PLATINUM SPECIES ANALYSIS IN PLANT-MATERIAL BY GEL-PERMEATION CHROMATOGRAPHY

Model experiments for the analysis of platinum species in extracts fro m native and platinum treated grass cultivation are described. The pro cedural steps are cultivation of the grass samples, preparative separa tion of the Pt species and analytical detection and characterisation o f the separated species. The platinum uptake from the roots resulted b y treating the grass cultivation with an aqueous solution of tetrammin eplatinum(II) nitrate, [Pt(NH3)(4)](NO3)(2). The grass was cut, the ce ll fluid extracted and the Pt species were separated by gel permeation chromatography. The extremely sensitive adsorptive voltammetry was us ed for the sequential determination of platinum in the elution fractio ns. The estimation and determination of the molecular weights were car ried out by gel permeation and liquid chromatography. In the native gr ass extract only one Pt species (160-200 kD) was detected. In the plat inum treated grass extracts several Pt species were observed. More tha n 90% of all the platinum is bound to a low molecular weight species ( about 1 kD), whereas less than 10% of the platinum is bound to species with molecular weights from 19 up to > 1000 kD.