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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium
Published on: December 17, 2018
Mercury determination by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry utilizing UV photoreduction
Ryan F Bendl1, Jeremy T Madden, Allison L Regan
1Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics, Marist College, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, USA.
Abstract:
A method for the determination of mercury via UV photoreduction has been investigated. Mercury vapor was generated by the reduction of mercury species in an acetic acid solution using UV radiation. Detection of the volatile mercury was accomplished by atomic absorption spectrometry. An optimized system was found to provide a detection limit (defined as the concentration giving a signal equal to three times the standard deviation of the blank) of 2.1mugL(-1) with a precision of 2.9% relative standard deviation (n=8) for a 500mugL(-1) mercury standard. The effect of various metal ions on the mercury signal was investigated and the method validated with a NRCC certified dogfish liver material (DOLT-3) using the method of standard additions. A reaction pathway is hypothesized for UV photoreduction.
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