Analysis for bismuth in tissue by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Toxicology
• Biomedical Science

Background:

• Bismuth (Bi) analysis in biological tissues is essential for toxicological and clinical assessments.
• Existing methods may lack sensitivity or require complex sample preparation.
• A need exists for a straightforward and sensitive technique for bismuth determination in diverse biological matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simple, sensitive method for bismuth quantification in biological tissues.
• To establish the analytical performance of the method in kidney, liver, brain, and bone.
• To assess bismuth distribution in rat tissues after oral exposure to colloidal bismuth subcitrate.

Main Methods:

• Wet digestion for sample pretreatment.
• Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) for bismuth determination.
• Platinum as a matrix modifier and a furnace program with a gas stop for sensitivity enhancement.

Main Results:

• The method demonstrated analytical performance for bismuth in kidney, liver, brain, and bone.
• A detection limit as low as 25 ng/g wet weight was achieved in concentrated digests.
• Bismuth was detected in liver, kidney, and spleen of rats exposed to colloidal bismuth subcitrate, but not in brain or bone.

Conclusions:

• The developed ETAAS method is simple, sensitive, and suitable for bismuth analysis in various biological tissues.
• The method can be applied to toxicological studies and clinical investigations involving bismuth.
• The study provides valuable data on bismuth distribution in animal models and its absence in human tissues from non-exposed individuals.