Use of ultrasonic nebulizer with desolvator membrane for the determination of titanium and zirconium in human serum by means of inductively coupled plasma--mass spectroscopy.

A technique for the determination of titanium and zirconium in human blood serum, after pressurized digestion utilizing ICP-MS coupled to an ultrasonic nebulizer (USN) and desolvating membrane is described. As no CRM for titanium is available, zirconium has been determined in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the technique, as the limits in blood are well known. Bone cement consists basically of a polymer, namely polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). For better X-ray contrast some manufacturers use incorporated ZrO2 with a volume fraction of 10 to 15%. Thus, the zirconium present in the PMMA matrix can be used as an indicator for the PMMA particulate debris.