Metal content of rat liver cell organelles.

Zn2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ were determined by means of atomic absorption techniques in tetramethylammonium hydroxide digests of cell organelles isolated from normal rat liver tissue. The metal content of the cell organelles was expressed with reference to their protein content. The results showed that digestion with tetramethy la ammonium hydroxide can be applied for the determination of metal to protein ratios in the cell organelles and that these ratios appear to be suitable for the characterization of cell organelles.