Determination of organomercury in biological reference materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using flow injection analysis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1988

Publication Title

Analytical Chemistry

Volume

60

Issue

23

First Page

2587

Keywords

organomercury compound, animal cell, flow injection analysis, invertebrate, mass spectrometry, methodology, nonhuman, sea pollution, standard

Last Page

2590

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used for the determination of organomercury in two marine biological standard reference materials for trace metals (dogfish muscle tissue DORM-1 and lobster hepatopancreas TORT-1). In most parts of this study, the organomercury was extracted as the chloride from the material with toluene and back extracted into an aqueous medium of cystelne acetate. Since the final extracts contained more than 4% sodium, isotope dilution and flow injection analysis were used to respectively counter the effect of concomitant elements and avoid clogging the interface. Comparison of results with gas chromatography shows that the only significant organomercury is methylmercury. At least 93% of mercury in DORM-1 and 39% of mercury in TORT-1 exist as methylmercury. © 1988 American Chemical Society.

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