Comparison of GC-ICP-MS, GC-EI-MS and GC-EI-MS/MS for the determination of methylmercury, ethylmercury and inorganic mercury in biological samples by triple spike species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Abstract

We present here the determination of Hg species in complicated matrices by three different mass spectrometric techniques coupled to gas chromatography to evaluate if ionization suppression or spectral interferences are...

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages

“…The accurate determination of Hg species in biological fluids still poses challenges , particularly at low levels and given the possibility of species interconversion. Rodríguez-González and co-workers 84 have explored the potential of analytical techniques based on different principles, to reliably quantify Hg species in biological matrices. This group assessed the performances of three analytical techniques (GC-ICP-MS, GC-EI-MS and GC-EI-MS/MS) for the determination of iHg, EtHg and MeHg, using ID with a triple isotope spike.…”

“…Other developments in the area of speciation included a comparison of three MS techniques for determination of MeHg, EtHg and iHg in biological CRMs by triple spike species-specific ID-MS. 84 Perhaps unsurprisingly, GC-ICP-MS demonstrated superior accuracy, precision, LODs and matrix tolerance over molecular techniques, GC-EI-MS and GC-EI-MS/MS, particularly in a blood matrix. Low sensitivity was observed for GC-EI-MS/MS, despite its higher selectivity, and this method could not be recommended for routine use.…”

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in elemental speciation

“…Suarez-Criado et al have compared GC-ICP-MS, GC-EI-MS and GC-EI-MS/MS for the determination of MeHg, EtHg and iHg in a suite of biological CRMs, IAEA-085 and -086 human hair, NRCC DOLT-4 dogfish liver and NIST 955c caprine blood, by ssIDMS. 89 The Hg species in the CRMs were solubilised after spiking, using 198 Hg-enriched EtHg, 199 Hg-enriched Hg II and 201 Hg-enriched MeHg, with 25% TMAH and MAE (35 W for 4.5 min) followed by in situ derivatisation with sodium tetra- n -propylborate in 1 mol L −1 acetate buffer at pH 4 and extraction into hexane. The full results of the work are too complex to be cited here but can be summarised by the LOD values for GC-ICP-MS (0.12 ng Hg g −1 ) were three times lower for Hg II and MeHg than those obtained with GC-EI-MS and between 4 to 10 times lower for those calculated for GC-EI-MS/MS.…”

An updated review of the salient geomedical aspects of mercury for enhancement of data quality in simulation modelling and other prognostic applications: Africa case descriptions

“…Unlike aquatic organisms, there seems to be little tendency for terrestrial plants to concentrate Hg above background levels. In terrestrial ecosystems, plant foliage is known to play a vital role in accumulating Hg from the atmosphere and transferring it to soils (Sun and Branfireun, 2022).…”