Quantitation of Silica Contents in Lung Explants of Transplanted Patients: Artificial Stone-Induced Silicosis vs. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Spectrophotometric techniques provide qualitative but not quantitative data on lung particles. We aimed to quantitate silica content in biopsies of lung-transplanted silicosis patients by applying X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. Lung biopsies of 17 lung-transplanted artificial patients were quantitated for silica and other minerals particles by Niton XL3 XRF spectrometry.