Determination of silver in blood and urine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

A method is described for the rapid determination of silver in urine and whole blood using electrothermal atomisation atomic absorption spectrometry. The sample pre-treatment is simple, involving dilution with 0.5% HNO₃ and protein precipitation with concentrated acid and heat. Matrix-matched calibration standards are used to produce a graph which is linear up to 4.2 µmol l^–1 and so a large working range exists. The detection limit is 22 nmol l^–1 of silver in blood and 13 nmol l^–1 in urine, with a relative standard deviation of less than 5% at all concentrations. As chelation and extraction steps are unnecessary, and only microlitre amounts of sample are required, this procedure is convenient, rapid and free from contamination.