IMPROVED BORON DETERMINATION IN BIOLOGICAL-MATERIAL BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY

Important aspects of boron determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry are reviewed and extended by additional studies. De terminations on a range of biological materials were performed by exte rnal calibration, standard addition's and isotope dilution. Memory eff ects were reduced by rinsing with a wash-solution of sodium fluoride. Accuracy was tested with four biological standard reference materials. Accurate and precise determinations can be achieved with all three mo dels. The fastest and simplest method is external calibration, where m atrix effects can be controlled with beryllium as internal standard. N o improvement resulted with the more laborious standard additions meth od. The isotope dilution technique requires time-consuming supplementa ry measurements. Biological material with a boron content greater than or equal to 0.06 mu g g(-1) can be determined.