Measurement of Sr/Ca ratio in bones as a temperature indicator

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to correlate Sr/Ca ratio with internal body temperature from teeth and bones. Results obtained in exploratory measurements using human, bovine and swine teeth indicated some relation between temperature and Sr/Ca ratio, but no other parameters, as feeding habits that certainly has some influence over Sr/Ca ratio, were controlled. In this work, to eliminate feeding effects, we decided to compare Sr/Ca ratio of bones from some individual. The first bones irradiated were from a crocodile (Caiman Yacare), which regulates the internal body temperature by the temperature of its surroundings. The pieces irradiated were from the crocodile's tail, vertebral column and leg. To quantify Sr and Ca a 2.4 MeV proton beam was used in PIXE beam line at LAMFI - USP. Emitted X-rays were collected using a Si(Li) detector (150eV @ 6.4 KeV). First results show that the bones closer to the heart have a lower Sr/Ca ratio.