Multielemental speciation analysis by advanced hyphenated technique - HPLC/ICP-MS: A review

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Biogeochemistry

Background:

• Speciation analysis is crucial for human health risk assessment, environmental monitoring, and food quality control.
• Developing efficient multielemental speciation methods is essential to reduce analytical costs, waste, and time.
• High-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICP-MS) enables simultaneous separation and detection of multiple element species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and consolidate existing literature on multielemental speciation analysis using HPLC/ICP-MS.
• To provide a comprehensive overview of methodologies for determining various elements (As, Se, Cr, Sb, I, Br, Pb, Hg, V, Mo, Te, Tl, Cd, W) in diverse sample matrices.
• To address key procedural aspects including sample handling, chromatographic separation, and ICP-MS detection.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of articles employing HPLC/ICP-MS for multielemental speciation.
• Analysis of procedures for sample collection, pretreatment, and optimal condition selection for HPLC separation.
• Examination of ICP-MS detection parameters and metrological considerations for accurate species determination.

Main Results:

• Compilation of studies on the multielemental speciation of As, Se, Cr, Sb, I, Br, Pb, Hg, V, Mo, Te, Tl, Cd, and W.
• Detailed discussion of sample preparation, HPLC separation conditions, and ICP-MS detection strategies.
• Identification of metrological approaches for validating multielemental speciation data.

Conclusions:

• HPLC/ICP-MS is a powerful technique for simultaneous multielemental speciation analysis.
• This review provides a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in environmental, food, and clinical analysis.
• The presented work represents the first comprehensive review on multielemental speciation using HPLC/ICP-MS.