Determination of copper and zinc in blood plasma by ion chromatography using a cobalt internal standard

Ion chromatography was used to detect levels of copper and zinc in blood pl asma from renal dialysis patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialy sis (CAPD) and haemodialysis (HD). The developed method used cobalt as an i nternal standard and when combined with the standard additions method impro ved the overall precision of the results by between -0.3 and 6.0% and -0.8 and 5.7% for copper and zinc, respectively. The method was compared with in ductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and the re sults indicated no significant difference between the two methods with or w ithout an internal standard. Without an internal standard, t(calc) was 0.86 9 with a t(crit) of 2.201 (n = 12, P = 0.05) and with an internal standard, t(caic) was 0.189 compared to a t(crit) of 2.201 (n = 12, P = 0.05). The c opper and zinc levels in blood plasma in both dialysis groups were not sign ificantly different to the copper and zinc levels in blood plasma of the co ntrol patients. A convenient method of analysis of trace elements in blood such as ion chromatography with UV/VIS detection is useful for determining whether inorganic elements may be disrupted in the body due to changes in t he state of health.