Improved chromatographic separation of thio-arsenic compounds by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

J Chromatogr A. 2006 Sep 22;1128(1-2):164-70. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2006.06.061. Epub 2006 Jul 18.

Abstract

A new group of arsenic species, thio-arsenicals, have recently been reported in several natural samples such as molluscs, algae, and urine. These compounds are the sulfur analogues of oxo-arsenicals, a large group of naturally-occurring compounds, whereby the arsinoyl (As=O) group is substituted by an arsinothioyl group (As=S). The most common separation technique for oxo-arsenicals is anion-exchange HPLC with polymer-based columns, but under these conditions the thio-arsenicals show strong retention, resulting in unacceptably long analysis times and broad peaks. We report the development of a reversed-phase HPLC method, with ICPMS detection, which allows separation of the known thio-arsenicals within 15 min with significantly improved peak shapes. The detection limit is about 0.6 microg As/L based on 10 microL injection volume. Further, we have applied the method to the identification and quantification of thio-arsenic species in two standard reference materials, BCR 710 oyster tissue and NIES 18 human urine.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arsenicals / analysis
  • Arsenicals / chemistry
  • Arsenicals / isolation & purification*
  • Buffers
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Methanol / chemistry
  • Ostreidae / chemistry
  • Ostreidae / cytology
  • Reference Standards
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds / analysis
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds / urine

Substances

  • Arsenicals
  • Buffers
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds
  • Methanol