Validation of methylmercury determinations in aquatic systems by alkyl derivatization methods for GC analysis using ICP-IDMS
Validation of methylmercury determinations in aquatic systems by alkyl derivatization methods for GC analysis using ICP-IDMS
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DOI:
10.1021/ac010366
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发表时间:
2001-08-15
影响因子:
7.4
通讯作者:
Heumann, KG
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Demuth, N;Heumann, KG
Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS), using an inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (ICPMS) and a species-specific methylmercury spike was applied to validate the commonly used GC method for methylmercury (MeHg+) determination, which is based on the formation of volatile methylethylmercury by derivatization with NaBEt4. The spike compound, (MeHg+)-Hg-201, was synthesized by reaction of Hg-201-enriched mercury chloride with methylcobalamin. By analyzing different environmental aquatic samples, it was found that in most cases, transformation of MeHg+ into elemental mercury (Hg-0) took place. From investigations of synthetic solutions, it could be followed that halide ions are responsible for this transformation process. Chloride and bromide converted MeHg+ into Hg-0, whereas iodide caused transformation into Hg2+ and Hg-0. It could also be shown that transformation of MeHg+ took place only during the derivatization step. In contrast to ethylation, propylation by NaBPr4 did not cause any transformation; however, accurate results of MeHg+ determinations could be obtained by propylation as well as by ethylation when GC/ICP-IDMS was applied. This work demonstrates the great power of isotopically labeled element compounds for the validation of element speciation methods and for species-specific IDMS analyses.