Metallic elements in the perilymph measured with an inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer.

Metallic elements in the perilymph of the scala tympani in normal and acoustically overstimulated guinea pigs were measured using a new method, an inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The concentrations of phosphorus and eight metallic elements, i.e. calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, lead and zinc were measured simultaneously in a 2 microliters sample of perilymph. The mean concentration values of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, lead and zinc were 2.03 mM, 38.5 microM, 69.3 microM, 0.822 mM, 0.851 mM, 43.5 microM and 25.0 microM, respectively. There was no significant effect of acoustic overstimulation on the concentrations of these elements except for magnesium, which decreased significantly after the exposure to a intense sound (2 kHz, 115 dB SPL) for 15 min. This is the first report describing the synchronous determination of metallic poly-elements, including copper, iron, lead and zinc, in the perilymph.