Determination of aluminium in serum by atomic absorption spectrometry with the L'vov platform at different resonance lines

Abstract

The determination of aluminium in sera in the concentration range 2–1200 µg l^–1 was studied using a L'vov platform under optimum conditions in the presence of 0.1%m/V of both Mg(NO₃)₂ and Triton X-100. The use of less sensitive resonance lines instead of dilution of the sample with water was found to be advantageous, as aqueous dilution of sera to more than 1 + 1 caused a systematic positive error of 20%. Matrix interferences were investigated for all the resonance lines considered in order to evaluate the use of an analytical calibration function rather than the much more time consuming addition technique. Accuracy and precision data and the merits of the analytical procedure are also reported. The aluminium contents of the sera before and after desferrioxamine (DFO) administration to 48 chronic uraemic patients on periodical haemodialytic treatment permit some considerations of the clinical utility of the DFO test.