Elimination of the chloride interference on the determination of arsenic using hydride generation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

J Chromatogr Sci. 1992 Nov;30(11):427-32. doi: 10.1093/chromsci/30.11.427.

Abstract

In the determination of arsenic, attention has recently focused on the speciation of As(III) and As(V). Reversed-phase HPLC can be used to efficiently separate these two arsenic species. When inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is used for arsenic detection, an isobaric interference at m/z 75 is caused by the presence of chloride in the sample. These experiments describe the use of hydride generation in conjunction with a polypropylene-membrane gas-liquid separator to completely eliminate the transport of chloride to the plasma. A detection limit of 0.46 ppb for As(III) was achieved with this system. The chromatographic resolution of the system was not compromised by the addition of the gas-liquid separator. A determination of the arsenic content of a NIST urine sample was performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the chloride elimination.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Arsenic / analysis*
  • Calibration
  • Chlorides / analysis*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods*

Substances

  • Chlorides
  • Arsenic