Liquid chromatography: a tool for the analysis of metal species

An overview is presented of classic and more recent applications of liquid chromatography for the analysis of metal species. The different approaches involving ion-exchange, ion-pair, and chelation separation mechanisms are d iscussed as well as the new philosophy of simply removing interferents befo re specific detections of metal ions (alkali and alakaline earths, rare ear ths, heavy and transition metals). New more selective materials enabling di fficult separations and studies on multimodal or hyphenated techniques for metal speciation (e.g. arsenic and chromium) are considered. (C) 1999 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.