The determination of platinum in biological tissue by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation analysis was used to determine platinum in the tissues of rats that had received doses of the tumor chemotherapy agent cis-Pt. Two elements causing spectral interference were identified as ⁴⁷Sc from ⁴⁶Ca, a natural component of tissue, and tin (^117mSn), an element introduced inadvertently during necropsy and sample work-up. A protocol was devised to correct for interference, using emission lines from ⁴⁷Ca and ¹¹³Sn, respectively, with appropriate consideration for relative detector efficiencies, decay times and half-lives.