Determination of germanium species by hydride generation-inductively coupled argon plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

Inorganic and methylated germanium species were determined at sub parts per trillion levels by a combination of hydride generation and inductively coupled argon plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The absolute detection limits were 0.08 pg of Ge for inorganic germanium (Ge i ), 0.1 pg of Ge for monomethylgermanium (MMGe) and dimethylgermanium (DMGe), and 0.09 pg of Ge for trimethylgermanium (TMGe). The proposed method was applied to natural waters and wastewaters, and Ge i , MMGe and DMGe were detected in all of the samples studied