A Highly Sensitive Spectrophotometric Method with Solid-Phase Extraction for the Determination of Methylmercury in Human Hair

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Published: Journal of Analytical Toxicology, ISSN 0146-4760, Volume 24, Number 8, November/December, pp. 704-707

A Highly Sensitive Spectrophotometric Method with Solid-Phase Extraction for the Determination of Methylmercury in Human Hair

Hua-Bin Li1,2, Feng Chen1,*, and Xiang-Rong Xu3
1Department of Botany, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong; 2State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; and 3Institute of Environmental Health and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicines, Beijing, 100050, China
Methylmercury is the most toxic among the mercury species. In order to provide a quick method to screen samples for methylmercury, a highly sensitive spectrophotometric method was established. The method was based on formation of the red complex of methylmercury with thio-Michler’s ketone, which can be extracted with n-butanol. The organic layer was determined at a maximum absorption wavelength of 564 nm. The Lambert-Beer law was obeyed for methylmercury from 1.00 ¥ 10–7 mol/L to 2.00 ¥ 10–5 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992. The detection limit was 3 ¥ 10–8 mol/L. The method was used to determine methylmercury in human hair. The recovery was from 94% to 102%, and the relative standard deviation was 2.5%. The results agreed with those obtained by gas chromatography with electron capture detection.

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