Influence of additives on the carryover effects of Hg during ICP-OES analysis of immunoglobulines samples

A method for the determination of mercury in immunoglobulines samples by in ductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is describ ed, in which sample dilution with some additives was the only pretreatment prior to analysis. Different chemical reagents, such as deproteinization ag ents, and other additives, such as surfactants, were proven as potentially useful. Residual mercury signal after samples analysis was one of our main concern. Among the diluents studied, EDTA and Triton(R) X-100 showed more a ccurate results. The Hg concentration in the samples, using the proposed me thod, are in good agreement with those obtained of samples analyzed by the official method using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (CV-AAS) wi th partial and total destruction of the sample.