MERCURY THREAD ELECTRODE FOR DETERMINING LEAD IN BLOOD

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Childhood lead poisoning is stated to be "the nation's leading childhood environmental disease". The accurate determination of toxic lead concentrations from small volumes of children's blood in cost effective manner is a considerable challenge. This proposal describes a novel mercury thread electrode that maintains the advantages of mercury as an electrode material and eliminates the problems associated with measurements in biological samples. This cell design places mercury inside a small diameter dialysis tube which can then be mounted in a flow stream for on line detection. The aims of this proposal are to optimize detection limits, precision and linearity for the determination of lead in the presence of interfering substances found in blood by investigating the chemical, physical and electrochemical variables that affect the detector's response. Sample preparation procedures will be investigated with an automated sampling system that will lead to a portable instrument. Not only will this instrument be used for determining lead in blood but also lead, other metals and compounds from environmental and industrial samples. The design will also operate as a general purpose detector for liquid chromatography for the determination of difficult to reduce substances such as compounds containing the higher oxidation states of nitrogen or sulfur. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: There are millions of children at risk of lead poisoning in the US. Finding and treating these children will require screening virtually all infants. Some states are now mandating these measurements. A simple, accurate and affordable screening instrument would find markets in the public and private health sectors. In the same markets as well as in some industries, lead and other heavy metals in waters are an ongoing environmental concern. Many industrial processes, e.g., metal plating companies, could benefit from monitoring materials in process.