Abstract
A new extremely sensitive method for the determination of physiological (normal) Pd and Pt levels in human urine is presented, applying UV photolysis followed by sequential determination with double focusing magnetic sector field ICP-MS. Due to the low blank values, which are a consequence of the minimal reagent addition required, UV photolysis turned out to be advantageous for the decomposition of the organic matrix. Sector field ICP-MS operating in the low resolution (LR) mode permits detection limits for Pt and Pd which are distinctly lower than in the high resolution (HR) mode or with quadrupole instruments when using a comparable sample introduction system. The practical detection limits in urine were 0.17 ng/L Pd and 0.24 ng/L Pt using standard nickel cones. Taking into account a dilution factor of 4.2, the detection limits related to the final solution were 0.04 ng/L Pd and 0.06 ng/L Pt. The use of a high-performance nickel skimmer cone did not result in any improvement of the detection limits because the signal of the analytes and the background were enhanced to a similar extent. Urinary Pd levels in 21 unexposed persons ranged from 32.7 to 219.7 ng/L (arithmetic mean (AM): 140.3 ng/L), the Pt levels were between 0.48 and 7.7 ng/L (AM: 1.8 ng/L). The relevance and severity of mass spectral interferences in the Pd and Pt determination at these concentration levels have been investigated.
Published Version
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