LA-ICP-MS Allows Quantitative Microscopy of Europium-Doped Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and is a Possible Alternative to Ambiguous Prussian Blue Iron Staining.

The development of iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications requires accurate histological evaluation. Prussian blue iron staining is widely used but may be unspecific when tissues contain substantial endogenous iron. Here we tested whether microscopy by laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is sensitive enough to analyze accumulation of very small iron oxide particles (VSOP) doped with europium in tissue sections.