DGT: A promising technology for in-situ measurement of metal speciation in the environment

Li Gao; Bo Gao; Dongyu Xu; Linghua Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136810

DGT: A promising technology for in-situ measurement of metal speciation in the environment

Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 1:715:136810. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136810. Epub 2020 Jan 18.

Authors

Li Gao¹, Bo Gao², Dongyu Xu³, Linghua Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China. Electronic address: gaobo@iwhr.com.
³ Department of Water Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.

PMID: 32007878
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136810

Abstract

Toxicity, bioavailability, and mobility of a metal depend on its speciation rather than its total concentration. In this discussion, we emphasize the need for field-based metal speciation analysis methods, given the flaws of traditional techniques. We express a science-based opinion that the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) is a promising and powerful technique for performing in-situ measurement of metal species or speciation in different environmental samples. Several limitations and challenges in further application of DGT are also highlighted in this discussion.

Keywords: Diffusive gradient in thin-films (DGT); Environmental samples; Heavy metals; In-situ measurement; Metal speciation.