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AUTOMATION OF SOLUBILITY PROFILES USING A FLOW CELL
Author(s) -
SILLEN A.,
ELLIOTT T.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1997.tb00794.x
Subject(s) - dissolution , solubility , protocol (science) , automation , mineralogy , geology , chemistry , computer science , engineering , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , mechanical engineering
The solubility profile technique is a means of characterizing the mineral phase of bones and fossils from archaeological and palaeontological sites. The method is based on the differential dissolution of variously substituted apatites in acetate buffer at pH 4.5. The original solubility profile protocol, which involves repetitive washing and centrifuging, is extremely cumbersome and time‐consuming. Here we describe an alternative, automatic method in which the fossil bone preparations are dissolved in a perspex cell. The behaviour of fossil preparations in the manual and automatic protocols are compared. We conclude that the dissolution cell is satisfactory for routine applications, but that the original, manual protocol is preferable for preliminary investigation of untested assemblages.