Determination of Methyl Mercury in Fish by Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Comparison with an Acid Digestion Method for Total Mercury

1976 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
Jurgen L Kacprzak ◽  
Ramon Chvojka
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Absorption ◽  
Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Methyl Mercury ◽  
Total Mercury ◽  
Inorganic Mercury ◽  
Flameless Atomic Absorption ◽  
Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
The Difference

Abstract A method for the concurrent determination of methyl mercury and inorganic mercury by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) is described. Fifty-seven samples of juvenile black marlin fish were analyzed for inorganic and methyl mercury, and total mercury was calculated by addition of the 2 values. The sensitivity of the method was estimated to be 0.029 μg for inorganic mercury and 0.033 μg for methyl mercury. The detection limit of the method was about 0.02 μg inorganic mercury or methyl mercury and the error of the method was found not to exceed 10% for samples giving about 10% deflection on the absorbance scale. Samples from the same fish were analyzed by a commonly accepted flameless AAS method for the determination of total mercury. When the results for total mercury from the 2 methods were statistically compared, using a paired t-test, the difference between the results obtained by the 2 methods was found to be insignificant at the 95% confidence level.

Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy of Plasma Chromium

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Absorption ◽  
Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Analytical Signal ◽  
Plasma Samples ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Flameless Atomic Absorption ◽  
Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

A flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy method has been developed for the measurement of chromium. Background correction has been modified by recording non-atomic absorption separately from atomic absorption on a double-pen recorder. This was achieved by using the prime spectral line of uranium (358·5 nm, within 0·6 nm of that of chromium—357·9 nm) and was possible only because of the absence of uranium from the plasma samples. Masking of the analytical signal at atomisation by non-atomic absorption was thus eliminated and gave the method a sensitivity of 3 pg and a detection limit of 150 pg/ml. Postprandrial plasma chromium values were measured in 32 insulin-treated diabetics (1·65 ±0·15 ng/ml), in 53 non-insulin treated diabetics (2·05 ± 0·16 ng/ml), and in 144 control non-diabetics (2·00 ± 0·14 ng/ml). The difference between the mean plasma chromium level of the insulin-treated diabetics and both the non-insulin treated diabetics and the control groups was statistically significant (p<0·05).

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