We have developed an irradiation facility by means of which samples can be irradiated near the core edge of the reactor BER II in liquid nitrogen at a thermal-neutron flux of 1.5.1013 n·cm–2·s–1 for a maximum of 14 days. We present the technique of neutron activation analysis in which biological samples enclosed in thin-walled quartz ampoules are irradiated and measured directly without pretreatment. Using this method, losses of iron, zinc and selenium during pretreatment procedures (freeze-drying and oven-drying at 30, 60, and 90°C) for the analysis of plasma, erythrocytes and liver were studied.