Tentative reference values for gold, silver and platinum: literature data analysis

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Toxicology
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Limited data exists on therapeutic metal concentrations in biological fluids.
• Existing data for silver, gold, and platinum is inconsistent.
• Establishing reference values is crucial for therapeutic monitoring and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose tentative reference values for silver and gold in biological fluids.
• To assess the detectability of platinum in normal subjects.
• To provide a basis for future research and clinical guidelines.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of existing literature on therapeutic metal levels.
• Analysis of representative studies to establish tentative reference ranges.
• Comparison of concentrations across different biological matrices (blood, urine).

Main Results:

• For silver, suggested ranges are up to 10 µg/L in whole blood and 1 µg/L in urine for normal subjects.
• For gold, an upper limit of 0.5 µg/L is proposed for both whole blood and urine.
• Platinum was not detected in detectable amounts in blood or urine of normal subjects.

Conclusions:

• Tentative reference values for silver and gold in biological fluids are proposed.
• Platinum is unlikely to be present at detectable levels in normal individuals.
• Further research is needed to refine these reference values and expand to other therapeutic metals.