healthy adult individuals. Fasting whole blood was collected, lyophilized, packed, and irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Selenium was determined by a radiochemical separation. The method was validated using certified reference materials. The selenium concentrations (mean value +/- SD) from five pools and from 22 individual samples were 0.070 +/- 0.020 microgram/ml and 0.071 +/- 0.014 microgram/ml, respectively, ranging between 0.047 to 0.105 microgram/ml. These preliminary results show values close to those published for the population living in areas with adequate selenium intake, but lower values than those published for the USA population. However, it will be necessary to carry out nutritional status studies in other areas of Argentina, taking into account the geographic and topographic diversity of the country.