Determination of the cadmium and copper content inherent to metallothionein

The reliability of the voltammetric determination of the cadmium and copper content (at pH 1.0), inherent to metallothionein (MT) isolated from the digestive gland of Mytilus galloprovincialis, was investigated. An artifact signal enhancement of copper, caused by the cupric-thionein complex adsorption at the mercury electrode, was established. This artifact was removed by UV-digestion of the sample for 15–20 h prior to analysis. A similar artifact was not detected for cadmium, because at this pH the cadmium-thionein complex has dissociated, and cadmium exists in the ionic form. Therefore, the voltammetric analysis of the cadmium content can be performed directly at pH 1.0, without prior UV-digestion of the sample. Received: 4 August 1997 / Revised: 12 November 1997 / Accepted: 16 November 1997