Determination of aluminium in human tissues and body fluids by Zeeman-corrected atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

A procedure is described for the determination of aluminium in samples of human origin. It is based on Zeeman-corrected atomic absorption spectrometry, and the method of standard additions is used for the quantitation. Plasma and urine samples were analysed directly after dilution and tissue samples after wet digestion with nitric acid. For plasma samples, the precision was approximately 5%(relative standard deviation) at the 50 µg l^–1 level, and the accuracy of the method was evaluated by analysing the NBS reference material bovine serum. For tissue samples, the accuracy and precision were determined from recovery experiments. Examples of aluminium concentrations found in human plasma, urine, bone, liver and brain are given.