Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of aluminium in whole blood

Two methods are described for atomic absorption spectrometric determinations of aluminium m heparinized and haemolyzed samples of undiluted whole human blood. In the direct method 2μl of blood are pipetted into a graphite cup atomizer; after a drying and two ashing steps aluminium is determined by atomization at 2500°C. In the second method, 15μl of blood are decomposed by nitric acid in polytetrafluoroethylene tubes; 2-μl portions of the solution are then analyzed with the graphite tube atomizer. The direct method was applied to the determination of aluminium in whole blood from 48 Norwegian workers occupationally unexposed to the element; the concentrations of aluminium ranged from 0.05—0.59 p.p.m. (mean value, 0.20 p.p.m.). For 0.35 p.p.m. aluminium, the relative standard deviation of both methods was 8%. The detection limit of the direct method is 0.05 p.p.m. aluminium.