American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 2013, 4, 696-706
Published Online December 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ajac)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajac.2013.412084
Open Access AJAC
Use of Neutron Activation Analysis and Inductively
Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for the Determination
of Trace Elements in Pediatric and Young Adult Prostate
Vladimir Zaichick1*, Sofia Zaichick1,2
1Radionuclide Diagnostics Department, Medical Radiological Research Centre, Obninsk, Russia
2Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
Received September 30, 2013; revised October 28, 2013; accepted November 14, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Vladimir Zaichick, Sofia Zaichick. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribu-
tion License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
ABSTRACT
The questions about the androgen control and the involvement of trace elements in prostatic reproductive function still
remain unanswered. One valuable way to elucidate the situation is to compare the values for the prostatic mass fractions
of trace elements in pre- and post-pubertal boys. The effect of age on the mass fraction of 54 trace elements in intact
prostate of 50 apparently healthy 0 - 30 years old males was investigated by neutron activation analysis and inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean values (M ± SΕΜ) for mass fraction (milligram per kilogram, on dry-weight
basis) of trace elements were: Ag 0.062 ± 0.008, Al 80 ± 18, Au 0.0092 ± 0.0024, B 5.9 ± 3.5, Be 0.0034 ± 0.0009, Bi
0.018 ± 0.010, Br 26 ± 3, Cd 0.26 ± 0.05, Ce 0.049 ± 0.012, Co 0.035 ± 0.004, Cr 0.49 ± 0.07, Cs 0.036 ± 0.005, Dy
0.0072 ± 0.0018, Er 0.0040 ± 0.0011, Fe 100 ± 10, Gd 0.0065 ± 0.0018, Hg 0.031 ± 0.004, Ho 0.0013 ± 0.0004, La
0.034 ± 0.007, Li 0.064 ± 0.009, Mn 1.69 ± 0.15, Mo 0.54 ± 0.13, Nb 0.013 ± 0.004, Nd 0.025 ± 0.006, Ni 4.1 ± 0.6, Pb
1.3 ± 0.2, Pr 0.0058 ± 0.0015, Rb 14.5 ± 0.8, Sb 0.051 ± 0.006, Sc 0.013 ± 0.002, Se 0.54 ± 0.03, Sm 0.0055 ± 0.0015,
Sn 0.22 ± 0.05, Tb 0.0012 ± 0.0004, Th 0.0076 ± 0.0020, Ti 2.8 ± 0.5, Tl 0.0032 ± 0.0009, Tm 0.00064 ± 0.00017, U
0.0025 ± 0.0004, Y 0.036 ± 0.010, Yb 0.0037 ± 0.0012, Zn 281 ± 32, and Zr 0.16 ± 0.04. The upper limit of mean mass
fraction of As, Eu, Ga, Hf, Ir, Lu, Pd, Pt, Re, and Ta were: As ≤ 0.069, Eu ≤ 0.0012, Ga ≤ 0.071, Hf ≤ 0.049, Ir ≤
0.00054, Lu ≤ 0.00063, Pd ≤ 0.014, Pt ≤ 0.0029, Re ≤ 0.0048, and Ta ≤ 0.010. This work revealed that there is a signifi-
cant tendency for the mass fractions of Cd, Se and Zn in the prostate tissue of healthy individuals to increase with age
from the time of birth up to 30 years. It was also shown that high levels of Al, Au, B, Br, Cr, Ga, Li, and Ni mass frac-
tion in prostate tissue do not indicate a direct involvement of these elements in the reproductive function of prostate.
Keywords: NAA; ICP-MS; Trace Elements; Pediatric and Young Adult Prostate Glands
1. Introduction
The prostate gland is a vital part of the male reproductive
system. It produces and excretes much of the liquid por-
tion of semen (about 30% - 35% of the semen ejaculate).
The prostate mixes its fluids with those from the seminal
vesicles to transport the sperm made in the testes.
The prostate of the adult male is known to accumulate
high levels of some trace elements, including Zn [1]. The
reason for the unusually high trace element content in
normal prostate gland is not completely understood. The
findings of low Zn level in pediatric prostate warranted
the conclusion that androgens are the major factors con-
trolling the accumulation and maintenance of a high con-
tent of Zn in the prostate [2-5].
In our previous studies, the high mass fractions of Zn
as well as some other trace elements were observed in
prostate tissue of adult males when compared with those
in nonprostatic soft tissues of the human body [1,5-8].
However, some questions about the androgen control and
the involvement of trace elements in prostatic reproduc-
tive function still remain unanswered. One valuable way
to elucidate the situation is to compare the values for the
prostatic mass fractions of trace elements in pre-pubertal
boys with those during early puberty, post-puberty and
*Corresponding author.

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK 697
young adulthood.
The data on trace element mass fractions in pediatric
prostate are apparently extremely limited [2,3]. There are
few studies regarding trace element content in prostate of
young adult males, using chemical techniques and in-
strumental methods [2,3,9-15]. However, the majority of
these data are based on measurements of processed tissue.
In many studies tissue samples are ashed before analysis.
In other cases, prostate samples are treated with solvents
(distilled water, ethanol etc) and then are dried at high
temperature for many hours. There is evidence that cer-
tain quantities of trace elements are lost as a result of
such treatment [16,17]. Moreover, only two of these
studies employed quality control using certified reference
materials (CRM) for determination of the trace element
mass fractions [14,15].
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate
the possibilities of a non-destructive instrumental neutron
activation analysis with high resolution spectrometry of
long-lived radionuclides (NAA-LLR) and inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the es-
timation of trace element contents in the samples of
prostate tissue. The second aim was to determine refer-
ence values for trace element mass fractions in the intact
prostate of subjects of different age groups from newborn
to young adult males. The third aim was to evaluate the
quality of the results making a comparison between NAA-
LLR and ICP-MS data obtained. The final aim was to
compare the trace element mass fractions in pre-pubertal
boys (group 1) with those during early puberty, post-
puberty and young adulthood (group 2).
All studies were approved by the Ethical Committee of
the Medical Radiological Research Center, Obninsk.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Samples
Samples of the human prostate were obtained from ran-
domly selected autopsy specimens of 50 males (European-
Caucasian) aged 0 day to 30 years. Age ranges for sub-
jects were divided into two groups, with group 1, 0 - 13
years (3.3 ± 0.09 years, M ± SEM, n = 29), and group 2,
14 - 30 years (24.4 ± 1.0 years, M ± SEM, n = 21). These
age groups were selected to reflect the situation before
puberty (group 1—infant, childhood, and peripubertal
periods) and during and after puberty (group 2—adolescent
and young adult periods). The available clinical data
were reviewed for each subject. None of the subjects had
a history of an intersex condition, endocrine disorder,
neoplasm or other chronic disease that would affect the
normal development of the prostate. None of the subjects
was receiving medications known to affect prostate mor-
phology and prostatic chemical element content. The
typical causes of death in most of these patients included
sudden infant death syndrome, acute pulmonary etiolo-
gies, and trauma. All prostate glands were divided (with
an anterior-posterior cross-section) into two portions us-
ing a titanium scalpel. One tissue portion was reviewed
by an anatomical pathologist while the other was used for
the trace element content determination. Only the poste-
rior part of the prostate, including the transitional, central,
and peripheral zones, was investigated. A histological
examination was used to control the age norm confor-
mity as well as the absence of any microadenomatosis
and/or latent cancer.
2.2. Sample Preparation
After the samples intended for trace element analysis
were weighed, they were transferred to −20˚C and stored
until the day of transportation in the Medical Radiologi-
cal Research Center (MRRC), Obninsk. In the MRRC all
samples were freeze-dried and homogenized. The pounded
sample weighing about 50 mg was used for chemical
element measurement by instrumental NAA-LLR. The
samples for NAA-LLR were wrapped separately in a
high-purity aluminum foil washed with rectified alcohol
beforehand and placed in a nitric acid-washed quartz
ampoule.
The samples weighing about 100 mg for ICP-MS were
decomposed in autoclaves; 1.5 mL of concentrated HNO3
(nitric acid at 65%, maximum (max) of 0.0000005% Hg;
GR, ISO, Merck) and 0.3 mL of H2O2 (pure for analysis)
were added to prostate tissue samples, placed in one-
chamber autoclaves (Ancon-AT2, Ltd., Russia) and then
heated for 3 h at 160˚C - 200˚C. After autoclaving, they
were cooled to room temperature and solutions from the
decomposed samples were diluted with deionized water
(up to 20 mL) and transferred to plastic measuring bottles.
Simultaneously, the same procedure was performed in
autoclaves without tissue samples (only HNO3 + H2O2 +
deionized water), and the resultant solutions were used as
control samples.
2.3. Instrumentation and Methods
2.3.1. NAA-LLR Method
A vertical channel of nuclear reactor was applied to de-
termine the mass fractions of Ag, As, Au, Ba, Br, Cd, Ce,
Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hf, Hg, La, Lu, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc,
Se, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb, Zn, and Zr by NAA-LLR.
The quartz ampoule with prostate samples, standards,
and certified reference materials was soldered, positioned
in a transport aluminum container and exposed to a 24-
hour neutron irradiation in a vertical channel with a neu-
tron flux of 1.3 × 1013 ncm−2s−1. Ten days after irradia-
tion samples were reweighed and repacked.
The samples were measured for period from 10 to 30
days after irradiation. The duration of measurements was
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
698
from 20 min to 10 hours subject to pulse counting rate.
The gamma spectrometer included the 100 cm3 Ge (Li)
detector and on-line computer-based MCA system. The
spectrometer provided a resolution of 1.9 keV on the
60Co 1332 keV line. The information of used radionu-
clides, gamma-energies, and other details of the analysis
is presented in Table 1.
2.3.2. ICP-MS Method
Sample aliquots were used to determine the content of
Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Be, Bi, Br, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Er,
Eu, Ga, Gd, Hf, Hg, Ho, Ir, La, Li, Lu, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd,
Ni, Pb, Pd, Pr, Pt, Rb, Re, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tb, Te, Th,
Ti, Tl, Tm, U, Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr by ICP-MS using an
ICP-MS Thermo-Fisher “X-7” Spectrometer (Thermo
Electron, USA). The measurements were made with the
mass-spectrometer parameters shown in Table 2.
Table 1. Radionuclides, some of their characteristics and
conditions of analysis* used for INAA-LLR prostate sam-
ples and certified reference materials.
Element Radionuclide Half-life  -energy used (keV)
Ag 110mAg 250.0 days 658, 1384
As 76As 1.12 days 559
Au 198Au 2.7 days 412
Ba 131Ba 11.52 days 216, 373, 496
Br 82Br 1.47 days 698, 777, 1044
Cd 115Cd 2.2 days 336
Ce 141Ce 32.5 days 145
Co 60Co 5.64 years 1173, 1332
Cr 51Cr 27.8 days 320
Cs 134Cs 2.05 years 796
Eu 152Eu 13.6 years 1408
Fe 59Fe 45.6 days 1099, 1292
Gd 151Gd 120 days 154
Hf 181Hf 42.4 days 482
Hg 203Hg 46.91 days 279
La 140La 1.68 days 329, 487, 816, 1595
Lu 177Lu 6.74 days 208
Nd 147Nd 11.02 days 91
Rb 86Rb 18.66 days 1076
Sb 122Sb and 124Sb 2.74 d and 60.9 days 564 and 1690
Sc 46Sc 83.89 days 889, 1121
Se 75Se 120.4 days 136, 265, 401
Sm 153Sm 1.96 days 103
Sr 85Sr 64.8 days 514
Ta 182Ta 115 days 1221
Tb 160Tb 72.3 days 879, 966
Th 233Pa 27.0 days 312
U 239Np 2.36 days 228, 278
Yb 175Yb 4.19 days 396
Zn 65Zn 245.7 days 1115
Zr 95Zr 35.0 days 724, 757
*Irradiation time—24 hours, decay—from 10 to 30 days, measurement—
from 20 min to 10 hours, sample-detector distance—from 0 to 5 cm, detec-
tor shielding—5 cm lead.
The element concentrations in aqueous solutions were
determined by the quantitative method using multi ele-
mental calibration solutions ICP-MS-68A and ICP-AM-
6-A produced by High-Purity Standards (Charleston, SC
29423, USA). Indium was used as an internal standard in
all measurements. The next isotope(s) was/were meas-
ured and chosen for calculation, for each trace-element
(see Table 3). If an element has several isotopes, the
concentration of Li,, B, Ti, Ni, Zn, Br, Rb, Mo, Pd, Ag,
Cd, Sn, Sb, Te, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, ER, Yb, Hf, Re, Ir,
Pt, Hg, Tl, and Pb in a sample was calculated as the mean
of the values measured for their different isotopes.
The detection limit (DL) was calculated as:
DL3 SD,Ci

 (1)
Table 2. The ICP-MS spectrometer parameters and the
main parameters of mass-spectrum measurements.
Spectrometer parameters
RF generator power 1250 W
Nebulizer Polycon
Spray chamber Cooled at 3˚C
Plasma gas flow rate 12 L/min
Auxiliary flow rate 0.9 L/min
Nebuliser flow rate 0.9 L/min
Sample update 0.8 mL/min
Resolution 0.8 atomic mass unit
Parameters of mass-spectrum measurements
Detector mode Double (pulse counting and analogous)
Scanning mode Survey scan and peak jumping
Setting for survey scan Setting for peak jumping
Number of runs 10 Sweeps 25
Dwell time 0.6 msDwell time 10 ms
Channels per mass 10 Channels per mass 1
Acquisition duration 13.2 sAcquisition duration 34 s
Table 3. The isotope(s) used for determining chemical ele-
ment contents by ICP-MS.
EIsotope(s)EIsotope(s)E Isotope(s) E Isotope(s)
Li6, 7 Rb85 La 139 Lu175
Be9 Y89 Ce 140 Hf177, 178
B10, 11 Zr90, 91 Pr 141 Ta181
Al27 Nb93 Nd 145, 146 Re185, 187
Ti47, 50 Mo95, 98 Sm 147, 149 Ir191, 193
Mn55 Pd104, 105Eu 151, 153 Pt194, 195
Co59 Ag107, 109Gd 158, 160 Au197
Ni60, 62 Cd111, 112, 114Tb 159 Hg201, 202
Zn66, 68 In115 Dy 162, 163 Tl203, 205
Ga71 Sn118, 120Ho 165 Pb206, 208
As75 Sb121, 123Er 167, 168 Bi209
Se82 Te125, 126Tm 169 Th232
Br79, 81 Cs133 Yb 173, 174 U238
E: element.
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK 699
where Ci is a mean value of the isotope content for
measurements in control samples, and SD is a standard
deviation of Ci determination in control samples. For
elements with several isotopes, the DL corresponded to
that of the most abundant isotope.
The relative standard deviation (RSD) did not exceed
0.05 for elements with Ci > 5 DL and did not exceed 0.20
for elements with Ci < 5 DL.
2.4. Standards and Certified Reference Materials
For quality control, ten subsamples of the certified refer-
ence materials (CRM) IAEA H-4 Animal muscle and
IAEA HH-1 Human hair from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), and also five sub-samples INCT-
SBF-4 Soya Bean Flour, INCT-TL-1 Tea Leaves and
INCT-MPH-2 Mixed Polish Herbs from the Institute of
Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (INCT, Warszawa,
Poland) were analyzed simultaneously with the investi-
gated prostate tissue samples. All samples of CRM were
treated in the same way as the prostate tissue samples.
Detailed results of this quality assurance program were
presented in earlier publications [1,7].
2.5. Computer Programs and Statistic
A dedicated computer program of NAA mode optimiza-
tion was used [18].
Using the Microsoft Office Excel program to provide a
summary of statistical results, the arithmetic mean, stan-
dard deviation, standard error of mean, minimum and
maximum values were calculated for all the trace ele-
ment mass fractions obtained. For elements investigated
by two methods the mean of all results was used. The
reliability of difference in the results between two age
groups was evaluated by Student’s parametric t-test. For
the construction of “trace element mass fraction versus
age” diagrams the Microsoft Office Excel program was
also used.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. The Possibilities of NAA-LLR
203Hg has the only line of 279.19 keV which coincides
with the 279.54 keV (25%) line of 75Se. However, 75Se
has more intensive lines 136 (56%) and 265 keV (60%)
(See Table 1). Using the information about 75Se lines
136 keV and 265 keV, the intensity of 279.54 keV line
was calculated and the interference with 203Hg 279.19
keV line was under control.
Thus, the instrumental neutron activation analysis with
high resolution spectrometry of long-lived radionuclides
allowed determine the mass fractions of 10 chemical
elements (Ag, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, and Zn) in
the tissue samples of pediatric and nonhyperplastic young
adult prostate glands. Mean values (M ± SΕΜ) for mass
fraction (milligram per kilogram, on dry-weight basis) of
chemical elements between ages 0 - 30 years were: Ag—
0.071 ± 0.009, Co—0.035 ± 0.004, Cr—0.47 ± 0.07,
Fe—100 ± 10, Hg—0.026 ± 0.002, Rb—12.6 ± 0.8, Sb—
0.058 ± 0.007, Sc—0.013 ± 0.002, Se—0.48 ± 0.03, and
Zn—273 ± 31.
3.2. The Possibilities of ICP-MS
The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry al-
lowed measurement the mass fractions or an upper limit
of mass fractions of 51 chemical elements in the tissue
samples of pediatric and nonhyperplastic young adult
prostate glands. Mean values for mass fraction of 41
chemical elements between ages 0 - 30 years were: Ag—
0.052 ± 0.007, Al—79.7 ± 18.2, Au—0.0092 ± 0.0024,
B—5.9 ± 3.5, Be—0.0034 ± 0.0009, Bi—0.018 ± 0.010,
Br—26.3 ± 3.1, Cd—0.26 ± 0.05, Ce—0.049 ± 0.012,
Co—0.036 ± 0.004, Cr—0.53 ± 0.08, Cs—0.036 ± 0.005,
Dy—0.0072 ± 0.0018, Er—0.0040 ± 0.0011, Gd—
0.0065 ± 0.0018, Hg—0.034 ± 0.005, Ho—0.0013 ±
0.0004, La—0.034 ± 0.007, Li—0.064 ± 0.009, Mn—
1.69 ± 0.15, Mo—0.54 ± 0.13, Nb—0.013 ± 0.004, Nd—
0.025 ± 0.006, Ni—4.08 ± 0.56, Pb—1.30 ± 0.24, Pr—
0.0058 ± 0.0015, Rb—16.2 ± 0.8, Sb—0.044 ± 0.007,
Se—0.59 ± 0.04, Sm—0.0055 ± 0.0015, Sn—0.22 ± 0.05,
Tb—0.0012 ± 0.0004, Th—0.0076 ± 0.0020, Ti—2.79 ±
0.53, Tl—0.0032 ± 0.0009, Tm—0.00064 ± 0.00017,
U—0.0025 ± 0.0004, Y—0.036 ± 0.010, Yb—0.0037 ±
0.0012, Zn—277 ± 33, and Zr—0.16 ± 0.04. The upper
limits of mass fraction of 10 chemical elements in the
same samples were: As ≤ 0.069, Eu ≤ 0.0012, Ga ≤ 0.071,
Hf ≤ 0.049, Ir ≤ 0.00054, Lu ≤ 0.00063, Pd ≤ 0.014, Pt ≤
0.0029, Re ≤ 0.0048, and Ta ≤ 0.010.
3.3. Precision and Accuracy
The use of two analytical methods allowed us to estimate
the mass fractions of 54 trace elements in human prostate
tissue. Good agreement was found between the mean
values of the Ag, As, Au, Br, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Gd,
Hf, Hg, La, Lu, Nd, Rb, Sb, Se, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb,
Zn, and Zr mass fractions determined by NAA-LLR and
ICP-MS (Table 4) indicating complete digestion of the
prostate tissue samples (for ICP-MS techniques) and
correctness of all results obtained by the two methods.
The fact that the elemental mass fractions (mean ± SD)
of the certified reference materials obtained in the pre-
sent work were in good agreement with the certified val-
ues and within the corresponding 95% confidence inter-
vals [1,7] suggests an acceptable accuracy of the meas-
urements performed on in prostate tissue samples.
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
700
Table 4. Comparison of mean values (M ± SEM) trace ele-
ment mass fractions (in milligrams per kilogram dry-mass
basis) in the nonhyperplastic prostate gland of males be-
tween ages 0 - 30 years obtained by both NAA-LL and
ICP-MS methods.
Element NAA-LLR (1) ICP-MS (2) ∆*, %
Ag 0.071 ± 0.009 0.052 ± 0.007 26.8
As <0.1 ≤0.069 -
Au <0.01 0.0092 ± 0.0024 -
Br <50 26.3 ± 3.1 -
Cd <2.0 0.26 ± 0.05 -
Ce <0.05 0.049 ± 0.012 -
Co 0.035 ± 0.004 0.036 ± 0.004 −2.86
Cr 0.47 ± 0.07 0.53 ± 0.08 −12.8
Cs <0.04 0.036 ± 0.005 -
Eu <0.001 ≤0.0012 -
Gd <0.25 0.0065 ± 0.0018 -
Hf <0.05 ≤0.049 -
Hg 0.026 ± 0.002 0.031 ± 0.004 −19.2
La <0.05 0.034 ± 0.007 -
Lu <0.003 ≤0.00063 -
Nd <0.1 0.025 ± 0.006 -
Rb 12.6 ± 0.8 16.2 ± 0.8 −28.6
Sb 0.057 ± 0.007 0.044 ± 0.007 22.8
Se 0.48 ± 0.03 0.59 ± 0.04 −22.9
Sm <0.01 0.0055 ± 0.0015 -
Ta <0.1 ≤0.010 -
Tb <0.03 0.0012 ± 0.0004 -
Th <0.05 0.0076 ± 0.0020 -
U <0.07 0.0025 ± 0.0004 -
Yb <0.03 0.0037 ± 0.0012 -
Zn 273 ± 31 277 ± 33 −1.5
Zr <1.0 0.16 ± 0.04 -
M arithmetic mean, SEM standard error of mean; *∆ = [(M1 − M2)/M1] ×
100%.
3.4. Contents of Chemical Elements
The mean values of mass fractions and all selected statis-
tical parameters were calculated for 43 (Ag, Al, Au, B,
Be, Bi, Br, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Er, Fe, Gd, Hg, Ho,
La, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm,
Sn, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr) trace ele-
ents in the nonhyperplastic prostate gland of males in two
age groups 0 - 13 and 14 - 30 years (Tables 5 and 6, re-
spectively). The contents of these elements were meas-
ured in all or a major portion of prostate tissue samples.
The As, Eu, Ga, Hf, Ir, Lu, Pd, Pt, Re, and Ta mass frac-
tions were determined in a few samples. The possible
upper limit of the mean (≤M) for these trace elements
was calculated as the average mass fraction, using the
value of the detection limit (DL) instead of the individual
value when the latter was found to be below the DL:
Table 5. Basic statistical parameters of trace element mass
fraction (in milligrams per kilogram dry-mass basis) in the
nonhyperplastic prostate gland of males between ages 0 - 13
years (before puberty—the age group 1).
EM SD SEM Min Max
Ag0.0767 0.0507 0.0106 0.0149 0.209
Al119 123 32 16.2 478
As ≤0.123 - - <0.01 0.830
Au0.0145 0.0171 0.0044 0.000900 0.0636
B9.4 22.2 5.9 0.410 83.4
Be0.0059 0.0065 0.0017 0.000700 0.0200
Bi0.032 0.070 0.019 0.00210 0.270
Br30.0 19.1 4.5 8.30 81.1
Cd0.085 0.051 0.013 0.0240 0.230
Ce0.073 0.084 0.022 0.0120 0.290
Co0.0440 0.0301 0.0061 0.00360 0.108
Cr0.69 0.51 0.11 0.0100 1.80
Cs0.0365 0.0357 0.0092 0.00900 0.160
Dy0.0108 0.0125 0.0032 0.00110 0.0500
Er0.0060 0.0077 0.0020 0.000520 0.0300
Eu0.00188 0.00195 0.00050 0.000390 0.00740
Fe120 86 16 10.0 335
Ga0.076 0.058 0.015 0.0200 0.200
Gd0.0099 0.0128 0.0033 0.00130 0.0500
Hf0.083 0.096 0.025 0.0130 0.270
Hg0.0345 0.0360 0.0079 0.00290 0.170
Ho0.00191 0.00265 0.00071 0.000180 0.0100
Ir ≤0.00071- - <0.0002 0.0030
La0.049 0.044 0.011 0.00900 0.130
Li0.085 0.058 0.015 0.0150 0.170
Lu0.00096 0.00103 0.00027 0.0000700 0.00400
Mn1.90 1.07 0.27 0.660 3.90
Mo0.79 0.91 0.24 0.140 3.20
Nb0.0225 0.0251 0.0065 0.00400 0.0800
Nd0.038 0.043 0.011 0.00490 0.160
Ni4.50 3.85 1.03 0.600 12.0
Pb1.81 1.47 0.38 0.190 6.30
Pd ≤0.019 - - <0.005 0.100
Pr0.0085 0.0101 0.0026 0.000700 0.0360
Pt0.00513 0.00376 0.00097 0.000800 0.0110
Rb15.1 6.2 1.2 4.80 25.4
Re0.0086 0.0051 0.0014 0.00150 0.0170
Sb0.057 0.048 0.010 0.00630 0.175
Sc0.0162 0.0124 0.0028 0.00110 0.0525
Se0.452 0.202 0.040 0.0500 1.06
Sm0.0084 0.0105 0.0027 0.00110 0.0410
Sn0.342 0.318 0.082 0.0590 1.00
Ta ≤0.016 - - <0.004 0.080
Tb0.00187 0.00276 0.00071 0.000170 0.0110
Te<0.003 - - <0.003 -
Th0.0128 0.0134 0.0034 0.00120 0.0400
Ti*4.14 3.38 0.87 0.400 10.4
Tl0.0049 0.0063 0.0016 0.00100 0.0240
Tm0.00097 0.00116 0.00030 0.000100 0.00460
U0.00338 0.00244 0.00070 0.000700 0.00900
Y0.055 0.068 0.018 0.00400 0.250
Yb0.0056 0.0082 0.0022 0.000560 0.0320
Zn155 167 31 61.8 981
Zr0.247 0.244 0.063 0.0260 0.760
E: Element, M: arithmetic mean, SD: standard deviation, SEM: standard
error of mean, Min: minimum value, Max: maximum value; *Titanium tools
were used for sampling and sample preparation.
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK 701
Table 6. Basic statistical parameters of trace element mass
fraction (in milligrams per kilogram dry-mass basis) in the
nonhyperplastic prostate gland of males between ages 14 -
30 years (puberty and postpuberty—the age group 2).
E M SD SEM Min Max
Ag 0.0421 0.0396 0.0096 0.00800 0.124
Al 37.8 28.5 7.6 6.80 115
As ≤0.012 - - <0.01 0.020
Au 0.0040 0.0043 0.0011 0.00100 0.0149
B 1.02 0.83 0.26 0.400 3.20
Be 0.00110 0.00051 0.00013 0.000700 0.00260
Bi 0.00404 0.00190 0.00053 0.00180 0.00750
Br 22.4 16.6 4.0 3.00 48.6
Cd 0.441 0.270 0.072 0.0800 1.00
Ce 0.0241 0.0217 0.0058 0.00600 0.0750
Co 0.0248 0.0091 0.0020 0.0135 0.0454
Cr 0.246 0.183 0.042 0.0470 0.687
Cs 0.0360 0.0111 0.0030 0.0240 0.0550
Dy 0.00326 0.00338 0.00090 0.000400 0.0120
Er 0.00186 0.00214 0.00057 0.000160 0.00710
Eu ≤0.00054 - - <0.0004 0.0015
Fe 72.3 26.0 5.8 38.0 127
Ga ≤0.066 - - <0.02 0.49
Gd 0.00284 0.00290 0.00078 0.000300 0.0100
Hf ≤0.013 - - <0.01 0.035
Hg 0.0283 0.0127 0.0028 0.0162 0.0713
Ho 0.00060 0.00065 0.00017 0.0000900 0.00210
Ir ≤0.00035 - - <0.0002 0.0010
La 0.0172 0.0116 0.0032 0.00800 0.0490
Li 0.0424 0.0259 0.0069 0.0150 0.0970
Lu ≤0.00028 - - <0.00007 0.0011
Mn 1.48 0.48 0.12 0.800 2.50
Mo 0.279 0.133 0.035 0.110 0.580
Nb 0.00329 0.00329 0.00088 0.00100 0.0110
Nd 0.0124 0.0107 0.0029 0.00400 0.0350
Ni 3.65 1.78 0.48 0.200 6.80
Pb 0.75 0.88 0.24 0.250 3.72
Pd ≤0.0072 - - <0.005) 0.010
Pr 0.00299 0.00279 0.00075 0.000700 0.00940
Pt ≤0.00054 - - <0.0005 0.0010
Rb 13.7 3.54 0.79 7.70 24.0
Re ≤0.00099 - - <0.0009 0.0010
Sb 0.0432 0.0231 0.0052 0.00900 0.0924
Sc 0.0087 0.0051 0.0012 0.00240 0.0207
Se 0.644 0.203 0.045 0.372 1.11
Sm 0.00246 0.00246 0.00066 0.000500 0.00790
Sn 0.096 0.095 0.025 0.0300 0.300
Ta ≤0.0044 - - <0.004 0.0090
Tb 0.00041 0.00057 0.00015 0.000070 0.00210
Te <0.003 - - <0.003) -
Th 0.00210 0.00212 0.00057 0.000500 0.00850
Ti* 1.35 0.93 0.25 0.700 3.46
Tl 0.00140 0.00049 0.00013 0.000200 0.00240
Tm 0.000299 0.000345 0.000092 0.0000500 0.00120
U 0.00164 0.00106 0.00028 0.000540 0.00406
Y 0.0159 0.0199 0.0055 0.00200 0.0710
Yb 0.00175 0.00214 0.00057 0.000100 0.00690
Zn 456 188 41 155 869
Zr 0.055 0.073 0.020 0.0100 0.250
E: Element, M: arithmetic mean, SD: standard deviation, SEM: standard
error of mean, Min: minimum value, Max: maximum value; *Titanium tools
were used for sampling and sample preparation.
i
n
ij
i
M
CDLn n

 


 
, (2)
where Ci is the individual value of the trace-element
mass fraction in sample −i, ni is number of samples with
mass fraction higher than the DL, nj is number of sam-
ples with mass fraction lower than the DL, and n = ni + nj
is number of samples that were investigated.
Generally, the mass fractions of Te in prostate tissue
samples were lower than the corresponding DL of ICP-
MS (0.003 milligrams per kilogram on a dry mass basis).
The level of Zn in prostate is much higher than con-
tents of other trace element: around an order of magni-
tude—Fe; two orders of magnitude—Rb; three orders of
magnitude—Cr, and Se; four orders of magnitude—Ag,
Co, Hg, Sb, and Sc.
3.5. Comparison with Published Data
The means of Fe and Zn mass fractions obtained for
prostate tissue of infant and children (age group 1) as
shown in Table 5, agree well with range of mean values
reported by Heinzsch et al. (1970) and Leissner et al.
(1980) [2,3]. No published data referring to other trace
element mass fractions in pediatric prostate glands were
found.
The obtained values for Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Cs, Fe, Mn,
Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Ti, Tl, and Zn mass fractions in
young adult nonhyperplastic prostate glands as shown in
Table 7, agree well with median or range of means cited
by other researches for the normal prostate tissue of adult
males, including samples received from persons who
died from different diseases [14,15,19-34]. A number of
values for chemical element mass fractions were not ex-
pressed on a dry weight basis by the authors of the cited
references. However, we calculated these values using
published data for water—80% [35] and ash—1.0% on
wet weight basis [11] contents in prostate of adult men.
The means of Al, B, and Br are somewhat higher and of
Bi and Sn are somewhat lower than the maximum and
minimum mean value of previously reported data, respec-
tively. The means of this work for Au, Hg, Sb, Te, U,
and Y is from one to six orders of magnitude lower, than
previously reported results. No published data referring
to Be, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Ga, Gd, Hf, Ho, Ir, La, Li, Lu, Nb,
Nd, Pd, Pr, Pt, Re, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, Tm, Yb, and Zr
mass fractions in prostate gland of adult men were found.
3.6. Age-Related Changes
In the histologically normal prostates, we have observed
a significant decrease in mass fraction of the Ag, Al, Au,
B, Be, Ce, Co, Cr, Dy, Fe, Gd, La, Li Mo, Nb, Nd, Pb, Sc,
Se, Sm, Sn, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, and Zr with age from the
time of birth up to 30 years, accompanied by an increase
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
702
Table 7. Median, minimum and maximum value of means
of trace element mass fractions (in milligrams per kilogram
dry-mass basis) in prostate tissue of adult males according
to data from the literature in comparison with this work
results (prostate gland of young adults, 20 - 30 years).
Published data [Reference] This work
E Median
(na)
Minimum
M ± SD, (nb)
Maximum
M ± SD, (nb)
M ± SD
n = 16
Ag ≤0.1 (2) <0.05 (48) [19] 0.2 (7) [20] 0.06 ± 0.05
Al 27.7 (3) 13 ± 66 (50) [19] 47 (9) [21] 80 ± 98
As 0.045 (1) 0.05 (10) [22] 0.05 (10) [22] ≤0.069
Au ≤1.0 (2) <0.7 (48) [19] 1.3 (7) [20] 0.009 ± 0.013
B 1.2 (2) <0.47 (50) [19] 1.0 (1) [20] 5.9 ± 17.2
Be - - - 0.003 ± 0.005
Bi <0.09 (1) <0.09 (50) [19] <0.09 (50) [19] 0.018 ± 0.052
Br 14.5 (2) 12 ± 8 (4) [23] 17 (12) [24] 26 ± 18
Cd 0.79 (16) 0.06 (129) [15] 427 (55) [25] 0.26 ± 0.26
Ce - - - 0.049 ± 0.066
Co 0.55 (3) <0.09 (50) [19] 12 (9) [21] 0.035 ± 0.025
Cr 0.56 (3) 0.042 (50) [19] 1.4 (8) [20] 0.49 ± 0.45
Cs <0.47 (2) 0.06 (6) [26] 2.8 (12) [24] 0.036 ± 0.026
Dy - - - 0.008 ± 0.010
Er - - - 0.004 ± 0.006
Eu - - - ≤0.0012
Fe 150 (19) 5.71 (5) [27] 1040 (10) [28] 100 ± 71
Ga - - - ≤0.071
Gd - - - 0.007 ± 0.010
Hf - - - ≤0.049
Hg 0.65 (1) 0.7 (5) [22] 0.7 (5) [22] 0.031 ± 0.027
Ho - - - 0.001 ± 0.002
Ir - - - ≤0.00054
La - - - 0.034 ± 0.036
Li - - - 0.064 ± 0.049
Lu - - - ≤0.00063
Mn 1.0 (6) <0.47 (12) [24] 7.3 (4) [29] 1.69 ± 0.84
Mo 1.0 (2) <0.19 (50) [19] 1.8 (2) [20] 0.54 ± 0.70
Nb - - - 0.013 ± 0.020
Nd - - - 0.025 ± 0.034
Ni <0.47 (4) 0.14 (4) [30] 4.7 (12) [24] 4.1 ± 3.0
Pb 1.0 (11) 0.15 (41) [14] 8 (4) [29] 1.3 ± 1.3
Pd - - - ≤0.014
Pr - - - 0.006 ± 0.008
Pt - - - ≤0.0029
Rb 34.5(3) 4.7 (9) [21] 58 ± 33 (4) [29] 14.5 ± 5.2
Re - - - ≤0.0048
Sb 0.42 (1) 0.4 (10) [22] 0.4 (10) [22] 0.051 ± 0.038
Sc - - - 0.013 ± 0.010
Se 0.625 (7) 0.27 (129) [15] 1.5 (15) [31] 0.54 ± 0.22
Sm - - - 0.006 ± 0.008
Sn 3.3 (4) 0.66 (50) [19] 3.7 (7) [20] 0.22 ± 0.27
Ta - - - ≤0.010
Tb - - - 0.001 ± 0.002
Te 164 (1) 164 (2) [29] 164 (2) [29] <0.003
Th - - - 0.008 ± 0.011
Ti* 7.6 (3) <0.24 (50) [19] 26 (24) [30] 2.8 ± 2.9
Tl 0.25 (2) 0.0014 (1) [32] 0.5 (1) [20] 0.003 ± 0.005
Tm - - - 0.0006 ± 0.0009
U 0.4 (1) 0.4 (1) [33] 0.4 (1) [33] 0.0025 ± 0.0020
Y <80 (2) <3.3 (12) [24] 89 (12) [24] 0.036 ± 0.053
Yb - - - 0.0037 ± 0.0062
Zn 482 (48) 111 (-) [34] 2735 (10) [28] 281 ± 230
Zr - - - 0.16 ± 0.21
E: Element, M: arithmetic mean, SD: standard deviation, na: number of all
references, nb: number of samples, -: no data; *Titanium tools were used for
sampling and sample preparation.
in mass fraction of Cd, Se and Zn (Table 8, Figure 1). In
particular, a strongly pronounced (p ≤ 0.001) tendency of
Table 8. Effect of age on mean values (M ± SEM) trace ele-
ment mass fraction in pediatric and young adult nonhy-
perplastic prostate glands.
EGroup 1 0 - 13
year n = 29
Group 2 14 - 30
year n = 21
Student’s
t-test p≤
Ratio Group 2
to group 1
Ag0.077 ± 0.0110.0421 ± 0.0096 0.020 0.549
Al119 ± 32 37.8 ± 7.6 0.024 0.318
As ≤0.123 ≤0.012 - -
Au0.015 ± 0.0040.0040 ± 0.0011 0.030 0.276
B9.4 ± 5.9 1.02 ± 0.26 0.18 (NS) 0.109
Be0.005 ± 0.0020.0011 ± 0.0001 0.014 0.186
Bi0.032 ± 0.0190.0040 ± 0.0005 0.17 (NS) 0.126
Br30.0 ± 4.5 22.4 ± 4.0 0.22 (NS) 0.747
Cd0.085 ± 0.0130.441 ± 0.072 0.0003 5.20
Ce0.073 ± 0.0220.024 ± 0.006 0.045 0.330
Co0.0440 ± 0.00610.025 ± 0.002 0.006 0.564
Cr0.69 ± 0.11 0.246 ± 0.042 0.0006 0.357
Cs0.037 ± 0.0090.036 ± 0.003 0.96 (NS) 0.986
Dy0.011 ± 0.0030.0033 ± 0.0009 0.038 0.302
Er0.006 ± 0.0020.0019 ± 0.0006 0.064 (NS) 0.310
Eu0.0019 ± 0.0005≤0.00054 - ≤0.287
Fe120 ± 16 72.3 ± 5.8 0.0099 0.60
Ga0.076 ± 0.015≤0.066 - ≤0.868
Gd0.010 ± 0.0030.0028 ± 0.0008 0.050 0.287
Hf0.083 ± 0.025≤0.013 - ≤0.157
Hg0.035 ± 0.0080.028 ± 0.003 0.92 (NS) 0.820
Ho0.0019 ± 0.00070.0006 ± 0.0002 0.093 (NS) 0.314
Ir ≤0.00071 ≤0.00035 - -
La0.049 ± 0.0110.017 ± 0.003 0.017 0.351
Li0.085 ± 0.0150.042 ± 0.007 0.022 0.499
Lu0.0010 ± 0.0003≤0.00028 - ≤0.292
Mn1.90 ± 0.27 1.48 ± 0.12 0.17 (NS) 0.779
Mo0.79 ± 0.24 0.279 ± 0.035 0.050 0.353
Nb0.0225 ± 0.00650.0033 ± 0.0009 0.010 0.146
Nd0.038 ± 0.0110.0124 ± 0.0029 0.043 0.326
Ni4.50 ± 1.03 3.65 ± 0.48 0.46 (NS) 0.811
Pb1.81 ± 0.38 0.75 ± 0.24 0.027 0.414
Pd ≤0.019 ≤0.0072 - -
Pr0.0085 ± 0.00260.0030 ± 0.0007 0.061 (NS) 0.352
Pt0.0051 ± 0.0010≤0.00054 - ≤0.105
Rb15.1 ± 1.2 13.7 ± 0.79 0.33 (NS) 0.907
Re0.0086 ± 0.0014≤0.00099 - ≤0.115
Sb0.057 ± 0.0100.0432 ± 0.0052 0.22 (NS) 0.758
Sc0.0162 ± 0.00280.0087 ± 0.0012 0.020 0.537
Se0.452 ± 0.0400.644 ± 0.045 0.0027 1.42
Sm0.0084 ± 0.00270.0025 ± 0.0007 0.050 0.293
Sn0.342 ± 0.0820.096 ± 0.025 0.011 0.281
Ta ≤0.016 ≤0.0044 - -
Tb0.0019 ± 0.00070.0004 ± 0.0001 0.063 (NS) 0.219
Te<0.003 <0.003 - -
Th0.0128 ± 0.00340.0021 ± 0.0006 0.0083 0.164
Ti*4.14 ± 0.87 1.35 ± 0.25 0.0073 0.326
Tl0.0049 ± 0.00160.0014 ± 0.0001 0.050 0.286
Tm0.0010 ± 0.00030.0003 ± 0.0001 0.048 0.308
U0.0034 ± 0.00070.0016 ± 0.0003 0.037 0.485
Y0.055 ± 0.0180.0159 ± 0.0055 0.055 0.289
Yb0.0056 ± 0.00220.0018 ± 0.0006 0.11 (NS) 0.313
Zn155 ± 31 456 ± 41 0.000001 2.94
Zr0.247 ± 0.0630.055 ± 0.020 0.0097 0.223
E: Element, M: arithmetic mean, SEM: standard error of mean, NS: not sig-
nificant. *Titanium tools were used for sampling and sample preparation.
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
Open Access AJAC
703
Figure 1. Individual data sets for the Al, Cd, Co, Fe, Hg, Pb, Se, and Zn mass fraction in the nonhyperplastic prostate gland
of males between ages 0 - 30 years and their trend lines with equations of best fit.
age-related increase in Cd and Zn mass fraction was ob-
served in prostate (Table 8). For example, in prostate of
adolescent and young adult (group 2), Cd and Zn mass
fraction was 5.2 and 2.9 times, respectively, greater than
in prostate of children before puberty (group 1). An in-
crease of Cd and Zn mass fraction in the prostate tissue
with age from the time of birth up to 30 years is more
ideally fitted by an exponential law than by a linear,
polynomial, logarithmic or power law (Figure 1). An
increase of Se mass fraction is more ideally fitted by a
polynomial law (Figure 1).
This work result for age-dependence of Fe and Zn
mass fraction is in accordance with earlier findings [2,3].
For example, Heinzsch et al. [2] found that Zn mass frac-
tion in normal prostate was higher after the age of 10
(age group 11 - 30 years) than before by approximately

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
704
1.7 times, and that Fe mass fraction in prostate gland of
males aged 11 - 30 years was lower than in infant pros-
tate by approximately two times. In accordance with
Leissner et al. [3] the mean Zn mass fraction in prostate
tissue of 20 - 29 years old men was 4.9 times greater than
in prostate of 0 - 5 years old subjects.
3.7. Comparison with Trace Element Mass
Fractions in Liver of Reference Man
For pre-puberty the mean obtained for the Zn mass frac-
tion in prostate tissue is lower than the mean Zn mass
fraction in liver of reference man [36,37], but during pu-
berty and postpuberty it is approximately three times
higher (Table 9). This implies that the Zn mass fraction
in prostate tissue is associated with the male androgen
status. Also for post-puberty the means obtained for the
Al, Au, B, Br, Cr, Ga, Li, and Ni mass fractions in pros-
tate tissue are higher than their mean values in the liver
of reference man. However, mass fractions of these ele-
ments in prostate gland of young adult males are lower
than in pediatric prostate glands. This implies that the Al,
Au, B, Br, Cr, Ga, Li, and Ni mass fractions are an an-
drogen-independent parameter and that these elements
are not directly linked to any reproductive function of the
prostate.
4. Conclusions
Both INAA-LLR and ICP-MS methods are an adequate
analytical tool for the precise determination of trace ele-
ment mass fraction in the tissue samples of pediatric and
nonhyperplastic young adult prostate glands. The com-
bination of two methods allowed determinations of mean
mass fraction of Ag, Al, Au, B, Be, Bi, Br, Cd, Ce, Co,
Cr, Cs, Dy, Er, Fe, Gd, Hg, Ho, La, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd,
Ni, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sn, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, U,
Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr (43 elements) and the upper limit of
mean for As, Eu, Ga, Hf, Ir, Lu, Pd, Pt, Re, and Ta (10
elements). Mean values (M ± SΕΜ) for mass fraction
(milligram per kilogram, on dry-weight basis) of trace
elements in the nonhyperplastic prostate gland of males
in the age ranges 0 - 30 years obtained in this work were:
Ag 0.062 ± 0.008, Al 80 ± 18, Au 0.0092 ± 0.0024, B 5.9
± 3.5, Be 0.0034 ± 0.0009, Bi 0.018 ± 0.010, Br 26 ± 3,
Cd 0.26 ± 0.05, Ce 0.049 ± 0.012, Co 0.035 ± 0.004, Cr
0.49 ± 0.07, Cs 0.036 ± 0.005, Dy 0.0072 ± 0.0018, Er
0.0040 ± 0.0011, Fe 100 ± 10, Gd 0.0065 ± 0.0018, Hg
0.031 ± 0.004, Ho 0.0013 ± 0.0004, La 0.034 ± 0.007, Li
0.064 ± 0.009, Mn 1.69 ± 0.15, Mo 0.54 ± 0.13, Nb
0.013 ± 0.004, Nd 0.025 ± 0.006, Ni 4.1 ± 0.6, Pb 1.3 ±
0.2, Pr 0.0058 ± 0.0015, Rb 14.5 ± 0.8, Sb 0.051 ± 0.006,
Sc 0.013 ± 0.002, Se 0.54 ± 0.03, Sm 0.0055 ± 0.0015,
Sn 0.22 ± 0.05, Tb 0.0012 ± 0.0004, Th 0.0076 ± 0.0020,
Ti 2.8 ± 0.5, Tl 0.0032 ± 0.0009, Tm 0.00064 ± 0.00017,
Table 9. The differences between the means of trace element
mass fraction in the prostate tissue and in liver of Reference
Man (in milligrams per kilogram dry-mass basis).
This work
result for prostate
Median of means
for Reference
Man [36,37]
Ratios
p (t-test)
Before
puberty
After
puberty
EBefore
puberty
P1
After
puberty
P2
Liver
L P1/L P2/L
Ag0.0767 0.0421 0.069 1.11 0.61
Al119 37.8 0.0040 297509450
As ≤0.123 ≤0.012 0.034 ≤3.6 ≤0.35
Au0.0145 0.0040 0.00018 80.6 22.2
B9.4 1.02 <0.36 >26.1>2.8
Be0.0059 0.00110- - -
Bi0.032 0.004040.014 2.28 0.29
Br30.0 22.4 5.2 5.77 4.31
Cd0.085 0.441 4.3 0.0200.103
Ce0.073 0.0241 0.21 0.35 0.115
Co0.0440 0.0248 0.31 0.14 0.088
Cr0.69 0.246 0.097 7.11 2.54
Cs0.0365 0.0360 0.045 0.81 0.80
Dy0.0108 0.00326- - -
Er0.0060 0.00186- - -
Eu0.00188 ≤0.00054- -
-
Fe120 72.3 1000 0.12 0.072
Ga0.076 ≤0.066 0.0024 31.7 ≤27.5
Gd0.0099 0.00284- - -
Hf0.083 ≤0.013 - - -
Hg0.0345 0.0283 0.31 0.11 0.091
Ho0.001910.00060- - -
Ir ≤0.00071 ≤0.00035- - -
La0.049 0.0172 0.28 0.18 0.061
Li0.085 0.0424 <0.0036 >23.6 >11.8
Lu0.00096 ≤0.00028- - -
Mn1.90 1.48 5.4 0.35 0.27
Mo0.79 0.279 2.1 0.38 0.13
Nb0.0225 0.003290.14 0.16 0.024
Nd0.038 0.0124 - - -
Ni4.50 3.65 0.10 45.0 36.5
Pb1.81 0.75 1.6 1.13 0.47
Pd ≤0.019 ≤0.0072- - -
Pr0.0085 0.00299- - -
Pt0.00513 ≤0.000540.11 0.047≤0.0049
Rb15.1 13.7 17.2 0.88 0.80
Re0.0086 ≤0.00099- - -
Sb0.057 0.0432 0.052 1.10 0.83
Sc0.0162 0.0087 0.018 0.90 0.48
Se0.452 0.644 1.12 0.40 0.58
Sm0.0084 0.00246- - -
Sn0.342 0.096 1.90 0.18 0.051
Ta ≤0.016 ≤0.0044- - -
Tb0.001870.00041- - -
Te<0.003 <0.003 - - -
Th0.0128 0.00210- - -
Ti*4.14 1.35 - - -
Tl0.0049 0.001400.19 0.0260.0074
Tm0.000970.000299- - -
U0.003380.001640.0010 3.38 1.64
Y0.055 0.0159 - - -
Yb0.0056 0.00175- - -
Zn155 456 172 0.90 2.65
Zr0.247 0.055 0.103 2.40 0.53
E: Element, Values in bold have ratio magnitude >2.0.
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK 705
U 0.0025 ± 0.0004, Y 0.036 ± 0.010, Yb 0.0037 ± 0.0012,
Zn 281 ± 32, and Zr 0.16 ± 0.04. The upper limit of mean
mass fraction of As, Eu, Ga, Hf, Ir, Lu, Pd, Pt, Re, and
Ta were: As ≤ 0.069, Eu ≤ 0.0012, Ga ≤ 0.071, Hf ≤
0.049, Ir ≤ 0.00054, Lu ≤ 0.00063, Pd ≤ 0.014, Pt ≤
0.0029, Re ≤ 0.0048, and Ta ≤ 0.010. In all prostate sam-
ples, the content of Te was under the detection limit
(<0.003).
This work result reveals that there is a significant ten-
dency of increase in Cd, Se and Zn mass fraction in the
prostate tissue of healthy individuals with age from the
time of birth up to 30 years. It means that Cd, Se and Zn
mass fractions in prostate tissue are the androgen-de-
pendent parameters. Our finding of positive correlation
between the prostatic Zn and Se mass fractions indicates
that there is a special relationship of Zn with Se-con-
taining compounds in the prostate. It was also shown that
high levels of Al, Au, B, Br, Cr, Ga, Li, and Ni mass
fraction in prostate tissue do not indicate a direct in-
volvement of these elements in the reproductive function
of prostate.
All the deceased were citizens of Moscow. None of
those who died a sudden death had suffered from any
systematic or chronic disorders before. The normal state
of prostates was confirmed by morphological study. Thus,
our data for mass fractions of 54 trace element mass frac-
tions in intact prostate of two groups reflect the infant,
childhood, and peripubertal periods (group 1) and adole-
scent and young adult periods (group 2) may serve as
indicative normal values for urban population of the
Russian Central European region.
5. Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the late Prof. A.A. Zhavoron-
kov, Institute of Human Morphology, Russian Academy
of Medical Sciences, Moscow, for supplying prostate
specimens. We are also grateful to Dr. Karandaschev V.,
Dr. Nosenko S., and Moskvina I., Institute of Microelec-
tronics Technology and High Purity Materials, Cher-
nogolovka, Russia, for their help in ICP-MS analysis.
REFERENCES
[1] S. Zaichick, V. Zaichick, S. Nosenko and I. Moskvina,
“Mass Fractions of 52 Trace Elements and Zinc Trace
Element Content Ratios in Intact Human Prostates In-
vestigated by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectro-
metry,” Biological Trace Element Research, Vol. 149, No.
2, 2012, pp. 171-183.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9427-4
[2] E. Hienzsch, H.-J. Schneider and M. Anke, “Verglei-
chende Untersuchungen zum Mengen- und Spurenele-
mentgehalt der Normalen Prostata, des Prostataadenoms
und des Prostatakarzinoms,” Zeitschrift für Urologie und
Nephrologie, Vol. 63, No. 7, 1970, pp. 543-546.
[3] K. M. Leissner, B. Fielkegard and L.-E. Tisell, “Concen-
tration and Content of Zinc in Human Prostate,” Investi-
gative Urology, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1980, pp. 32-35.
[4] V. Zaichick, “INAA and EDXRF Applications in the Age
Dynamics Assessment of Zn Content and Distribution in
the Normal Human Prostate,” Journal of Radioanalytical
and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 262, No. 1, 2004, pp. 229-
234.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JRNC.0000040879.45030.4f
[5] S. Zaichick and V. Zaichick, “Relations of Morphometric
Parameters to Zinc Content in Paediatric and Nonhy-
perplastic Young Adult Prostate Glands,” Andrology, Vol.
1, No. 1, 2013, pp. 139-146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2047-2927.2012.00005.x
[6] S. Zaichick and V. Zaichick, “INAA Application in the
Age Dynamics Assessment of Br, Ca, Cl, K, Mg, Mn, and
Na Content in the Normal Human Prostate,” Journal of
Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 288, No. 1,
2011, pp. 197-202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10967-010-0927-4
[7] S. Zaichick and V. Zaichick, “The Effect of Age on Ag,
Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Sb, Sc, Se, and Zn Contents in Intact
Human Prostate Investigated by Neutron Activation Ana-
lysis,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 69, No. 6,
2011, pp. 827-833.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.02.010
[8] V. Zaichick, S, Nosenko and I. Moskvina, “The Effect of
Age on 12 Chemical Element Contents in Intact Prostate
of Adult Men Investigated by Inductively Coupled Plas-
ma Atomic Emission Spectrometry,” Biological Trace
Element Research, Vol. 147, No. 1, 2012, pp. 49-58.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9294-4
[9] L.-E. Tisell, B. Fjelkegard and K. H. Leissner, “Zinc Con-
centration and Content of the Dorsal, Lateral and Medial
Prostatic Lobes and of Periurethral Adenomas in Man,”
Journal of Urology, Vol. 128, No. 2, 1982, pp. 403-405.
[10] A. Feustel and R. Wennrich, “Zinc and Cadmium in Cell
Fractions of Prostatic Cancer Tissue of Different Histo-
logical Grading in Comparison to BPH and Normal Pros-
tate,” Urological Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1984, pp. 147-
150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00257182
[11] B. E. Saltzman, S. B. Gross, D. W. Yeager, B. G. Meiners
and P. S. Gartside, “Total Body Burdens and Tissue Con-
centrations of Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Zinc, and Ash in
55 Human Cadavers,” Environmental Research, Vol. 52,
No. 2, 1990, pp. 126-145.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0013-9351(05)80248-8
[12] L. Picurelli, P. V. Olcina, M. D. Roig and J. Ferrer, “De-
termination of Fe, Mg, Cu, and Zn in Normal and Patho-
logical Prostatic Tissue,” Actas Urologicas Españolas,
Vol. 15, No. 4, 1991, pp. 344-350.
[13] L. Picurelli, P. V. Olcina, M. D. Roig, S. Günthner and J.
Ferrer, “Determination and Relationship of the Copper
and Zinc Concentrations in Normal and Pathologic Pros-
tatic Tissue,” Trace Elements in Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 3,
1991, pp. 131-137.
[14] N. B. Oldereid, Y. Thomassen, A. Attramadal, B. Olaisen
and K. Purvis, “Concentrations of Lead, Cadmium and
Zinc in the Tissues of Reproductive Organs of Men,”
Open Access AJAC

V. ZAICHICK, S. ZAICHICK
Open Access AJAC
706
Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, Vol. 99, No. 2,
1993, pp. 421-425.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0990421
[15] J. Schöpfer, G. Drasch and G. N. Schrauzer, “Selenium
and Cadmium Levels and Ratios in Prostates, Livers, and
Kidneys of Nonsmokers and Smokers,” Biological Trace
Element Research, Vol. 134, No. 2, 2010, pp. 180-187.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-010-8636-y
[16] V. Zaichick, “Sampling, Sample Storage and Preparation
of Biomaterials for INAA in Clinical Medicine, Occupa-
tional and Environmental Health,” In: Harmonization of
health-Related Environmental Measurements Using Nu-
clear and Isotopic Techniques, IAEA, Vienna, 1997, pp.
123-133.
[17] V. Zaichick, “Losses of Chemical Elements in Biological
Samples under the Dry Ashing Process,” Trace Elements
in Medicine (Moscow), Vol. 5, No. 3, 2004, pp. 17-22.
[18] A. M. Korelo and V. Zaichick, “Software to Optimize the
Multielement INAA of Medical and Environmental Sam-
ples,” In: Activation Analysis in Environment Protection,
Join Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna, 1993, pp. 326-
332.
[19] I. H. Tipton and M. J. Cook, “Trace Elements in Human
Tissue. Part II. Adult Subjects from the United States,”
Health Physics, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1963, pp. 103-145.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004032-196302000-00002
[20] J. H. Tipton, R. L. Steiner, W. D. Foland, J. Mueller and
M. Stanley, USAEC-ORNL-Report-CF-54-12-66, 1954.
[21] S. R. Stitch, “Trace Elements in Human Tissue. I. A
Semi-Quantitative Spectrographic Survey,” Biochemical
Journal, Vol. 67, No. 1, 1957, pp. 97-103.
[22] K. Liebscher and H. Smith, “Essential and Nonessential
Trace Elements. A Method of Determining Whether an
Element Is Essential or Nonessential in Human Tissue,”
Archives of Environmental Health, Vol. 17, No. 6, 1968,
pp. 882-891.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00039896.1968.10665346
[23] H. Kubo, S. Hashimoto, A. Ishibashi, R. Chiba and H.
Yokota, “Simultaneous Determinations of Fe, Cu, Zn, and
Br Concentrations in Human Tissue Sections,” Medical
Physics, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1976, pp. 204-209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.594233
[24] A. Forssen, “Inorganic Elements in the Human Body. I.
Occurrence of Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Cs, Cu, K, Mn, Ni, Sn, Sr,
Y and Zn in the Human Body,” Annales Medicinae Ex-
perimentalis et Biologie (Finland), Vol. 50, No. 3, 1972,
pp. 99-162.
[25] J. O. Ogunlewe and D. N. Osegbe, “Zinc and Cadmium
Concentrations in Indigenous Blacks with Normal, Hy-
pertrophic, and Malignant Prostate,” Cancer, Vol. 63, No.
7, 1989, pp. 1388-1392.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1097-0142(19890401)63:7<138
8::AID-CNCR2820630725>3.0.CO;2-M
[26] N. Yamagata, “The Concentration of Common Cesium
and Rubidium in Human Body,” Journal of Radiation
Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1962, pp. 9-30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1269/jrr.3.9
[27] H. Sangen, “The Influence of the Trace Metals upon the
Aconitase Activity in Human Prostate Glands,” Japanese
Journal of Urology, Vol. 58, No. 11, 1967, pp. 1146-
1159.
[28] A. Jafa, N. M. Mahendra, A. R. Chowdhury and V. P.
Kamboj, “Trace Elements in Prostatic Tissue and Plasma
in Prostatic Diseases of Man,” Indian Journal of Cancer,
Vol. 17, No. 1, 1980, pp. 34-37.
[29] S. D. Soman, K. T. Joseph, S. J. Raut, G. D. Mulay, M.
Parameswaran and V. K. Pandey, “Studies of Major and
Trace Element Content in Human Tissues,” Health Phys-
ics, Vol. 19, No. 5, 1970, pp. 641-656.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004032-197011000-00006
[30] H. J. Koch and E. R. Smith, “The Determination of Cop-
per and Zinc in Normal and Pathologic Human Thyroid
Tissue,” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, Vol. 16, No.
1, 1956, pp. 123-129.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jcem-16-1-123
[31] A. G. Sarafanov, T. I. Todorov, A. Kajdacsy-Balla, M. A.
Gray, V. Macias and J. A. Centeno, “Analysis of Iron,
Zinc, Selenium and Cadmium in Paraffin-Embedded Pro-
state Tissue Specimens Using Inductively Coupled Plas-
ma Mass-Spectrometry,” Journal of Trace Elements in
Medicine and Biology, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2008, pp. 305-314.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2008.03.010
[32] E. Weinig and P. Zink, “Über die Quantitative Massen-
spektrometrische Bestimmung des Normalen Thallium-
Geehalts Inmenschlichen Organismus,” Archive für Toxi-
kologie, Vol. 22, No. 4, 1967, pp. 255-274.
[33] B. Höffken and J. G. Rausch-Stroomann, “A Study of the
Metabolism of Zinc Its Metalloenzymes in Diabetes Mel-
litus,” Zeitschrift für Klinische Chemie und Klinische
Biochemie, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1969, pp. 4-7.
[34] L. R. Anspaugh, W. L. Robinson, W. H. Martin and O. A.
Lowe, “Compilation of Published Information on Ele-
mental Concentrations in Human Organs in Both Normal
and Diseased States,” No. UCRL-51013Pt. 1971-1973.
1973, pp.1-4.
[35] F. Györkey, K.-W. Min, J. A. Huff and P. Györkey, “Zinc
and Magnesium in Human Prostate Gland: Normal, Hy-
perplastic, and Neoplastic,” Cancer Research, Vol. 27,
No. 8, 1967, pp. 1349-1353.
[36] G. V. Iyengar, “Reevaluation of the Trace Element Con-
tent in Reference Men,” Radiation Physics and Chemistry,
Vol. 51, No. 4-6, 1998, pp. 545-560.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(97)00202-8
[37] G. V. Iyengar, W. E. Kollmer and H. G. M. Bowen, “The
Elemental Composition of Human Tissues and Body
Fluids. A Compilation of Values for Adults,” Verlag
Chemie, Weinheim, 1978.