Flow injection analysis-atomic absorption determination of serum zinc

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Clinical Chemistry

Background:

• Accurate zinc determination in human serum is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring various health conditions.
• Conventional atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is a standard method but can be time-consuming for high-throughput screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the efficacy of flow injection analysis-atomic absorption (FIA-AA) for quantifying zinc in human serum.
• To compare the results obtained by FIA-AA with those from conventional AAS.
• To optimize FIA-AA parameters for efficient serum zinc analysis.

Main Methods:

• Human serum samples were analyzed for zinc using a flow injection analysis system coupled with atomic absorption spectrometry.
• Protein precipitation was performed using 25% trichloroacetic acid, and 100-microliter aliquots of the filtrate were injected.
• The system utilized the nebulizer's negative pressure for carrier stream aspiration, eliminating the need for a pump.
• The impact of sample volume and dispersion coil length on the FIA signal was investigated.

Main Results:

• FIA-AA provided zinc determination results comparable to conventional AAS, showing no significant difference.
• The method achieved a precision of +/-3.47% relative standard deviation.
• The system demonstrated a high measurement frequency of up to 180 samples per hour.
• A simple 1:5 dilution with water followed by FIA-AA measurements yielded higher zinc levels, suggesting potential matrix effects or dilution benefits.

Conclusions:

• Flow injection analysis-atomic absorption is a viable and efficient alternative for determining zinc in human serum.
• The FIA-AA method is accurate, precise, and capable of high-throughput analysis, making it suitable for clinical laboratories.
• Further studies on sample preparation and FIA parameters can optimize zinc quantification in biological samples.