ANALYSIS OF ALUMINUM IN SERUM AND URINE FOR THE BIOMONITORING OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE

A reliable and sensitive graphite furnace atomic absorption spectromet ry (GFAAS) method with Zeeman background correction was developed for the analysis of aluminium in serum and urine in the biological monitor ing of aluminium exposure. The method is based on platform atomisation in pyrolytically coated graphite tubes after fourfold dilution with n itric acid. For serum analysis, a matrix matched standard curve is pre pared and for urine the method of standard additions is used. The with in-run imprecision (C.V.) for serum and urine was 3% and 5%, and the b etween-day imprecision, 6% and 7.2%, at a concentration level of 4.0 m u mol/l. The between-day imprecision for urinary aluminium was 15.7% a t a concentration level of 0.24 mu mol/l. The detection limits were 0. 02 mu mol/l for serum and 0.07 mu mol/l for urine. During 1 year of pa rticipation in TEQAS external quality assessment scheme of the Robens Institute for Health and Safety (Guildford, UK) for serum aluminium th e maximum cumulative performance score was achieved. For urinary alumi nium a certificate in the external quality control scheme of the Germa n Society of Occupational Medicine was obtained. The mean concentratio n of aluminium in a non-exposed population, who did not use antacid dr ugs, was 0.06 mu mol/l (S.D. 0.03, range 0.02-0.13, n = 21) in serum, and 0.33 mu mol/l (S.D. 0.18, range 0.07-0.82, n = 44) in urine. The u pper reference limit for aluminium in a healthy, non-exposed populatio n was estimated to be 0.1 mu mol/l in serum and 0.6 mu mol/l in urine. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.