Electrothermal isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for the determination of sub-ng ml –1 levels of lead in human plasma

An isotope dilution technique coupled with electrothermal volatilization and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection is reported for the quantitative determination of Pb in human blood plasma with a calculated limit of detection of 16 × 10–15 g. Sample preparation is simple, requiring only addition of concentrated nitric acid and a measured amount of 204Pb spike in solution. Analysis time is typically 2.5 min, the relative …