Determination of aluminium in biological materials by constant-temperature graphite furnace atomic-emission spectrometry

Abstract

An alternative method for the determination of aluminium in biological materials is described. Whole blood, cortex and liver samples are digested in nitric acid and the aluminium concentration is evaluated by graphite furnace atomic-emission spectrometry. Factors influencing the accuracy and precision of the procedure are discussed. The absolute detection limit of the technique is 1.0 pg of aluminium in an aqueous solution and 2–4 pg in biological materials. The precision is usually better than 6%(relative standard deviation), using peak-area evaluation. Comparison of the analytical results with those obtained by graphite furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry incorporating a L'vov platform demonstrates a good correlation between the techniques.