DETERMINATION OF TRACE AMOUNTS OF VANADYL PORPHYRIN IN MARINE MUSSEL TISSUES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH BOTH ULTRAVIOLET VISIBLE AND INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROMETRICDETECTION/

An HPLC method with UV/VIS and ICP-AES detection is described for the determination of vanadyl porphyrins extracted from biological samples. A detection limit of 50 ng of vanadium was obtained. The method was u sed to determine these compounds following their extraction from tissu es of mussels treated in laboratory experiments and collected during a 'Mussel Watch Programme'. This allowed some conclusions about vanadiu m speciation in marine organisms to be made. In the tissues of mussels , collected at several sites of the monitored area, which showed high vanadium concentrations, it was possible to establish the presence of this metal in the form of organometallic compounds.