Comparative Study of Metal Quantification in Neurological Tissue Using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Imaging and X‑ray Fluorescence Microscopy

Redox-active metals in the brain mediate numerous biochemical processes and are also implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. A number of different approaches are available for quantitatively measuring the spatial distribution of biometals at an image resolution approaching the subcellular level. Measured biometal levels obtained using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS; spatial resolution 15 μm × 15 μm) were within the range of those obtained using X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM; spatial resolution 2 μm × 7 μm) and regional changes in metal concentration across discrete brain regions were replicated to the same degree. Both techniques are well suited to profiling changes in regional biometal distribution between healthy and diseased brain tissues, but absolute quantitation of metal levels varied significantly between methods, depending on the metal of interest. Where all possible variables affect metal levels, independent of a treatment/phenotype are controlled, either method is suitable for examining differences between experimental groups, though, as with any method for imaging post mortem brain tissue, care should be taken when interpreting the total metal levels with regard to physiological concentrations