Evaluation of automatic probe atomization for determination of elements in urine and whole blood by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

A procedure is described for the determination of Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni and Pb in Seronorm and Lanonorm reference materials and clinical samples. Accurate analyses of diluted specimens were achieved against aqueous standards. The use of high atomization temperatures (2400–2750 °C) minimized chemical interference from matrix components. High temperatues also improved the characteristic mass of Ga for probe electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry, but caused a reduction in the sensitivity of Pb due to increased diffusional loss effects. The relative standard deviation values reported for Cd in human urine (1.1–7.6 µg dm^–3) were mostly <10% and good precision was also obtained for Cd and Pb in whole blood and Cr, Mn and Ni in plasma protein solution. However, the precision achieved for Co, Ni and Pb in the reference urines (7–36%) might not be satisfactory for some applications. The results suggest that the probe method could be useful for the determination of elevated concentrations, caused by industrial exposure. Further work is required to assess the procedure for the determination of lower concentrations as, for most of the analytes, the concentrations were higher than normal levels.