MERCURY SPECIATION
The toxicological effects of mercury have been recognised for many years, but it was not until the disaster at Minamata Bay in 1953 that the subject received world-wide attention. Since then it has become well known that organomercury compounds such as methyl mercury chloride and ethyl mercury chloride are much more toxic than inorganic mercury. It is therefore essential to be able to identify and quantify mercury in the environment in an attempt to fully understand mercury’s role in the biogeochemical cycle. Suitable extraction procedures must be used in conjunction with the best separation and detection techniques in order to determine individual species
Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry offers excellent sensitivity, selectivity, linearity, accuracy and precision for the determination of mercury. Furthermore, atomic fluorescence detectors are very compact, inexpensive and can be easily coupled to separation techniques such as HPLC and GC in order to carry out the speciation of mercury.
PSA
10.825 ISOCRATIC LC SYSTEM FOR THE
SPECIATION OF MERCURY
The system consists of a 1200 series Isocratic pump, manual injection valve and solvent cabinet. With the simple addition of the correct column, the analyser and hand held are ready to run.
The 1200 series pump is made of robust materials to withstand the
most demanding of applications; stainless steel, titanium,
gold, ruby, sapphire, ceramics, PEEK and PTFE. The seal wash
option for high salt mobile phases keeps maintenance to a
minimum, thereby providing lower operational costs. 
The system can be enhanced by the C723I009 ChemStation base software. This software is the industries' most widely sold data system, handling all applications including LC, LC/MS, GC, CE and CE/MS. This base provides the ideal platform for labs that need an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use system, which can be scaled up and extended as the lab's needs grow.
Typical Results achieved for Reference Materials
Sample |
Certified MeHg |
MeHg |
Dogfish Muscle DORM-1 |
731 ± 60 |
690 ± 20 |
Lobster Hepatopancreas LUTS-1 |
9.4 ± 0.6 |
9.9 ± 0.5 |
Typical Chromatogram obtained using the PSA 10.825 LC System in conjunction with the 10.025 Millennium Merlin
MeHg in Hair Reference Material (IAEA-085)
10.725 GC SYSTEM FOR THE SPECIATION OF MERCURY
The system comprises an atomic fluorescence spectrometer with integrated pyrolysis control unit coupled to gas chromatographic column output for the determination of mercury at ultra trace levels. The detector uses a low pressure Hg lamp as the excitation source and detection by Photo-multiplier. Suitable for both routine and research applications by coupling to a gas chromatograph and by matching throughput with sensitivity requirements.
The instrument can be used for a range of applications and typical results have shown excellent agreement with certified reference materials. Both HPLC and GC approaches offer different advantages, please contact your local distributor or PSA directly to see which approach would best suit your particular application.
Typical Results achieved for Reference Materials
Sample |
Certified MeHg |
Value obtained |
Mussel Homogenate NIST RM 8044 |
28 ± 2 |
26 ± 4 |
Mussel Homogenate IAEA 142 |
47 ± 4 |
45 ± 7 |
Dogfish Muscle DORM-1 |
731 ± 60 |
690 ± 20 |
Lobster Pancreas DOLT |
180 ± 1 |
182 ± 5 |
Fucus Seaplant Homogenate IAEA 40 |
626 ±107 |
630 ± 60 |
Typical Chromatogram obtained on the 10.725 GC-AFS System
To discuss particular requirements and for more detailed information on the above products please complete the Information Request Form.
For information on the speciation of Arsenic, Selenium and Antimony please follow the appropriate link below:
