Speciation of tissue and cellular iron with on-line detection by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Iron accumulating to excess in tissues of humans and animal models occurs mainly as complexes with transferrin, ferritin, other hemoproteins, and insoluble hemosiderin particles. To determine the distribution of Fe amongst these molecular species, we have used inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry as a means of on-line, isotope-specific detection for their liquid chromatographic separation. The stable isotope 57Fe is a suitable isotope for monitoring the Fe content of each fraction, and its availability at high isotopic enrichment makes it an attractive choice for tracer studies when the use of a radioisotope is undesirable, e.g., in human subjects. The detection system offers the advantages of high sensitivity (detection limits in the parts per billion range), a wide dynamic range (linearity of the calibration curve over several orders of magnitude), and on-line analysis facilitating real-time evaluation of the chromatographic separation, in addition to isotope-specific information. The Fe distributions in healthy rat livers, liver and heart tissue from Fe-loaded human subjects, and human hepatocyte cultures are reported. The ferritin:hemosiderin ratio in these samples is shown to be an indicator of the degree of Fe loading and correlates well with that determined by Zeeman-corrected electrothermal atomic absorption as an alternative means of detection.