Pixe Analysis of Gallstones

Abstract

Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique has been used to determine the trace elements present in fourteen representative human gallstone samples collected from eastern region (Orissa) and thirteen representative samples collected from southern region (Chennai) of India. PIXE irradiation of the samples has been carried out by using the 3 MV tandem type horizontal pelletron accelerator facility at Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar with proton beam of energy 3 MeV. In the present investigation, twenty one trace elements like S , Cl , K , Ca , Ti , V , Cr , Mn , Fe , Ni , Cu , Zn , As , Se , Br , Rb , Sr , Y , Zr , Mo and Pb have been estimated in all the three types of gallstones viz. cholesterol stone, mixed stone and pigment stone. While sulphur in cholesterol stones in the eastern region was less than that of the southern region, sulphur was present as a minor element in the pigment stones of both the regions. Less concentration of copper in the gallstones from eastern region is another interesting observation. The lower values of copper in the patients of eastern region may be due to different types of food habits. The concentrations of all the elements in the southern region pigment stones have higher values than that of the eastern region. Moreover, the concentrations of Fe and Mo in cholesterol stone and pigment stone samples in southern region have also higher values than in eastern region. The current PIXE study is of its first kind in this eastern region of India.

Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis of Minor and Trace Elements in Gallstones of Nigerian Patients

“…The chloride content was significantly higher in pigments calculi as compared to cholesterol, as well as statistically significant in mixed calculi as compared to cholesterol calculi (p<0.001). This result is comparable with previous studies [10]. Chloride ions are always present in biological fluids in human beings including the bile, which might get deposited in the form of sodium chloride salt along with major salts of the gallstones [24].…”

“…The PIXE data analysis showed the presence of P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Table 2 showed the mean of concentration and the statistical relationship of the elements in the three groups. In Table 3, an elemental concentration obtained in the present study was compared with values obtained by Ashok et al [1] and Rautray et al [10]. Elements GAST1 GAST2 GAST3 GAST5 GAST7 GAST8 GAST9 GAST11 P …”

“…A similar pattern was reported in samples from eastern India as shown in Table 3. Sulfur has been found to be a major component of pigment stone [1,10,22,23]. While the concentration of sulfur contents of pigments and mixed stones were not different statistically, the concentration of the element in pigment vs. cholesterol and between the mixed stone vs. cholesterol stones were found to be statistically significantly different.…”

“…In addition, some minor elements play a significant role in the formation of gallstones [1,2]. Most of these minor elements are metabolized by the kidney and the liver, excreted through the urine and bile; hence, changes in the minor elements within the bile may result in cholecystitis and cholelithiasis [9][10][11].…”

“…Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) has extensively been used for the quantitative analysis of trace elements in the biomedical field [10,11]. PIXE is a simultaneous, multielemental, non-destructive, quantitative, and reliable technique with a higher sensitivity [17].…”