The Detection of Two Lithium Species in the Blood Serum of Mental Patients

Abstract

Li FT-NMR was used for the detection of different lithium species in human serum. Two serum samples from mentally ill patients undergoing lithium treatment were studied. Both samples gave spectra with a major peak corresponding to aqueous lithium ion and a much smaller peak at ?0.3 ppm relative to the lithium ion peak. Two serum samples from normal persons were spiked with lithium but the resulting spectra showed only the lithium ion peak.