title: Analysis of heterogeneous gallstones using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF).
abstract: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an emerging analytical technique with numerous advantages such as rapidity, multi-elemental analysis, no specific sample preparation requirements, non-destructiveness, and versatility. It has been proven to be a robust elemental analysis tool attracting interest because of being applied to a wide range of materials including biomaterials. In this paper, we have performed spectroscopic studies on gallstones which are heterogeneous in nature using LIBS and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) techniques. It has been observed that the presence and relative concentrations of trace elements in different kind of gallstones (cholesterol and pigment gallstones) can easily be determined using LIBS technique. From the experiments carried out on gallstones for trace elemental mapping and detection, it was found that LIBS is a robust tool for such biomedical applications. The stone samples studied in the present paper were classified using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. WD-XRF spectroscopy has been applied for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of major and trace elements present in the gallstone which was compared with the LIBS data. The results obtained in the present paper show interesting prospects for LIBS and WD-XRF to study cholelithiasis better.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal, Katra, 182320, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: Brij Bir S
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Jaswal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal, Katra, 182320, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal, Katra, 182320, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: Jitendra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Nephrology, Opal Hospital, DLW Road, Varanasi, 221010, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Pradeep K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Group, Physics Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Box 5047, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gondal
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Bilal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gondal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal, Katra, 182320, Jammu and Kashmir, India. vivekksingh2005@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vivek K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000737:chemistry; D042882:Gallstones / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D057230:Limit of Detection; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Cholesterol gallstones; FTIR; LIBS; Pigment gallstone; Trace elements; WD-XRF