Mercury determination in blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A stable isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method using 196Hg as an internal standard is described for determining Hg in blood. In this method, the blood samples are not subjected to any digestion to avoid the loss of Hg. A solution of 0.6M HCl is used to free Hg present in blood from proteins. The pH of the solution is adjusted to 9 using borate buffer and Hg chelated using lithium bis(trifluoroethyl)dithiocarbamate. All isotope ratio measurements are made using an organic mass spectrometer. Overall precision values for the five major Hg isotopes relative to 202Hg are 1.6-2.3% when 10 ng samples of chelated Hg are analyzed. No appreciable memory or carryover effect is observed when two synthetic mixtures differing in 196Hg/202Hg ratios by a factor of 30 are sequentially analyzed. The method is validated by determining Hg in blood samples using isotope dilution GC-MS.