Serum nickel

Aqueous standard solutions are a source of certain difficulties In electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry of trace metals In biological fluids The viscosities and surface tensions of aqueous standard solutions are substantially less than the viscosities and surface tensions of serum, blood and other proteln-contalnlng fluids These factors Introduce volumetric disparities In pipetting of standard solutions and body fluids, and also cause differences In penetration of these liquids Into porous graphite tubes or rods Preliminary treatment of porous graphite with xylene may help to minimize the differences of liquid penetration (53,67) A more satisfactory solution of this problem Is preparation of standards In aqueous solutions of metal-free dextran (50-60 g/llter), as first proposed by Pekarek et al ( ) for the standardization of serum chromium analyses This practice has been used successfully by the present author for standardization of analyses of serum nickel The standard solutions which are prepared In aqueous dextran resemble serum In regard to viscosity and surface tension Introduction of dextran-contalnlng standard solutions Is an Important contribution to electrothermal atomic absorption analysis of trace metals In body fluids. 

Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, giddiness, lassitude, headache, cough, and shortness of breath, and persisted for at least 2 h and sometimes 2 days. Serum nickel concentrations on day 1 after exposure were 286 (13-1340) pg/L vs. 50 pg/L in nonaffected workers for urine these concentrations were 5.8 (0.2-37.0) mg/L vs. 4.0 pg/L... 

There is no agreement on the exact magnitude of the ultrafiltrable or high-molecular-mass fraction of Ni(II) in human serum. Moreover, pronounced species variations in the proportions of ultrafiltrable and protein-bound serum nickel have been demonstrated [289],... 

Santucci et al. (1994) gave increasing daily doses of nickel (0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day) as nickel sulfate to eight nickel-sensitive women for up to 178 days. A significant clinical improvement in hand eczema was observed in all subjects after 1 month of treatment, and continued treatment resulted in healing of all dermal lesions except for those on the hands. Measurement of urine and serum nickel suggested a decrease in the absorption of nickel and an increase in the excretion of nickel with longer exposure. 

Higher serum nickel levels have been found in occupationally exposed individuals compared to nonexposed controls (Angerer and Lehnert 1990 Elias et al. 1989 Toijussen and Andersen 1979). Serum nickel levels were found to be higher in workers exposed to soluble nickel compounds compared to workers exposed to less-soluble nickel compounds (Toijussen and Andersen 1979). Concentrations of nickel in the plasma, urine, and hair were similar in nickel-sensitive compared to nonsensitive individuals (Spruit and Bongaarts 1977). 

Serum nickel levels peaked 2.5-3 hours after ingestion of nickel sulfate (Christensen and Lagesson 1981 Sunderman et al. 1989b). In workers who accidentally ingested water contaminated with nickel sulfate and nickel chloride, the mean serum half-time of nickel was 60 hours (Sunderman et al. 1988). This half-time decreased substantially (27 hours) when the workers were treated intravenously with fluids. 

Sunderman et al. (1989b) have developed a model to predict nickel absorption, serum levels, and excretion following oral exposure to nickel in water and food. The model was developed based on two experiments in humans in which serum nickel levels and urinary and fecal excretion of nickel... 

In human serum, nickel binds to albumin, L-histidine, and 2 i croglobulin (Sarkar 1984). The principal binding locus of nickel to serum albumin is the histidine residue at the third position from the amino terminus (Hendel and Sunderman 1972). A proposed transport model involves the removal of nickel from albumin to histidine via a ternary complex composed of albumin, nickel, and L-histidine. 

Serum nickel levels in hospital workers averaged 0.6 0.3 pg/L in Sudbury, Ontario, versus 0.2 0.2 pg/L in Hartford, Connecticut (Hopfer et al. 1989). Measurements of nickel content of tap water in these communities were reported as 109 46 and 0.4 0.2 pg/L, respectively (Hopfer et al. 1989). Concentrations of nickel in the blood and urine of workers at a rolling mill in Poland were 18.5 4.0 and 25.7 5.1 pg/L, respectively (Baranowska-Dutkiewicz et al. 1992). Nickel concentrations in the urine of preschool children in Poland were 10.6 4.1 and 9.4 4.7 pg/L for children from an industrial region and a health resort, respectively (Baranowska-Dutkiewicz et al. 1992). After reviewing studies of nickel concentrations in humans, Templeton et al. (1994) indicated that the most reliable reference values were 0.2 pg/L for nickel in serum of healthy adults and 1-3 pg/L for nickel in urine. These values are dependent on food and fluid intake and environmental factors. Fewer studies of nickel in whole blood were identified, and a reference value was not suggested. 

Hopfer SM, Fay WP, Sunderman FW Jr. 1989. Serum nickel concentrations in hemodialysis patients with environmental exposure. Arm Clin Lab Sci 19 161-167. 

Nixon DE, Moyer TP, Squillace DP, McCarthy JT. Determination of serum nickel by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman-effect background correction Values in a normal population and a population undergoing dialysis. Analyst 1989 114 1671-4. 

The present authors have developed a procedure which minimizes any potential matrix effects by protein precipitation (Brown et al., 1984). This protein precipitation technique was originally developed for serum nickel (Sunderman et al., 1984) and markedly reduces matrix effects in the final atomic spectroscopic analysis. Briefly the procedure is as follows ... 

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