Lead, coupled analytical techniques

The low concentrations of lead in plasma, relative to red blood cells, has made it extremely difficult to accurately measure plasma lead concentrations in humans, particularly at low PbB concentrations (i.e., less than 20 pg/dL). However, more recent measurements have been achieved with inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which has a higher analytical sensitivity than earlier atomic absorption spectrometry methods. Using this analytical technique, recent studies have shown that plasma lead concentrations may correlate more strongly with bone lead levels than do PbB concentrations (Cake et al. 1996 Hemandez-Avila et al. 1998). The above studies were conducted in adults, similar studies of children have not been reported. 

The identification of the superconducting phase YBagCug-O7 g provides an example in which knowledge of thermodynamics, i.e. the Gibbs phase rule and the theory of equilibrium phase diagrams coupled with X-ray diffraction techniques led to success. Further, the use of databases that can now be easily accessed and searched on-line provided leads to a preliminary structure determination. The procedures outlined here are among the basic approaches used in solid state chemistry research, but by no means are they the only ones. Clearly the results from other analytical techniques such as electron microscopy and diffraction, thermal... 

Trace elemental analysis of ancient ceramics has been proven a very useful tool for tracing the circulation of this material. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was for years the analytical technique of choice to measure the composition of ceramics because of the large number of elements it could determine and its good sensitivity. Lately, a few publications have shown that laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) could provide similar results as INAA more quickly and at lower cost. A protocol has been developed to determine 51 elements using LA-ICP-MS and tested it on Wari period ceramics previously analyzed using INAA. We show how INAA and LA-ICP-MS analysis lead to the same conclusion in terms of sample groupings. 

The majority of reports have used electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) as an analytical detection method because of its sensitivity and the soft namre of its ionization procedure, which generally only leads to the detection of the molecular ions of the positive library members. Many separation techniques have been coupled to ESI-MS, including affinity chromatography (49), size exclusion chromatography (50, 51), gel filtration (52), affinity capillary electrophoresis (53-58), capillary isoelectric focusing (59), immunoaffinity ultrafiltration (60), and immunoaffinity extraction (61). ESI-MS has also been used alone (62) to screen a small carbohydrate library. Other examples reported alternative analytical techniques such as MALDI MS, either alone (63, 64) or in conjunction with size exclusion methods (65), or HPLC coupled with immunoaffinity deletion (66). 

For the determination of lead concentrations in drinking water, the analytical methods are atomic absorption spectrometry - electro-thermal atomization (AAS-ETA or AAS-fiimace), inductively coupled plasma with detection by atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) or detection by mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Laboratories are free to use their own chosen analytical techniques. More attention will be required to achieve the necessary analytical accuracy at the lower limit for lead. 

Because the presence of anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a in the environment represents a risk for animals and humans, several analytical methods have been designed to detect these toxins as well as their natural derivatives (Fig. 3.2). GC-MS was first used to detect and quantify anatoxin-a or its A -acetyl derivative [51,52,66]. High Pressure Liquid chromatography (HPLQ coupled to UV detection was also used, although this detectirm method is not veiy sensitive [67]. Thus, to improve the sensitivity, several authors have used pre-derivatization with a fluorophore, which reacts on the amine of anatoxin-a or of homoanatoxin-a, followed by separation by HPLC coupled to a fluorescence detector [56, 68, 69]. However, the derivatization might lead to false positives even if the technique was improved to remove primary amines present in the sample [70] or by crmcentratirm by extraction of anatoxin-a prior to analysis [71,72]. It is now accepted that the best analytical technique relies on the use of HPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS, or even LC-MS") without derivatization to avoid... 

Towards this goal, there have been extensive studies that have compared PTR-MS measurements of atmospheric VOCs with those obtained by other atmospheric analytical techniques, such as GC-MS [17], GC-FID [21-26], atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (AP-CIMS) [27], differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) [24,28] and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy [17,29], in addition to offline sampling methods coupled to GC analysis [30-34], These studies have shown that PTR-MS is capable of accurately measuring concentrations of VOCs providing that there is no contribution to the miz of interest in a mass spectram by interfering species. If other compounds are present in the atmospheric sample which can lead to ions (protonated parent compounds, cluster ions or fragment ion species) at the nominal mJz of the protonated VOC of interest, then the lack of specificity associated with PTR-MS requires that the actual identity of the compound still needs to be confirmed by other analytical techniques, such as GC-MS. 

Specifically for triazines in water, multi-residue methods incorporating SPE and LC/MS/MS will soon be available that are capable of measuring numerous parent compounds and all their relevant degradates (including the hydroxytriazines) in one analysis. Continued increases in liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/API-MS/MS) sensitivity will lead to methods requiring no aqueous sample preparation at all, and portions of water samples will be injected directly into the LC column. The use of SPE and GC or LC coupled with MS and MS/MS systems will also be applied routinely to the analysis of more complex sample matrices such as soil and crop and animal tissues. However, the analyte(s) must first be removed from the sample matrix, and additional research is needed to develop more efficient extraction procedures. Increased selectivity during extraction also simplifies the sample purification requirements prior to injection. Certainly, miniaturization of all aspects of the analysis (sample extraction, purification, and instrumentation) will continue, and some of this may involve SEE, subcritical and microwave extraction, sonication, others or even combinations of these techniques for the initial isolation of the analyte(s) from the bulk of the sample matrix. 

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