Selenium speciation by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line detection by atomic absorption spectrometry

Several approaches to the determination of selenomethionine, selenocystine, selenite and selenate by high-performance liquid chromatography with online detection by atomic absorption spectrometry are described. The N?2,4-dinitrophenyl derivatives of selenomethionine, selenoethionine, selenocystine and phenylmercury(II) cystineselenoate were recovered from aqueous solution, separated on a Nucleosil 5-NO₂ reversed-phase HPLC column with a methanolic mobile phase containing acetic acid and triethylamine, and detected with a quartz thermochemical hydride-generating interface–atomic absorption spectrometry (AA) system. The restriction of having to perform chromatography with an organic mobile phase (to support the combusion process) was overcome with a new interface design capable of operation with either organic or aqueous HPLC mobile phases. Using aqueous acetic acid (0.015% v/v) containing 0.1% (w/v) ammonium acetate delivered at 0.5cm³ min^?1, selenate, selenite, selenomethionine, selenocystine and selenoethionine were separated virtually to baseline on a cyanopropyl-bonded phase HPLC column. Other selenium compounds which were investigated included methane seleninic and methane selenonic acids as well as the crude oxidation product mixtures resulting from the treatment of selenomethionine and selenocystine with hydrogen peroxide. A procedure for extracting selenate, selenite, selenomethionine, selenocystine and selenoethionine from spiked water or ground feed supplement into liquefied phenol resulted in acceptable recoveries for the latter four analytes but was unacceptably low for selenate.