A rapid electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for cadmium and lead in human whole blood.

A rapid graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric procedure is described for determining cadmium and lead in heparinized human whole blood. A known aliquot of the blood sample is diluted fivefold with an aqueous solution composed of 5 g each of diammonium hydrogen phosphate and Triton X-100 per liter, the solution is vigorously agitated, and a 10-microL aliquot is injected into a pyrocoated graphite tube under optimized instrumental conditions. Values for Cd and Pb in the sample are obtained by direct comparison to linear working curves prepared from aqueous standards of the metals in the diammonium hydrogen phosphate-Triton medium; there is no need to use the method of standard addition or matrix-matched calibration curves. Also, the method is free of matrix effects. At least 30 samples can be analyzed per hour. The rapidity, simplicity, and sensitivity of the method make it attractive as a screening technique for routine environmental surveillance involving large throughput of samples.