Multielemental characterization of human lung tissues by ICP-AES

Preliminary results on multielement analysis of human lung tissues with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) are reported. Three different sample preparation procedures have been studied; dry ashing at 450 degrees C or low temperature ashing followed by pressure digestion with aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid or direct acid digestion with nitric-, sulfuric- and perchloric acid.