Determination of Trace Amounts of Vanadyl Porphyrin in Marine Mussel Tissues by High-performance Liquid Chromatography With Both Ultraviolet/Visible and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometric Detection

Abstract

An HPLC method with UV/VIS and ICP-AES detection is described for the determination of vanadyl porphyrins extracted from biological samples. A detection limit of 50 ng of vanadium was obtained. The method was used to determine these compounds following their extraction from tissues of mussels treated in laboratory experiments and collected during a ‘Mussel Watch Programme’. This allowed some conclusions about vanadium speciation in marine organisms to be made. In the tissues of mussels, collected at several sites of the monitored area, which showed high vanadium concentrations, it was possible to establish the presence of this metal in the form of organometallic compounds.