Evaluation of a New X-Ray Fluorescent Analysis Technique for the Creation of a Nordic Hair Database: Elemental Distributions Within the Root and the Virgin Segment of Hair Fibers
September 2001
in “
PubMed
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TLDR The new X-ray technique allows for precise and non-destructive measurement of elements in hair, creating the first database of its kind for a specific ethnic group.
In 2001, a new non-destructive X-ray fluorescence technique was developed for estimating elemental content in biological tissues, specifically human hair fibers. The ITRAX X-ray spectrometer was evaluated and found to allow for precise, fast, non-destructive, simultaneous, quantitative recording of detected elements and trace elements down to levels of 1 ppm (microg/g). The technique was used to assess normal values of physiologically important elements present in hair in a cohort of normal, healthy Swedish, Caucasian individuals. The results showed that concentrations of elements varied as functions of the diameter of the analyzed hair volume. This database, constructed from data retrieved from a homogeneous ethnic set of individuals, was the first of its kind.