Determination of Trace Elements in Adults and Geriatric Prostate Combining Neutron Activation with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Abstract

The variation with age of the mass fraction of 18 trace elements in intact nonhyperplastic prostate of 65 healthy 21-87 year old males was investigated by instrumental neutron activation analysis with high resolution spectrometry of short-lived radionuclides combined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Mean values (M ± SEM) for mass fractions (mg/kg, on dry-mass basis) of the trace elements studied were: Al 33.3±2.8, B 0.94±0.12, Ba 1.34±0.14, Br 33.2±3.3, Ca 2285±149, Cl 13014±703, Cu 10.3±0.8, Fe 123±5, K 12206±353, Li 0.041±0.004, Mg 1115±65, Mn 1.42±0.07, Na 10790±318, P 7679±264, S 8750±169, Si 104±9, Sr 1.97±0.27, and Zn 844±94. Almost in all prostate samples, the mass fraction of V was under the detection limit (<0.2 mg/kg, on dry-mass basis). This work revealed that there is a significant tendency for an increase in Fe (p<0.040) and, particularly, in Zn (p<0.008) mass fraction in normal prostate from age 21 years to the sixth decade. In the sixth to ninth decades the mass fractions of almost all chemical elements investigated in nonhyperplastic prostates were maintained at approximately stable levels. Our finding of correlation between pairs of prostatic trace element mass fractions, detailed above, indicates that there is a great disturbance of prostatic trace element relationships with increasing age.