High performance liquid chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry for the speciation of the hydride and chemical vapour-forming elements As, Se, Sb and Hg: a critical review.

We present the most recent applications of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated to hydride generation or chemical vapour generation and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG/CVG-AFS), for the determination and speciation of the selected hydride-forming elements arsenic (As), selenium (Se) and antimony (Sb) and the chemical vapour-forming metal Hg. The review focuses on sample preparation, post-column treatments and on the applications of this technique to various liquid and solid samples. This review also intends to discuss some limitations associated to HPLC-HG/CVG-AFS due to the necessity on post-column treatments, including the oxidation of organo-element compounds and the pre-reduction to a suitable valence. Nevertheless, the hyphenated technique HPLC-HG/CVG-AFS remains an efficient, sensitive and affordable approach to perform speciation of the four studied elements as shown by the variety of applications presented and discussed in this review. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.