Mercury determination in human food samples

An experimental ecotoxicological model and its application to the behavioral study of inorganic mercury (HgCl2) in the environment

“…The mineralization parameters were optimized to reduce loss by volatilization. To do this, we referred to our previous works [3][4][5]7].…”

“…Several prototypes were developed in our laboratory [1]. They were all based on the principle of cold vapor atomic absorption and permit the measurement of mercury amount in air, liquids and in different biological and environmental samples, like blood, urine, … [1,3−5].…”

“…Each sample was analyzed three times (n = 3). Since the sediment is a complex matrix, a higher temperature and a longer time were required to obtain complete mineralization [7]. The samples were placed into an acid medium (HNO 3 + H 2 SO 4 , 6:3 v/v) in a Pyrex flask during 24 h at room temperature, and then mineralized with a reflux cooling system at boiling temperature (about 110°C) for 24 h. Oxidation was obtained by adding 5 mL KMnO 4 (0.44 M) to the mineralized product.…”

“…In this study, this difficulty was overcome thanks to the apparatus that was designed for direct and extemporaneous mercury measurements both in the air and the water [1].…”

“…The influence of pH and temperature on the behavior of mercury in two compartments, water and air (basic model) were first studied, and then the sediment and fish (Scardinius erythrophtalmus) were included. The mercury determination in various mediums was carried out with a laboratory prototype based on the principle of cold vapor flameless spectrometric atomic absorption developed by Livardjani et al [1]. It was conceived in order to make direct analyses in the air and the water, as well as in the sediment and fish after mineralization.…”