[Microdetermination of lead and cadmium in blood and urine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (author's transl)].

A microtechnique is described for determination of lead and cadmium in blood (0.1 ml) and in urine (0.2 ml) using extraction into methyl isobutyl-ketone after chelation by ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. Mineralization, precipitation of proteins or addition of hemolysing reagents are not necessary. Blood is hemolysed by addition of deionised water. pH of urine is fixed by a pH 5 buffer. This microtechnique is simple, rapid, reproducible and suitable for routine analysis. In healthy subjects it gives values comparable to data of other workers: blood 158 microgram/l lead (s = 40, n = 18); 0.7 microgram/l cadmium (s = 0.3, n = 10); urine 16 microgram/l lead (s = 9.4, n = 10); 0.5 microgram/l cadmium (s = 0.3, n = 10).