Rapid determination of platinum by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry following the administration of cisplatin to cancer patients.

An improved flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for the analysis of platinum in plasma is described. Following a simple dilution with Triton X-100, the sample is directly injected into the graphite furnace with a total analysis time of less than 2 min. The assay is precise (CV less than 4.3%) and linear (r greater than 0.9922) in the ranges 0.05-1 and 1-4 mg/L for cisplatin. The applicability of the method is examined by analyzing samples obtained at different intervals from two patients treated with cisplatin.