Applications of flame photometer for sodium and potassium in biological materials
Answers
Flame photometry offers an exceptionally rapid method for the determination of sodium and potassium in blood, urine, exudates, and tissues if the requisite accuracy can be obtained under routine laboratory conditions with such complex samples. With the instrument described in this article, analyses are rapidly performed with an accuracy of ±1%. This photometer is relatively independent of fluctuations in various experimental conditions which affect the accuracy of other instruments. Parallel chemical and flame photometer analyses are given. Important operational procedures necessary for maximal accuracy are described and methods of avoiding certain sources of error are indicated. The internal standard method is quantitatively contrasted with the direct method and a comparative tabulation of commercially available instruments is presented.
The fact that the flame photometer measures sodium and potassium accurately in the presence of such complex materials as are found in serum and urine indicates that its operation is not influenced by most organic compounds in the concentrations encountered in biological materials.