This work describes a sensitive method for the determination of platinum in blood, which can be used for determining the natural levels of platinum in human blood, for monitoring patients treated with platinum cytotoxic drugs, and for monitoring occupational exposure to these drugs and other platinum compounds. The method involves dry ashing of blood samples in a muffle furnace and determination of platinum by adsorptive voltammetric (AV) measurement of the catalytic reduction of protons by the platinum-formazone complex. The detection limit for a 100-microL sample of blood is 0.017 micrograms/L, with a recovery of 94% and a relative standard deviation of 7% at a platinum level of 1 microgram/L. By using this method, the natural levels of platinum in human blood were found to be in the range 0.1-2.8 micrograms/L (median = 0.6 micrograms/L). These results were verified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with blood prepared by wet ashing and using gold as an internal standard.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using solution nebulization has the ability to analyze up to 70 elements with good precision, accuracy, and sensitivity and is, therefore, well suited for the trace element analysis of glass. However, the technique places severe restrictions on sample preparation. High concentrations of acids or dissolved solids, changes in sample viscosity and molecular compound formation can cause physical, spectral and chemical interference. Solubilization of the glass samples based on a three acid digestion procedure (HF, HNO3, HCl 2:1:1) has been found to minimize these problems. Up to 62 elements have been determined in a range of glass samples. Glasses that could not be distinguished on the basis of refractive index measurement could be discriminated. A procedure of measuring a range of elemental ratios, which eliminated the need for weighing, was used to compare small samples typical of casework.

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