ICP-MS技术快速测量尿样中的铀同位素

核事故状态下的应急处理要求对环境介质中的放射性核素进行快速分析。尿样中铀同位素测量作为内照射剂量评价的主要手段,其分析效率越高,则对核事故中涉铀人员的安全救治越及时、有效。尿样中其他无机离子的含量是铀含量的106倍,导致ICP-MS测量过程中尿盐堵塞进样毛细管。为降低样品的含盐量并获得较好的检测结果,本文对样品预处理过程进行优化。采用先加热氧化去除有机物,再进行1~10倍稀释后测试样品的铀同位素丰度及浓度。结果表明,将25m L样品稀释至100m L后效果最佳,分析方法相对标准不确定度为5.4%,回收率95%~105%。     

环境样品中铀的HR-ICP-MS测定

高分辨电感耦合等离子体质谱法(HR-ICP-MS)是痕量元素分析的有效手段。本文采用HR-ICP-MS对环境样品(土壤、底泥、茶叶、地表水)中铀浓度和同位素比值进行了测定。土壤、底泥、茶叶样品采用微波消解法进行溶解;水样采用45μm滤膜过滤后直接测定。实验对样品制备、仪器参数设定、记忆效应消除、质量歧视效应修正等进行了探索,建立了环境样品中痕量铀浓度和同位素比值测定方法。土壤制样过程中铀的加标回收率为97.7%,铀检出限0.51ng·L~(-1)。     

同位素稀释超高效液相色谱串联质谱测定尿液中苯系物和三氯乙烯代谢产物

建立同位素内标稀释,超高效液相色谱串联质谱(Uhra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass sepctrometry,UPLC-MS/MS)同时测定尿中苯系物和三氯乙烯代谢产物的方法,并用于孕妇尿样的分析.尿样过经含同位素内标的醋酸铵缓冲液稀释10倍后,过滤,取滤液进样分析.采用C18色谱柱,梯度洗脱进行UPLC分离,电喷雾负离子扫描多反应监测(Multiple reaction monitoring,MRM)模式检测.方法检出限在0.0350～ 1.75 μg/L之间,方法的日内和日间精密度分别为1.2％～9.1％和2.0％～9.7％;用所建立的方法测定了650个孕妇尿液样品,并统计分析了其地区差异,加标回收率为85.0％～104％.所建立的方法快速灵敏,适合尿液样品的批量分析.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定碳化硼中的硼同位素丰度

以碳酸钙为熔剂高温分解,硝酸浸取、硫酸沉淀的方法处理碳化硼样品,稀释后直接进行多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱分析,对碳化硼中的硼同位素丰度进行测定。扫描电镜分析结果表明,碳化硼颗粒形状不规则,尺寸小于50μm。利用建立的方法处理样品,可实现碳化硼样品的完全溶解,回收率接近100%。对样品中10B丰度进行分析,相对标准偏差为0.023%~0.035%(n=6),测量结果与参考值在不确定度范围内保持一致,证明实验方法可行。所建立的碳化硼样品测量方法样品处理步骤简便,分析速度快,测量精度高,可作为碳化硼中硼同位素丰度的常规分析方法。     

同位素稀释-液相色谱-电感耦合等离子质谱(ICP-MS)法测定大米中的甲基汞

目前国标方法GB 5009.17—2021测量样品中甲基汞(含量≤0.1 mg/kg)的精密度为20%、定量限为0.02 mg/kg,对于定量限以下的样品检测存在困难;为了能精确地测量国家食品安全检测领域关注的甲基汞污染物,通过在样品中加入同位素稀释剂后以GB 5009.17—2021国标方法进行样品前处理,以液相色谱分离出汞形态,用ICP-MS检测同位素比值,考虑质量歧视效应后以同位素稀释质谱法定量,建立了同位素稀释-液相色谱-电感耦合等离子质谱法测定大米样品中甲基汞含量的方法。当样品中甲基汞含量在0.01~0.03 mg/kg时,方法的精密度为0.3%~22.8%,不确定度U为0.002~0.004 mg/kg,k=2。以鱼肉中总汞与甲基汞成分分析标准物质(GBW10029)作为质控样,测定得到三种大米样品中甲基汞含量(以Hg计)分别为(8±2)、(24±3)、(19±4) ng/g,经过不确定度评估后表明方法的准确度较高;质控样(GBW10029)甲基汞的证书值(以Hg计)为 (0.84±0.03) mg/kg,而测量结果为(0.83±0.08) mg/kg,对质控样的测量结果说明该方法可靠;同位素稀释法将浓度的测量转换成同位素的丰度比的测量,可避免前处理过程带来的误差,同位素稀释与质谱结合可用于大米中甲基汞的高精度分析。     

铀床氚残留量的测量

分别采用直接测量法、同位素交换法和溶解法测量铀床中的氚残留量, 并分析了这三种测量方法在本实验条件下的误差. 直接测量法测量铀床的氚残留量的结果如下: 铀床的氚残留量为2.68%, 即每克铀含(0.0308±0.0003) mmol 氚气; 当压力读数在1500～133332 Pa之间时, 基于理想气体状态方程的测量方法(简称PVT法)的标准差小于0.95%. 同位素交换法测量铀床氚的结果如下: 加热充分解吸过的铀床经多次同位素交换后, 其交换效率仅为2.84%, 即不到3%(摩尔分数)的氚被氘气载带出来, 其同位素交换法测量的标准差为7.35%. 溶解法能够彻底地测量铀床中残留的氚, 其溶解法测量的标准差为6.49%.     

植物样品中低水平铀同位素分析

建立了一种植物样品中痕量铀同位素(~(238)U、~(235)U和~(234)U)的分析方法。通过高温灰化去除植物样品中有机质,采用混合酸消解样品灰分,应用UTEVA萃取色谱分离和纯化铀。化学分离过程中铀的回收率达94%,对Na、K、Ca等基体和干扰元素的去除率超过99%。用高灵敏度ICP-MS/MS同时测定了3种天然铀同位素含量,对~(238)U、~(235)U、~(234)U的检出限分别为3.05、0.34和0.04 pg/g,其中对~(238)U和~(235)U的检出限比文献报道值低1个数量级。对小麦粉标准参考物质中~(238)U的分析结果与参考值吻合,表明本分析方法可靠。将本方法应用于中国西安地区植物样品中铀同位素的分析,结果表明,该地区植物中铀含量和铀同位素比值处于天然水平,未发现人为铀污染。这是中国植物样品中3种天然铀同位素水平的首次调查。     

同位素稀释-激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定生物组织样品中铁元素的含量

针对目前采用同位素稀释-激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ID-LA-ICP-MS)对固体生物组织切片样品难以实现原位准确定量的难题,本研究将同位素稀释法与LA-ICP-MS技术相结合,通过开展生物组织样品与浓缩稀释剂的同位素充分交换平衡、稀释剂添加方式、原位的同位素比测量等关键技术研究,确定了组织切片与同位素稀释剂的最佳平衡时间、稀释剂的质量以及选用甲醇作为稀释剂溶剂等实验条件,建立了基于同位素稀释技术的LA-ICP-MS技术在生物样品组织切片中Fe元素的微区定量分析方法,并采用实验室自行制备的均匀的山羊脑和牛肝组织切片标准样品对方法进行了验证,通过ID-LA-ICP-MS方法的测量结果与微波消解-同位素稀释方法的测量结果相一致,验证了该方法的有效性和可靠性。本方法可进一步应用于临床中生物组织切片样品中金属元素的原位、微区定量测量及成像分析。     

激光烧蚀-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定铀颗粒物中铅杂质的同位素比值

为有效获取铀颗粒物中具有取证价值的铅杂质同位素信息,建立了激光烧蚀-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-MC-ICP-MS)测定铀颗粒物中铅杂质同位素比值的方法.探究了诸多同位素分馏效应校正方法下铅本底对同位素测量的影响,选用的LA-MC-ICP-MS系统的本底对比值测量结果的影响小于0.001(208Pb的信号强度大于2.2× 103 cps),确定采用NIST SRM612为外标校正质量分馏,固定激光束斑直径30μm、脉冲重复率20 Hz、调节能量密度使LA-MC-ICP-MS分析NIST SRM612和铀颗粒物样品所得208Pb分别小于1.5×105 cps和3×104 cps,标准物质CRM124-4样品中206Pb/208Pb、206Pb/207Pb和207Pb/208Pb比值测量结果的相对实验标准不确定度小于0.48％、0.68％和0.40％.实际样品分析结果表明,本方法可有效区分铀颗粒物中的铅同位素比值差异,有助于鉴别其来源.     

微波消解–电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定铀合金中铌、钼、锆

建立微波消解–电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定铀合金中铌、钼、锆。铀铌钼锆合金样品经8 mL HNO_3 (1+1)和2 mL HF微波消解并稀释处理后,利用电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定合金样品中铌、钼、锆含量,研究了铀浓度在0～30 μg/L时对铌、钼、锆元素直接测定的影响。铌、钼、锆的质量浓度在各自的范围内与其质谱响应值线性关系良好,相关系数大于0.999。铌、钼、锆的加标回收率为96.10%～105.00%,测定结果的标准偏差为0.74%～2.71%(n=6)。该方法流程简单,无需分离基体元素,可实现铀合金中铌、钼、锆元素的快速测定。     

ICP-MS测量环境样品中铀的非质谱干扰内标校正研究

内标的合理应用直接关系到测量结果的可靠性,通过外标与内标校正相结合的方法,实验研究了Y,Rh,In,Tb,Yb,Tl,Bi,Re作为内标对ICP-MS测量铀的非质谱干扰的校正效果。对于非抑制/增强基体效应,各内标元素校正结果明显优于无内标校正结果,高质量数内标元素Tb,Yb,Re,Tl,Bi可获得较好的校正效果,校正偏差优于5%,其中以Tl为最佳;对于盐度较高的样品溶液,由于基体对待测元素和内标元素产生了明显不同的抑制/增强效应,因此各内标校正结果均不理想,这表明内标对可溶性固体引起的抑制/增强效应的校正能力有限。在铀的测量中,对于含盐度在300～500μg/mL的样品,内标校正造成的偏差可达到5%～10%;对于盐度在500μg/mL以上的样品,内标校正造成的偏差很可能超过10%或者更高。     

In vitro dissolution of uranyl acetate using different methods

The dissolution rate of a material in the lung is an important parameter in evaluating the risk to humans following accidental inhalation of a substance and is also a parameter that may be useful in characterizing particles for nuclear forensics analysis. Conventional methods of measuring dissolution rates in vitro involve exposing the material or particles to a solvent, such as water, saline, or solutions that simulate lung fluid, and measuring the fraction of material that dissolves with time. A new device for measuring dissolution rates for small samples, especially individual particles, was evaluated that incorporates a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane fixed to the bottom of a small, 2 mL plastic cup that fits into the top of a 50 mL plastic centrifuge tube. The cup is easily transferred among a series of tubes containing solvent to measure rate of dissolution. The dialysis membrane has a diffusion rating of 20 kDa molecular weight cut off which greatly exceeds the size of the dissolved uranium molecule. The performance of the dialysis cup device was evaluated by measuring the dissolution rate of uranyl acetate in distilled water, phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and simulated lung fluid (SLF). These results were compared to the dissolution rate measured using the traditional filter sandwich method in which a sample is sealed between two hydrophilic membranes. Although the majority of uranyl acetate dissolved in SLF within 30 min using the filter sandwich method, most of the uranyl acetate was undissolved in PBS and SLF using the dialysis membrane device. Reactions between the dissolved uranyl acetate, solvent, and the dialysis membrane likely caused the membrane to swell, shrinking the pore size, and thus reducing the transport of dissolved uranium across the membrane. Use of the dialysis cup device for evaluating dissolution rates for uranium-bearing materials in solvents containing a high concentration of salts is therefore not recommended.     

X射线荧光光谱法同时测定矿石中铀和钍

建立了X射线荧光光谱法测定矿石样品中铀、钍含量的快速分析方法。采用高压粉末制样法,对不同含量的放射性样品的压片压力、粒径、含水率、用量等处理条件到进行单因素实验。在400 MPa压力下压制,克服了低压制样的弊端,制备的样片表面光滑、致密,大幅改善了制样重现性,有效地减少了部分基体效应,铀校准曲线的标准偏差从0.053%降到0.0071%,钍校准曲线的标准偏差从0.062%降到0.0057%。经国家一级标准物质验证,表明方法准确、可靠,能满足样品中铀、钍含量日常分析要求。     

Development and validation of a GC-EI-MS method with reduced adsorption loss for the quantification of olanzapine in human plasma

A simple and sensitive GC-EI-MS method using solvent extraction and evaporation was developed for the determination of olanzapine concentrations in plasma samples. Because olanzapine and promazine, which was used as the internal standard (IS), are nitrogenous bases, they can adsorb to the weakly acidic silanol groups on the surfaces of glass centrifuge tubes during solvent extraction and evaporation. Silylation of the glass tubes, addition of triethylamine (TEA), and use of a sample solution with a basic pH could prevent adsorption loss. The extraction method involved mixing plasma (500 μL) in a silylated glass tube with a promazine solution (2 μg/mL, 25 μL) in methanol containing 1% TEA. After addition of aqueous sodium carbonate (0.5 mol/L, pH 11.1, 1 mL) and extraction into 3 mL of dichloromethane/n-hexane (1:1, v/v) containing 1% TEA, the organic phase was evaporated to dryness in a silylated glass tube. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate containing 1% TEA (50 μL). For GC-EI-MS analysis, the calibration curves of olanzapine in human plasma were linear from 0.5 to 100 ng/mL. Intra- and interday precisions in plasma were both less than 7.36% (coefficient of variation), and the accuracy was between 94.6 and 110% for solutions with concentrations greater than 0.5 ng/mL. The limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/mL in plasma. The assay was applied to therapeutic drug monitoring in samples from three schizophrenic patients.     

Solid phase extraction of trace amounts of uranium(VI) from water samples using 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized on surfactant-coated alumina

A simple and reliable method has been developed for the determination of uranium(VI). The method is based on the separation and preconcentration of uranium(VI) using a column packed with 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized on surfactant coated alumina prior to its spectrophotometry determination with Arsenazo III. The effect of pH, sample flow rate and volume, elution conditions, and foreign ions on the sorption of uranium(VI) has been investigated. A preconcentration factor of 200 was achieved by passing 1000 mL of sample through the column. The relative standard deviation for 10 replicate analyses at the 100 ng/mL level of uranium(VI) was 2.1% and the detection limit was 0.12 ng/mL. The method was successfully applied to the determination of uranium in natural water samples. The accuracy was assessed through recovery experiments and the analysis of a certified reference material.     

Solid phase extraction of trace amounts of uranium(VI) from water samples using 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized on surfactant-coated alumina

A simple and reliable method has been developed for the determination of uranium(VI). The method is based on the separation and preconcentration of uranium(VI) using a column packed with 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized on surfactant coated alumina prior to its spectrophotometric determination with arsenazo III. The effect of pH, sample flow rate and volume, elution conditions, and foreign ions on the sorption of uranium(VI) has been investigated. A preconcentration factor of 200 was achieved by passing 1000 mL of sample through the column. The relative standard deviation for 10 replicate analyses at the 100 ng/mL level of uranium(VI) was 2.1% and the detection limit was 0.12 ng/mL. The method was success-fully applied to the determination of uranium in natural water samples. The accuracy was assessed through recovery experiments and the analysis of a certified reference material.     

Uranium determination in seawater by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

A study regarding uranium determination in seawater by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry is reported. Uranium, present in seawater in concentration of about 3.3 ng/mL, was selectively extracted in diethyl ether and determined by TXRF after its preconcentration by evaporation and subsequent dissolution in a small volume of 1.5% suprapure HNO₃. Yttrium was used as an internal standard. Before using diethyl ether for selective extraction of uranium from seawater, its extraction behavior for different elements was studied using a multielement standard solution having elemental concentrations in 5 ng/mL levels. It was observed that the extraction efficiency of diethyl ether for uranium was about 100% whereas for other elements it was negligible. The detection limit of TXRF method for uranium in seawater samples after pre-concentration step approaches to 67 pg/mL. The concentrations of uranium in seawater samples determined by TXRF are in good agreement with the values reported in the literature. The method shows a precision within 5% (1σ). The study reveals that TXRF can be used as a fast analytical technique for the determination of uranium in seawater.     

Automated determination of uranium(VI) in seawater using on-line preconcentration by coprecipitation

An automated method is developed for the spectrophotometric determination of nanoamounts of uranium(VI) with Arsenazo III using online preconcentration by the coprecipitation of the uranium complex of the reagent with organic coprecipitants. The collector was an Arsenazo III ion pair with organic cations poorly soluble in water. The concentrate was separated by filtration through a cellulose fiber membrane and dissolved in a flow of an organic solvent; the analytical signal was recorded as the output peak. The developed method is characterized by simplicity, sufficiently high sensitivity, high throughput and rapidity, and can be used for the selective determination of uranium(VI) in complex liquid matrices. The detection limit is ～0.01 ng/mL (3s, n = 5, P = 0.95). The throughput of the method is 150 samples per hour.     

Comparison of direct kinetic phosphorescence analysis and recovery corrected kinetic phosphorescence analysis for the determination of natural uranium in human tissues

Summary In the analysis of biological samples with sub ng/g uranium concentrations, pre-concentration has been shown to improve the detection limit for the determination of uranium. Recovery corrected kinetic phosphorescence analysis (KPA) combines pre-concentration and separation of uranium by anion-exchange from human tissues dissolved in 6M HCl, with the radiochemical yield determined by alpha-spectrometry, using ²³²U as a tracer. Total uranium is determined by KPA after correction for chemical recovery. Twenty-one randomly selected dissolved tissue samples from the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) Case 0242 were chosen for comparative analyses. The set of samples included dissolved bone and soft tissues. Uranium concentrations for seven of the samples had not been previously reported. Direct KPA could not be used to determine uranium concentrations of five unreported tissues. Three of these tissues had uranium concentrations at or below the KPA L_Q value of 0.028 ng/ml and two tissues had known matrix interferences. All seven of the unreported tissues were successfully analyzed by recovery corrected KPA; concentrations ranged from 9 to 1380 ng per tissue, including those that could not be analyzed by direct KPA due to matrix problems. Recovery corrected KPA gives results similar to direct KPA where matrix interferences and low detection limits are not encountered. A comparison of the direct method of KPA versus recovery corrected KPA shows marked improvement for the determination of uranium in samples that heretofore either uranium was not detected or the sample had to be drastically diluted to minimize matrix effects in order to measure uranium.     

A simple co-precipitation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric method for the determination of uranium in seawater

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used in the determination of 238uranium in seawater after concentration by a simplified co-precipitation with iron hydroxide. Ocean water and reference seawater were used in the study. The co-precipitation method required a smaller sample volume (10 fold less), and less column separation to recover the uranium from the seawater matrix, compared to the original iron hydroxide method. The direct seawater dilution technique requires only a small seawater volume (0.5 mL) and offers a rapid, reliable method for uranium analysis in seawater compared to traditional methods. Comparison of the results for simple co-precipitation, direct dilution of seawater, and theoretical uranium values based on salinity concentrations, yielded negligible differences. Data from this work show that the certified value for NASS-4 is low.