Quantitative measurement of time-dependent thallium distribution in organs of mice by field desorption mass spectrometry.

The time-dependent distribution of the toxic heavy metal TI in mouse organs was determined after feeding 80, 130, and 160 mg/kg TI. Quantitative measurements were performed by field desorption mass spectrometry with stable isotope dilution. No pretreatment of the tissue samples, other than homogenizing and centrifugation, was necessary. The precision of the data was about +/- 10%. The main results are as follows: Heart, liver, kidney, and stomach showed an organ-specific initial uptake of TI during the first 2-3 h. This was followed by a period of washout to relatively low TI levels. Brain TI uptake was comparatively low and constant during the first 12 h. In the terminal stage (24 h) all organs, including the brain, contained increased TI levels of the same order of magnitude.