Distribution of [241Am] in hepato-pancreatic nuclear proteins of the lobster (Homarus gammarus).

Recent studies on the bio-accumulation of transuranic elements in marine invertebrates have demonstrated an intracellular concentration of radionuclides in the digestive gland. The present investigation aims to establish the distribution of [241Am] within the different structures of the cell nucleus. Lobsters were experimentally contaminated through feeding and then killed. The nuclei of hepato-pancreatic cells were isolated, purified and dissociated. The different protein categories were separated in media of increasing ionic strength. The distribution of americium in this material yielded results showing a preferential fixation onto the structural proteins of the nuclear matrix. The radiological consequences of such an affinity are discussed in terms of the life-times of the ligands concerned.