Use of electron spectroscopic imaging to determine element composition of the melanin granules in the stria vascularis of the guinea pig

Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) was used to analyze the element content of melanin granules in the stria vascularis seen in ultrathin sections of Spurr-embedded cochleae of the guinea pig. To determine element composition, ESI images were taken at different ionization edges, and non-specific background signals were subtracted digitally by an image processing system. The presence of calcium and nitrogen in the melanin granules could be demonstrated clearly. The calcium identified in the melanin granules was then compared with the spatial distributions of calcium binding sites after the application of an antimonate precipitation method, which was used to localize loosely bound calcium. Despite a high calcium concentration within the granules, only very small single scattered calcium precipitates could be detected between these structures as compared with the amount of calcium precipitates attached to the plasma membrane or located within the cell nuclei. The nearly complete absence of precipitates within the melanin granules after the application of antimonate suggests differences in calcium binding and mobility involved in various physiological processes of ion balance regulation within the stria vascularis. Received: 14 October 1997 / Accepted: 11 February 1998