Fe distribution and speciation in human nails

Katsikini, M.; Pinakidou, F.; Mavromati, Eleftheria; Paloura, E. C.; Gioulekas, Dimitrios; Grolimund, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2009.09.047

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…[59] Synchrotron XRF imaging and XAS were applied to investigate illness-related changes in the elemental distribution and bonding environment of metals (Zn, Fe) in human nails. [62,63] In a recent X-ray absorption near edge fine structure spectroscopy (XANES) study on As speciation in human fingernails and hair from an As-affected area in Cambodia, Gault et al [64] reported that sulfur-coordinated arsenic was the dominant species in the bulk of the analysed samples with some addition of As III -O character. However the arsenic species distribution was not unambiguously determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis of arsenic chemical speciation in human nail clippings

et al. 2014

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Environmental context. Chronic ingestion of arsenic leads to its accumulation in keratinous tissues, which can represent a risk factor for developing cancer. We use synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate chemical bonding of arsenic in the keratins from nail clippings of volunteers from areas in Atlantic Canada with low-to-moderate arsenic contamination of drinking water. The study helps our understanding of arsenic metabolism and its role in cancer development.Abstract. Drinking water aquifers in many areas of the world have naturally elevated levels of inorganic arsenic exceeding the World Health Organization limit. Arsenic concentrations in human nail clippings are commonly used as a biomarker of exposure to this toxic element. However, the chemical form of arsenic accumulated in nail tissues is not well determined. We employed synchrotron microprobe and bulk X-ray absorption spectroscopy techniques to analyse the concentration and chemical speciation of arsenic in the finger-and toenail clippings of volunteers living in the vicinity of Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. This area is known to have low-to-moderately elevated levels of arsenic in ground water. Arsenic species in clippings were represented by three main groups, distinguished by the As-K near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectra: (1) As III type, which can be fitted as a mixture of As bound to thiols, and also to oxygen or methyl groups, with a small contribution from As V species, (2) As V type, best represented by fitting arsenate in aqueous solution and (3) The As III þ As V mixture type. The high proportion (%) of sulfur-bound arsenic species most likely corresponds to binding between arsenic (in its trivalent and, to a lesser extent, pentavalent forms) and cysteine residues in the sulfur-rich fraction of keratin and keratin-associated proteins. Further work is needed to explore whether these chemical species could be used as toxicity biomarkers of human exposure to elevated levels of As in drinking water.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis of arsenic chemical speciation in human nail clippings

et al. 2014

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“…Deficiency of both the elements was observed in patients of cystic fibrosis and asthma [67] • The higher levels of Ca & Zn concentrations and lower magnesium concentrations were found in males as compared to females…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Structural and component mining of nails using bioengineering techniques

Thatai

Sapra

2016

Intern J of Cosmetic Sci

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The human nail is one of the challenging membranes for the scientists to target and to improve the clinical efficacy of ungual formulations. The understanding of nail physiology, impact of hydration on its properties and presence of trace elements in nails as biomarkers has been explored by various researchers in clinical studies. Despite the importance of biophysical techniques for the assessment of structure and physiology of nail, minimum literature analyses biophysical, biochemical and bioanalytical approaches. However, nowadays scientists in bioengineering field are keen in developing non-invasive, reliable and reproducible techniques for the assessment of different anatomical and functional parameters of nails for testing of ungual products.

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“…Similar approach has been already used in case of, for example, studies of oxidation state of iron in non-cancerous and cancerous prostate tissue sections [16] and the iron speciation in human nails [17]. Presented analysis is complementary to the distribution studies of selected elements by microscopy and SR-lXRF performed on the same samples [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%