Simultaneous determination of mercury and selenium in biological materials by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

A simple and sensitive radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of mercury and selenium in biological materials. The radiochemical procedure is based upon the digestion of irradiated samples with sulphuric and nitric acids followed by subsequent extractions of mercury and selenium into toluene, first of mercury from 7.5 M H₂SO₄-0.01M HBr media and after of selenium from 7M H₂SO₄-1 M HBr media. After washing of the organic phases with similar media, the mercury bromide was back-extracted into 0.034M EDTA in 5% aqueous ammonia and the selenium bromide into 0.14M H₂O₂ in aqueous solution. The¹⁹⁷Hg and the⁷⁵Se were counted on a Ge(Li) detector. The precision and accuracy of the method was checked by analysing NBS Standard Reference Materials: orchard leaves and bovine liver.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium, tin and mercury by non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A procedure is described for simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium, tin and mercury in aqueous solution by non-dispersive atomic-fluorescence spectrometry. Radiofrequency-excited EDLs, 100% modulated in the kHz region, were used for atom excitation. Sodium tetrahydroborate was used as reductant and a hydrogen-argon miniflame as atomizer. In the optimized procedure, which uses 1 ml of sample, the limits of detection (three times the standard deviation of the blank) were 0.04, 0.08, 0.1 and 0.1 ng ml for arsenic, selenium, tin and mercury respectively. The linear dynamic range was greater than three decades for all analytes and the precision was better than 7% (typically 3%) for concentrations 1 ng ml . Results for mutual interference effects are reported. Copper, nickel, lead and cobalt interfered only with selenium (5 ng ml ), when present in at least 200-fold weight ratio to it. Using 5 ml of sample improved the limits of detection for selenium and arsenic (0.01 and 0.02 ng ml respectively), but at the expense of greater interference. Recovery from spiked natural water samples was better than 95% at the ng ml level, except for selenium in sea-water, when the recovery was only 85%. Determination of the four elements, including standard-addition and background measurements, requires about 10 min.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium, and mercury by Ion exchange-vapor generation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Ion exchange (IE)-vapor generation (VG)-inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-mass spectrometry (MS) method has been employed to simultaneously determine trace amounts of As, Se, and Hg in acidic conditions. Before hydride generation, anion-exchange column was used to separate the analytes from the matrix. Effects of sample solution acidity, eluant conditions and concentrating time were investigated and optimized. The method sensitivity was improved, as well as the ability to refrain interference caused by chloride, mental ions and other hydride-forming elements compared with (CF)VG-ICP-MS method. Limits of detection (3σ, n = 10) for As, Se, and Hg were As, 0.0021 ng/ml; Se, 0.0022 ng/ml; Hg, 0.0007 ng/ml, respectively; and recovery values for interference experiments were between 95.6 and 100.3%. The developed method was applied to four standard biological and geological materials, and the determined results of As, Se, and Hg were consistent with the certified values.     

Substoichiometric determination of silver by Neutron Activation Analysis

A rapid and selective method has been developed for the determination of Ag in biological samples and mineral ores by thermal neutron activation analysis employing substoichiometric extraction with 1,2,3-benzotriazole /1,2,3-BT/ into chloroform. The time required for the radiochemical purification and counting of two samples was 1 h. 4.84 g Ag can be determined with an accuracy of 7.44% and a precision of 3.57%.     

化学蒸气发生-四通道原子荧光光谱法同时测定水样中的痕量砷、锑、硒和汞

应用自行设计的化学蒸气发生-四通道无色散原子荧光光谱仪,建立了同时测定水样中As、Sb、Se、Hg的新方法.在实验中优化了四元素同时化学蒸气发生条件和测定的最佳工作参数.在样品预处理阶段用HCl将Se6+还原为Se4+,然后用质量浓度5 g/L硫脲将As5+和Sb5+还原为As3+和Sb3+.在最佳条件下,方法对As、Sb、Se、Hg的检出限分别为0.05、0.03、0.05、0.01 ng/mL(3d);RSD分别为0.42%、0.74%、0.97%、1.0%(对5 ng/mL As、Sb、Se和0.5ng/mL Hg混合标准,n=7).用所建立的方法对不同类型水样中的As、Sb、Se、Hg进行了同时测定,测定结果与用标准方法测定所得结果之间无明显差异,各元素的加标回收率在93%～105%.     

Interferences of hydride forming elements and of mercury in the determination of antimony, arsenic, selenium and tin by hydride-generation AAS

Summary By means of the radiotracer technique supplemented by conventional absorption measurements, the interferences of As, Bi, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn and Te in amounts between 10 g and 1 mg with the determination of As, Sb, Se and Sn by hydride generation AAS using heated quartz tube were investigated during the hydride-generation and the atomization stages. Amounts up to 100 g of Hg and Pb do not cause any detectable interference. The interference of Bi and Te is dominant in the hydride-generation stage and that of As, Se, Sb and Sn in the atomization stage. Tin is retained to a considerable extent in the quartz tube and the resulting memory effect makes the determination of As, Sb, and Se impossible. In the absence of interfering elements, the efficiency of the formation of hydrides of As, Sb, Se and Sn was close to 100%. However, a reduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III) prior to the hydride-generation is necessary for which an improved procedure was developed.

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Störungen von Hydridbildnern und von Quecksilber bei der Bestimmung von Antimon, Arsen, Selen und Zinn durch die Hydrid-AAS

Zusammenfassung Mittels der Radiotracertechnik und Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie wurde der Störeinfluß unterschiedlicher Mengen (10–1000 g) von As, Bi, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn und Te auf die Bestimmung von As, Sb, Se und Sn mit der Hydrid-AAS untersucht. Durch diese Verfahrenskombination war es möglich, das Ausmaß der Störungen durch diese Elemente sowohl im Hydrierungs- als auch im Atomisierungsschritt zu bestimmen sowie zum großen Teil auch die Gründe für ihr Auftreten aufzuklären. Keine nachweisbare Störung verursachen Hg und Pb bis zu jeweils 100 g. Die Störung durch Bi und Te tritt hauptsächlich im Hydrierungsgefäß auf, hingegen die durch As, Sb, Se und Sn im wesentlichen in der Quarzabsorptionszelle. Bei Zinn wurde ein starker Memoryeffekt festgestellt, der aus der Ablagerung dieses Elements in der Quarzküvette resultiert und der die Bestimmung von As, Sb und Se völlig unmöglich macht. Ohne diese Störelemente liegen die Hydrierungsausbeuten für As, Sb, Se und Sn bei nahezu 100%. Bei Antimon ist allerdings eine vorherige Reduktion von Sb(V) zu Sb(III) notwendig, für die ein verbessertes Verfahren vorgeschlagen wurde. Denn durch die Radiotracertechnik konnte nachgewiesen werden, daß die während der Alterung von Sb(V)-Lösungen durch Kondensationsprozesse entstehenden Polysäuren nicht mehr hydriert werden können.

     

The determination of molybdenum in geological samples by Neutron Activation Analysis

A metal-silicate extraction technique combined with neutron activation analysis has been developed to determine molybdenum in geological samples. The samples are equilibrated with Femetal powder at high temperatures. Molybdenum is completely extracted into the metal phase because of very reducing conditions in the furnace. The metal spherule is separated from the silicates, irradiated and dissolved in an acid solution. The molybdenum is precipitated as a sulfide and the precipitate is dissolved in aqua regia and counted on a Ge/Li/detector. The radiochemical yield is obtained by irradiation of the solution. The method avoids production of⁹⁹Mo from induced fission of²³⁵U by performing the metal-silicate separation before irradiation. The precipitation step may be necessary to remove the high background from the decay of⁵⁹Fe. Mo concentrations down to 15 ng/g have been obtained using this method.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs by chemical vapour generation inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

A procedure for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs has been developed. After a two-step microwave-assisted wet digestion in closed vessels, using concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, the solution was analysed by inductively coupled plasma multichannel-based emission spectrometry using chemical vapour generation as the sample introduction system. All steps of the procedure, such as solid sample dissolution, pre-reduction to the suitable oxidation state, vapor generation, transport and atomization have been designed and optimised taking into account the concomitant presence of all the analytes considered. Temporal variation of analytical signals as well as interfering effects due to transition elements were also studied. Under the optimised operating conditions, the achieved detection limits for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, selenium and mercury in foodstuffs were 0.006, 0.023 and 0.018 microg g(-1), respectively, allowing their determination in real samples. Precision of the analytical procedure was 6.8% for arsenic, 5.2% for selenium and 7.7% for mercury (n=7). The accuracy and reliability of the method was verified by the analysis of both standard reference materials (rice flour and spinach leaves) and real samples (natural and Se-enriched rice).     

Zirconium-loaded activated charcoal as an adsorbent for arsenic, selenium and mercury

The adsorption of arsenic, selenium and mercury from aqueous solutions onto zirconium-loaded activated charcoal was studied as a function of adsorption time, amount of adsorbent, pH, concentration of adsorbates, sample volume and the oxidation states of the adsorbates. The cross-interference of the analytes was also investigated. Loaded filters were measured by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and the amount of the unadsorbed analytes were determined by vapour generation atomic absorption spectrometry (VGAAS).     

Atomic emission spectrometry with an induction-coupled high-frequency plasma source: The determination of iodine,mercury, arsenic and selenium

The application of an inductively coupled high-frequency plasma source to the determination of iodine, mercury, arsenic and selenium by atomic emission spectrometry at wavelengths less than 200 nm is described. Optimal conditions have been established, and the spectral interference effects at different atomic lines for each element have been investigated. With the type of instrumentation employed, the determination of iodine at 183.04 nm, mercury at 184.96 nm, arsenic at 189.0 nm and selenium at 196.09 nm is recommended to minimize spectral interferences. No chemical or physical interferences resulting from the influence of foreign ions on the solute vaporization process have been noted.     

Simultaneous determination of mercury and arsenic by anodic stripping voltammetry

An electrochemical method for the simultaneous determinations of Hg^II concentration and total As^III and As^V concentration has been developed. The method does not require the additional preliminary step of the chemical reduction of As^V to As^III, or oxidation of As^III to As^V before stripping analysis takes place. Also, the method for the simultaneous determination of Hg^II concentration and As^III concentration is described. Measurements were performed in 0.1 M HCl using a gold-plated graphite electrode as sensor. Detection limits for both methods are below 0.4 ppb. Relative standard deviation did not exceed 15%. The possible interference by other trace metals was investigated. Analyses of natural water and industrial solutions were made using proposed methods and AAS. The t-test demonstrates that there was no significant difference between the results obtained with these methods. Proposed methods decrease the time of analysis because concentrations of the Hg^II and arsenic ions were measured simultaneously. Also, the removal of the additional step of chemical reduction of As^V to As^III or oxidation of As^III to As^V decreases analysis time, and also reduces the chance of contamination due to the use of additional reagents.     

Substoichiometric radiochemical determination of mercury with potassium benzyl xanthate

A sensitive and rapid radiochemical method has been developed for the determination of microgram amounts of mercury by substoichiometric extraction of its 12 complex with potassium benzyl xanthate into chloroform from pH 5.5 acetate buffer. The influence of various foreign ions on the extraction was studied. 2–20 g of mercury was determined with an average error of 1.78%. The method developed was utilized to determine the mercury content of water samples.     

Heavy metal determination in atmospheric particulate matter by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) is employed for its important analytical properties. Fundamentally, INAA is a multi-elemental technique allowing the determination of about 40 elements with a good Limit of Detection. In this paper we applied this nuclear technique to study the element composition in PM10 determining about 30 elements.25 filters were collected in downtown Rome from October 1999 to April 2000 and irradiated at the nuclear reactor Triga Mark II (ENEA-Casaccia Laboratories). The γ-ray measurements have allowed the quali- and quantitative analysis. The element levels in PM10 with the relative correlations have been determined: basically, the concentrations are very low.Furthermore, the enrichment factors of all elements will be reported in order to understand the natural or anthropogenic origins of the particulate matter: some elements may be attributed to long-range transport phenomena from other natural and/or anthropogenic sources.     

Determination of mercury by radiochemical displacement

2–15 g of mercury has been determined by exchange with zinc in⁶⁵Zn labelled zinc sulphide. The influence of various ions which are likely to interfere in the determination of mercury has also been studied.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic,mercury, antimony and selenium in biological materials with prior collection of gaseous products followed by neutron activation analysis

A method combining prior collection of gaseous products with subsequent neutron activation analysis has been developed for simultaneous determination of traces of arsenic, mercury, antimony and selenium in biological materials. The generation of hydrides of arsenic, antimony and selenium and cold vapor of mercury in the vapor generaion and collection system was investigated by the use of radiotracers of the respective elements. The result indicates that selenium and mercury can be completely evaporated from the digested sample solution in 5M HCl with the addition of 5% sodium tetrahydroborate solution, while additional reduction proces by potassium iodide and ascorbic acid is needed for complete evaporation of arsenic and antimony. The gaseous products were collected in a quartz tube for neutron irradiation. The detection limits of these elements were fount to be in the range of 10^–7 to 10^–8 g under the present experimental conditions. The reliability was checked with NBS standard reference materials.     

Determination of arsenic,chromium, mercury,selenium and zinc in tropical marine fish by neutron activation

Determination of arsenic, chromium, mercury, selenium and zinc in several commonly consumed tropical marine fishes have been carried out by neutron activation followed by radiochemical separation to remove the interfering activities of sodium, potassium, bromine, and phosphorus, etc., in order to establish the baseline data and to measure the levels of contamination, if any. The results of this study positively indicate that the marine fishes of Bangladesh have concentrations much below the permissible levels for these toxic elements. A radiochemical scheme for the separation of seven trace elements in biological material is also presented in this paper.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic and selenium in biological samples by HG-AFS

A new method is proposed for simultaneous determination of traces of arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in biological samples by hydride-generation double-channel non-dispersive atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) from tartaric acid media. The effects of analytical conditions on fluorescence signal intensity were investigated and optimized. Interferences from coexisting ions were evaluated. Under optimum conditions linear response ranges above 20 g L^–1 for As and 32 g L^–1 for Se were obtained with detection limits of 0.13 and 0.12 g L^–1, respectively. The precision for elevenfold determination of As at the 4 g L^–1 level and of Se at the 8 g L^–1 level were 2.7 and 1.9% (RSD), respectively. Recoveries of 92.5–95.5% for As and 101.2–108.4% for Se were obtained for four biological samples and two certified biological reference materials. The proposed method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, and high efficiency; it was successfully used for simultaneous determination of As and Se in biological samples.     

Simultaneous determination of iodine and selenium in biological samples by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

Summary Regarding the favourably sensitive nuclear characteristics of iodine and of selenium but the very different half lives of their induced nuclides ¹²⁸I and ⁷⁵Se, a radiochemical neutron activation analysis method for simultaneous determination of these elements in a single sample was developed. It is based on the double irradiation LICSIR technique — Long Irradiation for Se (40h), Cooling (a week or more), Short Irradiation for iodine (1–15 min) with following Radiochemistry. After the second short irradiation, the sample is ignited in an oxygen flask and iodine and selenium are sequentially and selectively extracted as elemental iodine and 5-nitro-2,1,3 benzoselena diazole chelate. With the described method biological samples were analysed and the reliability of the results was checked by the analyses of different standard reference materials. Good agreement with certified values and high radiochemical purity of the spectra show the applicability of the radiochemical separation developed.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, manganese, and selenium in biological materials by neutron-activation analysis

A new method was developed for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, manganese, and selenium in biological material by thermal-neutron activation analysis. The use of (81 m)Se as indicator for selenium permitted a reduction of activation time to 1 hr for a 1 g sample, and the possibility of loss of volatile compounds during irradiation could be dismissed. No pretreatment of the sample is required, and the radiochemical separation scheme is based on simple chemical operations, completed in less than 3 hr. A systematic experimental investigation of the performance characteristics of the method was carried out, including studies of the accuracy of the results. The actual precision achieved in routine application of the method in the analytical laboratory was in good agreement with the calculated precision, and the results are therefore well suited for statistical evaluation of differences at the ppM level in samples of biological tissue.