Quantitative analysis of human hairs and nails

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biomarker Analysis
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Human hair and nails serve as valuable biomarkers for assessing elemental concentrations.
• Elemental analysis of these tissues can reveal nutritional status, metabolic changes, and disease pathogenesis.
• Robust multi-elemental techniques are crucial for analyzing biological samples for disease diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review major developments in Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for elemental analysis of hair and nails.
• To focus on advancements over the last decade (10-year period).
• To discuss qualitative and quantitative analyses, elemental imaging, and distribution within hair and nail tissues.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) applications.
• Detailed discussion of qualitative and quantitative analytical developments.
• Inclusion of microchemical imaging techniques like micro-XRF and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Main Results:

• Significant advances in LIBS and XRF for elemental profiling of hair and nails over the past decade.
• Demonstrated capabilities in elemental imaging and distribution analysis of essential and non-essential elements.
• Application of these techniques for differentiating healthy and diseased tissue samples.

Conclusions:

• LIBS and XRF are powerful tools for the elemental analysis of human hair and nails.
• These techniques, including microchemical imaging, are vital for disease diagnosis.
• Further discussion on challenges, prospects, and the complementary nature of LIBS and XRF is provided.