Improvement of quantitation of biological X-ray microanalysis

Abstract
Absolute measurements of elemental concentrations within thin biological samples are often made by reference to a series of standards which resemble the samples in chemical and physical properties and the linear relationship between (p‐b)/c and concentration. This principle requires that the chemical and physical properties of the matrix remain constant throughout a series of standards with different elemental contents and throughout different regions of the samples. Some of the changes undergone by specimens during X‐ray microanalysis, e.g. loss of elements or organic mass loss, are also influenced by the composition of the matrix. A simple empirical modification to the linear (p‐b)/c versus concentration relationship is presented to account for some of these effects and therefore improve quantitation of analyses.