Determination of the concentration of complex boronated compounds in biological tissues by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

The application of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to the determination of the concentration of complex boron-containing compounds in biological tissue samples is described. Tissue digestion is achieved with perchloric acid and hydrogen peroxide in 1 hr at 75 degrees C. The ICP-AES method gave a linear response for elemental boron concentration in the range 0.05 to 100 ppm and does not require the reduction of the boron to a simple species, such as boric acid. Complete recovery of boron in complex boron cluster compounds was obtained. The procedure has been applied to the determination of the boron content in compounds synthesised for neutron capture therapy and is suitable for use in biodistribution studies of such compounds.