Measurement of fluoride in bone

The fluorine concentration in bone biopsy samples was measured by neutron activation analysis. The fluorine content was expressed in terms of the calcium content. Samples were irradiated in a reactor to induce the 19F(n, γ)20F and48Ca(n, γ)49Ca reactions and after rapid transport from the reactor the resulting activities were measured with a Ge(Li) detector. Reproducibility was better than 10% for the F/Ca ratio. The detection limit for F is 50 μg. This nondestructive technique will be used to assess the effect of fluoride therapy on bone metabolism of patients with idiopathic osteoporosis.