Minimising the risk of some systematic errors by the use of the single vessel principle for cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury in biological solids

The suitability of the single vessel principle (performing all steps of an analytical procedure in one vessel) for cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury in biological solids was evaluated. The single vessel method gave a lower mean blank level with better precision, hence lower detection limits, as compared to the conventional method. The determination of total mercury in biological standard reference materials by the single vessel method also produced significantly higher mercury values and better precision than the conventional method. However, the mercury concentrations obtained in certified reference materials by the use of both methods were close to the mean certified values. Moreover, the use of the single vessel method is cost effective, rapid and environment friendly. The use of the single vessel technique is therefore recommended for accurate and reliable determination of mercury in biological solids. Received: 15 December 1997 / Revised: 9 April 1998 / Accepted: 18 April 1998     

Minimising the risk of some systematic errors by the use of the single vessel principle for cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury in biological solids

The suitability of the single vessel principle (performing all steps of an analytical procedure in one vessel) for cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mercury in biological solids was evaluated. The single vessel method gave a lower mean blank level with better precision, hence lower detection limits, as compared to the conventional method. The determination of total mercury in biological standard reference materials by the single vessel method also produced significantly higher mercury values and better precision than the conventional method. However, the mercury concentrations obtained in certified reference materials by the use of both methods were close to the mean certified values. Moreover, the use of the single vessel method is cost effective, rapid and environment friendly. The use of the single vessel technique is therefore recommended for accurate and reliable determination of mercury in biological solids.     

Direct measurement of the mercury content of exhaled air: a new approach for determination of the mercury dose received

A new rapid technique is presented for determination of the dose of mercury inhaled; it is based on direct measurement of the concentration of mercury in exhaled air by use of a Zeeman mercury spectrometer RA-915+. It has been demonstrated experimentally that the dose received during short-term exposure to mercury vapor is determined more reliably by this method rather than by conventional techniques based on measurement of the mercury content in blood or urine.     

Preconcentration and separation of total mercury in environmental samples using chemically modified chloromethylated polystyrene-PAN (ion-exchanger) and its determination by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry

The use of chemically modified chloromethylated polystyrene-PAN, CMPS-PAN (ion-exchanger) for the preconcentration and separation of total mercury after digestion in preparation for determination by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) was described. The effects on the percentage of recovered mercury by mass change of ion-exchanger, stirring time, pH of the solution samples and eluent concentration were studied. The distribution coefficient K(d) is 10(6.6) ml g(-1). The interfering effects of some foreign ions were described. The metal complex formed between CMPS-PAN ion-exchanger and mercury was characterized by IR spectroscopy, pH-metric titration and thermal analysis. The method is simple and rapidly applicable for the determination of total mercury (ng ml(-1)) in natural water, milk and urine.     

Atomic fluorescence spectrometry of mercury: principles and developments

Atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) of mercury is very sensitive and the AFS system is an excellent detector for mercury analysis. The first part of this review covers the principles of determination of mercury by AFS. The second part delineates the loss and increase of mercury through its transfer between the gas and solution phases. The third part addresses some possible interferences in the determination of mercury by AFS. The fourth part describes preconcentration techniques for mercury species. In the fifth part, methods for total and selective determination of mercury are described. In the sixth part, various types of automated and semi-automated procedures for the determination of mercury are summarized. Finally, representative biological and environmental certified reference materials (CRMs) for mercury analysis are presented and the availability of CRMs in checking the accuracy and precision of the methodologies is briefly described.     

Advantages of using a mercury coated, micro-wire, electrode in adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry

A mercury coated, gold, micro-wire electrode is used here for the determination of iron in seawater by catalytic cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) with a limit of detection of 0.1 nM Fe at a 60 s adsorption time. It was found that the electrode surface is stable for extended periods of analyses (at least five days) and that it is reactivated by briefly (2 s) applying a negative potential prior to each scan. Advantages of this electrode over mercury drop electrodes are that metallic mercury use is eliminated and that it can be readily used for flow analysis. This is demonstrated here by the determination of iron in seawater by continuous flow analysis. It is likely that this method can be extended to other elements. Experiments using bismuth coated, carbon fibre, electrodes showed that the bismuth catalyses the oxidation of the important oxidants bromate and hydrogen peroxide, which makes it impossible to use bismuth based electrodes for catalytic CSV involving these oxidants. For this reason mercury coated electrodes retain a major advantage for catalytic voltammetric analyses.     

Spectrophotometric determination of mercury in water samples after preconcentration using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction

A simple method for the determination of mercury in water samples after preconcentration using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction is described. The procedure is based on the extraction of mercury in the form of a complex and its subsequent determination by spectrophotometry. The complex is formed between Hg(II) and 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-p-cresol. The detection at 650 nm is performed directly in the metal-rich phase, which is spread on a triacetylcellulose membrane. The method eliminates the need to use a cuvet or large quantities of samples and reagents. The parameters that influence the preconcentration were studied, and the analytical characteristics were determined. The enrichment factor and the consumptive index for this method were 64 and 0.16 mL, respectively. The LOD (3.3 microg/L) and LOQ (11.1 microg/L) were also determined. The accuracy of the method was tested by the determination of mercury in certified reference materials BCR 397 (Human Hair) and SRM 2781 (Domestic Sludge). The method was applied to the determination of mercury in samples of drinking water, sea water, and river water.     

A methodological study of mercury speciation using dogfish liver CRM (DOLT-2)

The purpose of the study was to optimise analytical methods for determination of the chemical speciation of mercury in studies of protective mechanisms of selenium. Optimisation of the methods was performed using CRM DOLT-2 (Dogfish liver), both in its original form and after separation of various fractions. The sample was homogenised with 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.6) and ultracentrifuged. The soluble phase obtained was applied to a size exclusion chromatography column (Sephadex G-75 column) for separation of various protein fractions. Total mercury (total Hg), monomethyl mercury (MeHg) and selenium (Se) were determined in whole dogfish liver tissue and its soluble and insoluble phases (pellet). Different approaches for determination of total Hg and MeHg were compared. Simultaneous determination of MeHg and inorganic mercury (Hg2+) was based on alkaline dissolution and/or acid leaching, followed by ethylation, room temperature precollection, isothermal gas chromatography (GC), pyrolysis and detection with cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS). The sum of MeHg and Hg2+ was compared to total Hg results obtained by acid digestion and CVAAS detection. The accuracy of MeHg determination was checked by its determination using acid leaching at room temperature, solvent extraction, back extraction into Milli-Q water, ethylation, GC and CVAFS detection. For the insoluble phase it is recommended to use solvent extraction for MeHg and acid digestion CVAAS for total Hg. For determination of MeHg and Hg2+ in the lyophilised sample and water soluble fractions containing low concentrations of mercury species, the simultaneous measurement of MeHg and Hg2+ after alkaline dissolution is the most appropriate method.     

Determination of part-per-milliard concentrations of mercury by atomic- fluorescence flame spectrometry

A method is reported for the determination of mercury in the range 0.002-1 microg/ml . Mercury is extracted by dithizone from aqueous solutions into chloroform or isobutyl methyl ketone, the organic solution is aspirated into a hydrogen-oxygen name, and the intensity of atomic-fluorescence of mercury is measured. The method should be particularly useful for the determination of mercury in urine and for the determination of organic-bound mercury without prior decomposition.     

Application of a wool column for flow injection online preconcentration of inorganic mercury(II) and methyl mercury species prior to atomic fluorescence measurement

The use of an unmodified native sheep wool packed minicolumn for the online preconcentration of Hg(II) and methyl mercury species prior to the determination of mercury by atomic fluorescence spectrometry was investigated. Experimental conditions, such as pH, desorbing agents, volume of solution were optimized. 0.5M thioglycolic acid was found to be a successful eluting agent for both mercury species. Breakthrough and total capacities were determined. The method is simple and rapidly applicable for the determination of Hg(II) and methyl mercury in tap water. The accuracy of the method was examined by the analysis of a peach leaves standard reference material. Recoveries of spiked mercury species in tap water were 105.8% for Hg(II) and 98.8% for methyl mercury.     

A comparison of gas-liquid separators for the determination of mercury by cold-vapour sequential injection atomic absorption spectrometry

Four different designs of gas-liquid separators were compared for the determination of mercury by cold-vapour generation atomic absorption spectrometry using the sequential injection technique for mixing the reacting solutions. Two atom cells were also compared, one with windows and one without. The results indicate that the use of a “detuned” nebulizer gave the poorest results. Similar results were obtained with a home-made separator based on a frit and a Perkin-Elmer FIAS Chemifold system with a small dead volume. The use of an atom cell with windows provided the best signals for the determination of mercury.     

Determination of methylmercury and inorganic mercury in water samples by slurry sampling cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry in a flow injection system after preconcentration on silica C18 modified

A novel method for preconcentration of methylmercury and inorganic mercury from water samples was developed involving the determination of ng l⁻¹ levels of analytes retained on the silica C₁₈ solid sorbent, previous complexation with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC), by slurry sampling cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-CVAAS) in a flow injection (FI) system. Several variables were optimized affecting either the retention of both mercury species, such as APDC concentration, silica C₁₈ amount, agitation times, or their determination, including hydrochloric acid concentration in the suspension medium, peristaltic pump speed and argon flow-rate. A Plackett-Burman saturated factorial design permitted to differentiate the influential parameters on the preconcentration efficiency, which were after optimized by the sequential simplex method. The contact time between mercury containing solution and APDC, required to reach an efficient sorption, was decreased from 26 to 3 min by the use of sonication stirring instead of magnetic stirring. The use of 1 mol dm⁻³ hydrochloric acid suspension medium and 0.75% (m/v) sodium borohydride reducing agent permitted the selective determination of methylmercury. The combination of 5 mol dm⁻³ hydrochloric acid and 10⁻⁴% (m/v) sodium borohydride was used for the selective determination of inorganic mercury. The detection limits achieved for methylmercury and inorganic mercury determination under optimum conditions were 0.96 and 0.25 ng l⁻¹, respectively. The reliability of the proposed method for the determination of both mercury species in waters was checked by the analysis of samples spiked with known concentrations of methylmercury and inorganic mercury; quantitative recoveries were obtained.     

Simultaneous speciation of mercury and butyltin compounds in natural waters and snow by propylation and species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry analysis

A robust method has been developed for simultaneous determination of mercury and butyltin compounds in aqueous samples. This method is capable of providing accurate results for analyte concentrations in the picogram per liter to nanogram per liter range. The simultaneous determination of the mercury and tin compounds is achieved by species-specific isotope dilution, derivatization, and gas chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (GC–ICP–MS). In derivatization by ethylation and propylation, reaction conditions such as pH and the effect of chloride were carefully studied. Ethylation was found to be more sensitive to matrix effects, especially for mercury compounds. Propylation was thus the preferred derivatization method for simultaneous determination of organomercury and organotin compounds in environmental samples. The analytical method is highly accurate and precise, with RSD values of 1 and 3% for analyte concentrations in the picogram per liter to nanogram per liter range. By use of cleaning procedures and SIDMS blank measurements, detection limits in the range 10–60 pg L^–1 were achieved; these are suitable for determination of background levels of these contaminants in environmental samples. This was demonstrated by using the method for analysis of real snow and seawater samples. This work illustrates the great advantage of species-specific isotope dilution for the validation of an analytical speciation method—the possibility of overcoming species transformations and non-quantitative recovery. Analysis time is saved by use of the simultaneous method, because of the use of a single sample-preparation procedure and one analysis.     

Spectrophotometric and second-derivative spectrophotometric determination of mercury in organomercurials by means of benzyl 2-pyridyl ketone 2-quinolylhydrazone

Mercury(II) reacts with benzyl 2-pyridylketone 2-quinolylhydrazone (BPKQH) in the pH range 9.0-10.4, to form a stable 1:2 (metal:ligand) complex which has a sharp absorption maximum at 475 nm and molar absorptivity 5.01 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1). It is proposed for use in spectrophotometric determination of mercury at microg/ml levels and analysis for organomercurials. The sensitivity of the method can be increased significantly by employing derivative spectrophotometry, making mercury determination at ng ml levels feasible.     

A methodological study of mercury speciation using Dogfish liver CRM (DOLT-2)

The purpose of the study was to optimise analytical methods for determination of the chemical speciation of mercury in studies of protective mechanisms of selenium. Optimisation of the methods was performed using CRM DOLT-2 (Dogfish liver), both in its original form and after separation of various fractions. The sample was homogenised with 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.6) and ultracentrifuged. The soluble phase obtained was applied to a size exclusion chromatography column (Sephadex ¶G-75 column) for separation of various protein fractions. Total mercury (total Hg), monomethyl mercury (MeHg) and selenium (Se) were determined in whole dogfish liver tissue and its soluble and insoluble phases (pellet). Different approaches for determination of total Hg and MeHg were compared. Simultaneous determination of MeHg and inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) was based on alkaline dissolution and/or acid leaching, followed by ethylation, room temperature precollection, isothermal gas chromatography (GC), pyrolysis and detection with cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS). The sum of MeHg and Hg²⁺ was compared to total Hg results obtained by acid digestion and CVAAS detection. The accuracy of MeHg determination was checked by its determination using acid leaching at room temperature, solvent extraction, back extraction into Milli-Q water, ethylation, GC and CVAFS detection. For the insoluble phase it is recommended to use solvent extraction for MeHg and acid digestion CVAAS for total Hg. For determination of MeHg and Hg²⁺ in the lyophilised sample and water soluble fractions containing low concentrations of mercury species, the simultaneous measurement of MeHg and Hg²⁺ after alkaline dissolution is the most appropriate method.     

外用含汞制剂（复方丹药）的毒性探讨

汞制剂能否引起汞吸收及汞中毒？通过对１５例外用含汞制剂（复方丹药）患者的尿汞含量测定观察，说明外用汞制剂尿出量随用药时间增加而增加，停药后，尿汞含量逐渐减少到正常，个别患者有轻微不适症状，停药后症状即消失。     

Electroanalytical detection of zinc in whole blood

Three different electroanalytical techniques for the determination of zinc in blood are investigated. The direct determination in diluted blood via anodic stripping voltammetry at glassy carbon and the use of Nafion-coated glassy carbon mercury electrodes are shown to lack the necessary sensitivity whereas an acoustically assisted double extraction followed by sono-ASV using a glassy carbon electrode is found to be rapid, reliable and sensitive.     

Continuous monitoring of total and inorganic mercury in wastewater and other waters

An automated continuous monitoring system for the determination of total as well as inorganic mercury by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry is described. The method uses continuous flow digestion, reduction and extraction in small bore tubes at slow flow rates, and is suitable for use in the analysis of wastewater and natural waters. A detection limit of 0.1 ppb is obtained when a specially designed, complete gas—liquid separator is used with a condenser circulated with ice-chilled water for removing water vapor, and an 8-μl flow cell for detection. The response times for the determination of inorganic and total mercury are about 3 and 5 min, respectively. The amount of reagents required is about one-tenth of that in conventional Auto-Analyzer methods.     

Voltammetric quantification and speciation of mercury compounds

The use of a carbon paste electrode modified with a thiolic resin for the determination of inorganic mercury and organomercury compounds, present simultaneously in a sample, is described. The compounds are first preconcentrated at the electrode surface by means of a purely chemical reaction with the modifier on the electrode surface. The high affinity of the modifier for the mercury compounds ensures low limits of detection and determination. Differentiation between several mercury species is possible by control of the reduction potential applied to the working electrode. This selective reduction results in the formation of atomic mercury at the electrode surface which can be determined with a very high sensitivity by means of its re-oxidation wave in cyclic voltammetry. Optimization of the instrumental parameters and evidence for the reduction processes are discussed. Analysis of inorganic mercury in the presence of methylmercury, with a detection limit of 4 μg Hg 1⁻¹, and of methylmercury in the presence of inorganic mercury, with a detection limit of 2 μg Hg 1⁻¹, is described in detail. In both cases the preconcentration time is 6 min. Other organomercury species can also be quantified. Application of the method to environmental aquatic samples is discussed.     

Mercury speciation in sea food by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry using selective solid phase extraction

An on-line inorganic and organomercury species separation, preconcentration and determination system consisting of cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS or CV-ETAAS) coupled to a flow injection (FI) method was studied. The inorganic mercury species was retained on a column (i.d., 3 mm; length 3 cm) packed to a height of 0.7 cm with a chelating resin aminopropyl-controlled pore glass (550 A) functionalized with [1,5-bis (2 pyridyl)-3-sulphophenyl methylene thiocarbonohydrazyde] placed in the injection valve of a simple flow manifold. Methylmercury is not directly determined. Previous oxidation of the organomercurial species permitted the determination of total mercury. The separation of mercury species was obtained by the selective retention of inorganic mercury on the chelating resin. The difference between total and inorganic mercury determined the organomercury content in the sample. The inorganic mercury was removed on-line from the microcolumn with 6% (m/v) thiourea. The mercury cold vapor generation was performed on-line with 0.2% (m/v) sodium tethrahydroborate and 0.05% (m/v) sodium hydroxide as reducing solution. The determination was performed using CV-AAS and CV-ETAAS, both approaches have been used and compared for the speciation of mercury in sea food. A detection limit of 10 and 6 ng l(-1) was achieved for CV-AAS and CV-ETAAS, respectively. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 1 microg l(-1) Hg level was 3.5% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), calculated from the peak heights obtained. Both approaches were validated with the use of two certified reference materials and by spiking experiments. By analyzing the two biological certified materials, it was evident that the difference between the total mercury and inorganic mercury corresponds to methylmercury. The concentrations obtained by both techniques were in agreement with the certified values or with differences of the certified values for total Hg(2+) and CH(3)Hg(+), according to the t-test for a 95% confidence level. It is amazing how this very simple method is able to provide very important information on mercury speciation.