ARSENIC SPECIATION IN SEAFOOD SAMPLES WITH EMPHASIS ON MINOR CONSTITUENTS - AN INVESTIGATION USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH DETECTION BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY

Citation
Eh. Larsen et al., ARSENIC SPECIATION IN SEAFOOD SAMPLES WITH EMPHASIS ON MINOR CONSTITUENTS - AN INVESTIGATION USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH DETECTION BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY, Journal of analytical atomic spectrometry, 8(8), 1993, pp. 1075-1084
Citations number
37
Categorie Soggetti
Spectroscopy
ISSN journal
02679477
Volume
8
Issue
8
Year of publication
1993
Pages
1075 - 1084
Database
ISI
SICI code
0267-9477(1993)8:8<1075:ASISSW>2.0.ZU;2-7
Abstract
Extracts of 11 samples of shrimp, crab, fish, fish liver, shellfish an d lobster digestive gland (hepatopancreas), including five certified r eference materials, were investigated for their contents of arsenic co mpounds (arsenic speciation). The cation-exchange high performance liq uid chromatography procedure was optimized to separate six cationic ar senicals present in the samples with internal chromatographic standard ization by the trimethylselenonium ion, which was detected a m/z 82 (S e-82), in addition to arsenic at m/z 75, by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The content of each species (as arsenic atom) rela tive to the total arsenic extracted from the samples were: arsenobetai ne 19-98%, arsenocholine and trimethylarsine oxide 0-0.6% and the trim ethylarsonium ion 0-2.2%. Additionally, an unknown arsenic species (U1 ) was present at 3.1-18% in the shellfish and in the lobster digestive gland, and another unknown (U2) was present at 0.2-6.4% in all sample s. The contents of arsenite and arsenate were 0-1.4%, dimethylarsinate 8.2-29% while monomethylarsonate was detected only in oyster at 0.3% of the total extracted arsenic. Finding tetramethylarsonium ion and ar senocholine in a variety of samples indicates steps of a biosynthetic pathway of arsenic leading to arsenobetaine in the marine environment. The intake of inorganic arsenic via ingestion of the seafood samples that were analysed did not represent a toxicological problem to humans . The limits of detection (LOD) were in the range 10-50 ng g-1 (dry ma ss) with the exception of arsenobetaine for which the LOD was 360 ng g -1.