Nuclear and spectrochemical techniques in developmental metal toxicology research. Whole-body elemental composition of Xenopus laevis larvae

Instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis (INAA and RNAA, respectively) in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were used for the measurement of 52 constituent elements in 120 h Xenopus laevis larvae. With this approach macro and trace elements were measured in X. laevis larvae samples. The validation of the analytical techniques was performed by using certified reference materials and by recovery tests. Our feasibility study appears relevant for future studies on the bioaccumulation patterns of elements in Xenopus as effective indicators of environmental metal contamination.