Abstract
Here we propose a single acid digestion (SAD) sample preparation method for ICP-MS analysis of animal serum samples to determine trace element contents. The method was evaluated in comparison with a commonly used procedure involving dilution of samples in an alkaline solution (AKD). In the SAD procedure, aliquots (1 mL) of bovine serum samples were treated at low temperature with a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Trace elements (As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, and Zn) were directly determined by ICP-MS analysis of diluted solutions of samples. Both methods were sufficiently sensitive to enable quantification of most trace elements, with the exception of the AKD method for Cd, Hg and Pb. The quality of the data was verified by using certified reference material. Good results were obtained for the SAD procedure and all elements, but recoveries were unacceptable with the AKD procedure for Se (recovery: 57%), Cd (154%) and Fe (139%). Strong associations (R2>0.90, P = 0.000) between the data obtained by both methods were demonstrated for the elements considered. The proposed SAD sample preparation method produced satisfactory results for determining most toxic and essential trace elements targeted in monitoring studies.
Highlights
Trace element determination in biological and environmental samples continues to be a challenge due to the low concentrations involved and the undesired matrix effects produced by other sample components
Simple sample preparation method for multielement analysis of bovine serum humans, low and/or high trace element concentrations in tissues are directly related to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases; for example, elevated concentrations of Fe and Cu are detected in the brain tissues of Alzheimer’s patients and in the brains of humans and animals affected by other neurological disorders [4,5,6]
Calibration curves for all the elements analysed in this study were linear (R2 0.9999) over a wide range of concentrations, for both the single acid digestion (SAD) and alkali dilution (AKD) sample preparation procedures
Summary
Trace element determination in biological and environmental samples continues to be a challenge due to the low concentrations involved and the undesired matrix effects produced by other sample components. In addition to the elements commonly considered toxic (namely As, Cd, Pb and Hg), other metals have been identified as potentially toxic, and at least seventeen essential trace elements can be toxic when consumed in excess [1,2,3]. Trace element concentrations are higher in tissues such as liver and kidney than in blood, modern atomic spectrometry techniques can determine metal concentrations at ng L-1 levels, so that blood is considered a suitable analytical sample in biological and environmental monitoring studies [7,10,11,12]. Information regarding toxic elements in blood is important in clinical diagnostics in both humans and animals
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