The determination of cadmium,lead and copper in urine by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry is used for the simultaneous determination of cadmium, lead and copper in different types of urine samples. Unlike most biological samples, urine can be analyzed directly for cadmium and lead without pretreatment of the sample; a significant increase in sensitivity is obtained if the analysis is carried out at an elevated temperature. The complete decomposition of urine with a mixture of nitric, perchloric and sulphuric acids is also described; this procedure makes it possible to determine copper simultaneously. Good agreement was obtained between the two procedures, and the recovery of metals from spiked samples was satisfactory for both methods. The relative merits of the two approaches are discussed.