Uranium quantification in semen by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

In this study we report uranium analysis for human semen samples. Uranium quantification was performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. No additives, such as chymotrypsin or bovine serum albumin, were used for semen liquefaction, as they showed significant uranium content. For method validation we spiked 2g aliquots of pooled control semen at three different levels of uranium: low at 5pg/g, medium at 50pg/g, and high at 1000pg/g. The detection limit was determined to be 0.8pg/g uranium in human semen. The data reproduced within 1.4–7% RSD and spike recoveries were 97–100%. The uranium level of the unspiked, pooled control semen was 2.9pg/g of semen (n=10). In addition six semen samples from a cohort of Veterans exposed to depleted uranium (DU) in the 1991 Gulf War were analyzed with no knowledge of their exposure history. Uranium levels in the Veterans’ semen samples ranged from undetectable (<0.8pg/g) to 3350pg/g. This wide concentration range for uranium in semen is consistent with known differences in current DU body burdens in these individuals, some of whom have retained embedded DU fragments.