Bioimaging of trace metals in ancient Chilean mummies and contemporary Egyptian teeth by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

Differentiating mobility and migration in middle Holocene Cis-Baikal, Siberia

“…For example, the transition from using TIMS to SM-MC-ICP-MS and finally to LA-MC-ICP-MS that resulted in reductions in pretreatment efforts and overall sampling times and costs, the tandem-use of multiple analytical techniques, and the integration of first multi-elemental sampling and ultimately micro-sampling of these multiple skeletal elements to produce a robust body of data to reconstruct individual life histories (Dolphin et al, 2012;Dolphin et al, 2003;Dolphin et al, 2016;Farell et al, 2013;Haverkort et al, 2008;Kang et al, 2004;Knudson and Price, 2007;Scharlotta et al, 2011;Scharlotta et al, 2013;Scharlotta and Weber, 2014;Weber et al, 2003;Weber and Goriunova, 2013). However, it is rare to see the progression of methodological development within a single region, even using materials from the same individuals and/ or cemeteries (e.g., scale of analysis/sampling, destruction of samples, duration of life history elucidated, etc.)…”

Limiting the impact of destructive analytical techniques through sequential microspatial sampling of the enamel from single teeth

“…This has especially been the case for studies involving the microstructure and chemical composition of dental tissues (enamel, dentine, cementum) -although there has also been growing exploration of the meaning of microspatial chemical variations in bone (Scharlotta et al 2013). A significant effort to develop microspatial sampling techniques for teeth (human and non-human) comes from within fields such as anthropology and archaeology (Dolphin et al 2005;Cucina et al 2007;Copeland et al 2008;Humphrey et al 2008;Richards et al 2008;Aubert et al 2012;Metcalfe and Longstaffe 2012;Farell et al 2013;Pfeiffer et al 2013), and health and environmental sciences (Lochner et al 1999;Arora and Austin 2013;Becker 2013), among others. Such research stems from a desire to capture information that is only accessible through assessment of the incremental formation (at a known rate) of dental tissues, and examination of their incorporation of elements from the environment during development.…”

“…Some of these techniques may involve mechanical grinding and drilling of small areas within a sample (Hufthammer et al 2010), or acid dissolution of successive layers of tissue. While chemical analyses such as electron probe x-ray microanalysis (EPXMA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), proton-induced x-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE), or synchrotron x-ray fluorescence (sXRF), have all been applied to the analysis of the chemical composition of dental tissues, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma -mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is the most commonly utilized technique for conducting microspatial analyses of dental hard tissues (Lochner et al 1999;Goodman et al 2003;Kang et al 2004;Grün et al 2008;Humphrey et al 2008;Dolphin and Goodman 2009;Hare et al 2011;Vašinová Galiová et al 2012;Austin et al 2013;Farell et al 2013 analyses, pollutant exposure data gathered using trace element analyses (LA-ICP-MS), assessment of tissue preservation using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and isotopic analyses of δ 18 O and δ 13 C contributed data regarding origins/migration and palaeodiet, respectively.…”

Elemental bioimaging of tissue level trace metal distributions in rice seeds (Oryza sativa L.) from a mining area in China

“…This method has been successfully applied for the elemental distribution mapping of trace metals (i.e. Cd, Pb, Zn) distribution of hard tissues like teeth (Kang et al, 2004;Hare et al, 2011;Farell et al, 2013), Cu in plant leaves , Pb distribution and bioaccumulation in Antarctic lichen tissue (Guerra et al, 2011), as well as contaminants (Sb, Pb, Zn) in fern rhizomes (Koelmel and Amarasiriwardena, 2012). Wang et al (2011b) used LA-ICP-MS to obtain spatial information on Zn distribution in wheat grains.…”