Combined biochemical separation and INAA for the determination of iron and other metals in Neuromelanin of human brain Substantia Nigra

Abstract

In Parkinson disease Fe and other metals increase in Substantia Nigra(SN) and other basal nuclei. Since Fe can generate citotoxic free radicals,Neuromelanin (NM) could play an important protective role in neurons. In thiswork an original procedure for separation of NM, preparation of samples andanalysis is presented. The determination of SN and its NM elemental contentwas carried out by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Several actionswere taken to reduce the metal contaminations: use of high purity reagents,dissection of tissues with titanium coated tools and adequate processing ofsamples.