Elemental changes at irritant reactions due to chromate and nickel in guinea-pig epidermis.

The present investigation was performed to examine the possibility of using energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) to obtain information on epidermal reactions at irritant dermatitis. The elemental redistribution in the stratum germinativum and stratum spinosum of the guinea-pig epidermis after intradermal injection of a chromate and a nickel solution was studied in thick cryo-sections. The two solutions caused different changes in elemental content in both cell layers. Nickel sulfate caused a conspicuous decrease in K levels whereas Na and Cl were elevated in both cell layers. Potassium chromate caused an increase in Cl but lowered the P values. The result of this study show that it is possible to use EDX-analysis of thick skin sections to obtain information on physiologically relevant alterations in epidermis at irritant dermatitis.