The determination of aluminum in biological fluids by means of graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.

Methods are described for the determination of aluminium in serum and in diluted urine by means of graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. For the analysis of serum, thermal decomposition of the sample in the furnace, using a ramp charring program, was found to be necessary in order to eliminate the organic material. The precision of the method was 10%. For urine the relative deviation was 9%. The precision was markedly improved by the use of an automatic sample injector (5.3%). Since large contamination problems make the determination of Al at the parts per billion (ppb) level very difficult, special attention was paid to the precautions to be taken in order to avoid external aluminum contamination.