Strontium and bromide as tracers in X-ray microanalysis of biological tissue

Since energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis cannot distinguish between isotopes of the same element, alternative methods have to be used to get information similar to that obtained in experiments with radioactive tracers. In the present study, strontium was used as a tracer for calcium, and bromide as a tracer for chloride. Rats were injected with strontium chloride in vivo, and the uptake of strontium in the acinar cells of the submandibular gland was studied. Eventually a Sr/Ca ratio of 0.3 was reached. In some animals, secretion of mucus had been elicited by stimulation with isoproterenol 4 h prior to injection of strontium chloride. Exchange of calcium for strontium was enhanced by prior injection with isoproterenol. In a second experiment, rats were injected with sodium bromide, and the uptake of bromide by the submandibular acinar cells was followed in time, both in pilocarpine-stimulated and unstimulated glands. Under the experimental conditions, bromide was rapidly taken up by the cells, and the cellular Br/Cl ratio was close to that found in serum. Submandibular glands take up Br somewhat faster than other tissues (liver, heart muscle, skeletal muscle). The uptake of Br in pancreatic acinar cells was studied in vitro. These experiments showed a 1:1 ratio (molar) exchange of Cl for Br.