Determination of total and extractable amount of aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead in surgical suture threads by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

Polymer-based materials such as surgical suture threads are the most important raw materials used in the manufacturing of medical devices. Determination of metal contamination in industrial surgical threads such as absorbable polydioxanone (PDO) and polyglycolic acid (PGA), and nonabsorbable polypropylene (PP) is very important for human health. Concentrations of aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead released from these surgical suture samples into various solutions were determined. The effects of parameters such as solvent type, temperature, pH of solvent, and time for release of these metals from the samples were investigated to determine optimum conditions. The extractable and total amount of aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead in PDO, PGA, and PP samples were performed by using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead in certified standard material solution (IQC-026 mixture) were determined for the accuracy of the method. Limits of detection and quantification values of analytes found were 2.8 and 9.3 µg L−1 for aluminum, 1.5 and 5.0 µg L−1 for copper, 1.5 and 5.0 µg L−1 for zinc, and 2.9 and 9.7 µg L−1 for lead, respectively.