Fractional determination of ionizable and stable forms of inorganic mercury in animal tissue using atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

A method for the determination of ionizable inorganic mercury in animal tissue has been developed. The method can be used to determine the amounts of both ionizable (toxic) and stable (non-toxic) inorganic mercury in tissue, when used in combination with a previous method for the direct determination of total inorganic mercury. The release of ionizable inorganic mercury from tissue proteins using sodium chloride in a solution of high ionic strength was followed by vaporization, amalgamation and atomic absorption spectrometry. The limit of detection is 0.6 ng of Hg and the relative standard deviation for 50 ng of Hg in the form of HgCl₂ is 0.9%. The application of the proposed method to the determination of mercury in tissue is also described.