Direct Measurement of Trace Elements in Body Fluids

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project involves development and application of a low-power, compact, reliable, easy to operate instrument for measurement of trace elements in body fluids (urine, blood, serum/plasma). The trace element analyzer can be used in research clinic settings where patients undergo study and treatment for major diseases. Abnormal levels of bio-essential metals (iron, copper, zinc) as well as toxic, non- essential trace elements (mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic) are known to be associated with many health disorders such as cancer, cognitive impairment, and neurological symptoms. The involvement of metals is well established in most neurodegenerative pathologies. For example, excess serum copper is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, and Wilson's disease. Brain iron accumulation is associated with several neurological disorders, some rare like aceruloplasminemia, and others common such as AD and Parkinson's disease (PD). In spite of their recognized importance, metals are not routinely monitored or tracked in the body. This is due in large part to the difficulty and expense of trace metal measurements in body fluids. Laboratories certified for such measurements are limited in number and regional in distribution. The instruments and procedures used to measure trace metals are too complex and expensive to be used in clinical settings. The bench-top trace-element analyzer to be developed in this project is based on new, powerful, proprietary, monochromatic doubly curved crystal (DCC) x-ray optics technology that greatly increases the efficiency and sensitivity for elemental analysis. This new analyzer has the potential to change the situation dramatically by offering an inexpensive, compact, reliable, simple-to-use elemental analyzer for clinical applications; reducing health-care costs, and improving clinical monitoring capabilities. The proposed, new trace-element analyzer has the potential to change the clinical laboratory situation dramatically by offering an inexpensive, compact, reliable, simple-to- use elemental analyzer for benchtop applications. It can have a positive impact to public health by reducing health-care costs and improving turnaround times for better patient care. The applicability for such a machine is vast and includes testing lead levels in children, screening for mercury poisoning, assessing iron levels in patients with iron- overload disease (e.g., hemochromatosis, pantothenate kinase II deficiency), monitoring patients undergoing chelation therapy, and conducting a heavy metal screen for people with dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases.