title: Comparison of ion chromatography and neutron activation analysis for the microdetermination of Na+ and K+ in muscle.
abstract: The simultaneous determination of Na+ and K+ in small tissue samples by means of neutron activation (NAA) and ion chromatography (IC) is described. A 5 X 10(11) n cm-2 s-1 neutron flux was used for Na+ analysis and the induced 24Na and 42K activities were measured without chemical separation with a Ge(Li) detector coupled to a 4096 channel analyzer. A minicomputer on line with the analyzer was employed for the interpretation of gamma spectra. When IC was used, the sample and the standard were dissolved in the solutions before injection into the ion chromatograph. The ion concentration in the effluent solution was measured by electric conductivity. The two methods were compared in terms of time required, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, simplicity and operational cost of the analysis. Both techniques proved to be excellent from the point of view of the reliability of the results, and can be used for the determination of Na+ and K+ in biological samples.
mesh_terms: D000201:Activation Analysis; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D009132:Muscles / Q000032:analysis*; D009501:Neutron Activation Analysis; D011188:Potassium / Q000032:analysis*; D012964:Sodium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium