[Rapid analysis of methylmercury and total mercury in biological samples by ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry].

The analytical method for the determination of total mercury and methylmercury in biological samples was studied using ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Various extraction conditions like solvent types and concentrations, different assisted methods, and ultrasonic radiation time were optimized. Samples were digested with 6 mol x L(-1) HCl, ultrasonicated for 2 hours, extracted by organic solvent, then back-extracted by water and directly measured after dilution. With the optimized method, the total mercury and methylmercury were simultaneously measured. The detection limit was 0. 01 ng x mL(-1) , the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3. 44%, the linearity of calibration curve of mercury was in the concentrations of 0-50 ng x m(L-1), and the recovery of mercury given by standard addition method was 80%-97%. Mercury in five different biological standard reference materials was determined by the described method. The experimental results were in good agreement with the certified values. The proposed method takes the advantage of ultrasonic-assisted extraction, micro-solvent extraction, and ICP-MS, which is especially suitable for the analysis of mercury in different biological samples.