Ultrastructural Identification of Mercury in Epidermis

Abstract

The gold chloride slain for detecting mercury by electron microscopy is described. In subjects with no clinical reactions to mercuric chloride small densities of mercury-gold reaction product appeared within minutes; then, within hours the mercury-gold reaction product was seen associated with larger densities in perinuclear locations, in association with melanosomes, mitochondria, and lysosome-lïke inclusions. In subjects with allergic or primary irritant reactions, increasingly severe reactions were associated with increasing numbers of small mercury-gold densities, whereas the number of specifically localized, larger densities associated with mercury-gold reaction product decreased. Penicillamine blocked gold chloride staining. Neutron activation analysis for mercury confirmed the histochemical results. The gold chloride stain is valuable for the ultrastructural localization of mercury. Differences in mercury localization were found between clinically normal patch test reactions and allergic or primary irritant patch test reactions.