Quantification of strontium in plasma and urine with flameless atomic absorption spectrometry

This analytical method for determination of Sr in plasma and urine involves flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). Drying, charring, and atomization were optimized with respect to temperature, temperature ramp, and duration for Sr in dilute HNO3 and Sr in plasma diluted 20-fold with dilute HNO3. Calibration curves (r greater than 0.995) were linear in the concentration range 5-250 micrograms/L for Sr in various media, with intercepts negligibly small except for the calibration curves in 1:1-diluted plasma and undiluted urine. The estimated detection limits for Sr in 20-fold-diluted plasma and 50-fold-diluted urine were 2 and 3 micrograms/L, respectively. Endogenous Sr in plasma and urine was estimated at 16 (SD 8) micrograms/L and 158 (SD 26) micrograms/L (n = 6), respectively. Intra- and interassay CVs were 9.1% and 5.3% for 20-fold-diluted plasma at a Sr concentration of 25 micrograms/L, and 6.9% and 4.8% at a concentration of 250 micrograms/L. The respective CVs were 8.2% and 1.2% for 50-fold-diluted urine at the low concentration, and 4.0% and 4.6% at the high concentration. In a pharmacokinetic pilot study of 2.5 mmol of Sr orally administered to a healthy volunteer, the peak plasma concentration of Sr, 4.4 mg/L, decayed bi-exponentially [t1/2, alpha = 24 h, t1/2, beta = 77 h]; the estimated first-order absorption rate constant was 0.005 min-1; and the observed decay (day 0-6) of the urinary Sr/creatinine ratio closely paralleled the plasma decay [t1/2 = 70 h].