Measurement of total mercury in biological specimens by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Abstract

An ultrasensitive method for determining total mercury concentrations in biological specimens is a prerequisite for monitoring exposure to chronic low-dose levels of Hg vapor such as those from dental silver amalgam fillings. The clinical consequences of such doses are currently in question. We describe an adaptation of a two-stage gold amalgamation preconcentration step combined with cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometric detection for Hg. At Hg concentrations of 40 and 350 nmol/L, the within-day assay CVs were 5% and 3%, respectively; between-day assay CVs were 8% and 5%, respectively. Accuracy, as demonstrated by analytical recovery, ranged from 98% to 105%. The detection limit for the assay is 50 pmol/L, which is suitable for measuring total Hg concentrations in specimens of human urine, blood, and breast milk, and in monkey kidney cortex and feces, obtained from subjects with and without amalgam fillings.

Pulpal uptake of mercury from lined amalgam restorations in guinea pigs

“…Mercury is released from silver amalgam as elemental mercury (Hg). The measurement of Hg in biological materials is most commonly achieved by AAS (36, 37). The presence of mercury in pulpal tissue has been demonstrated by AAS in human and dog teeth (16, 18) and autometallographically (AMG) in minipig, monkey and rat teeth (8, 19, 38).…”

Cinnabar is Different from Mercuric Chloride in Mercury Absorption and Influence on the Brain Serotonin Level

“…Finally, the samples were transferred into 10‐ml calibrated flasks and made up to the volume with a solution of 5% (v/v) HNO 3 in 0.5 g/l K 2 Cr 2 O 7 . The reduction with a solution of 0.05% KBH 4 in 0.2% (w/v) KOH and analysis of total mercury content using hydride generation were performed with an atomic fluorescence spectrometer AF‐610A (Beijing Reili Instrument Co., China) by the method as described previously . The linear range of the mercury standard calibration curve was 0.10–1.60 ng/ml with a coefficient (r) of >0.999.…”

Quantitative, longitudinal profiling of the primate fecal microbiota reveals idiosyncratic, dynamic communities

“…comm.). Mercury analysis performed by cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (Winfield et al, 1994) on the G983 and R87 specimens is reported here (Fig. 6), but cultivation analysis was not performed.…”