Trace Elements in Medicine (Moscow)
2018, 19(2): 12-26
TOPICAL PAPERS

SPECIATION ANALYSIS BY CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN ENVIROMENTAL SAMPLES: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW

O.P. Ajsuvakova

All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Grina st. 7/1, 117216, Moscow, Russia; People’s Friendship University of Russia, Miklukho-Maklaiya st., 6, Moscow, Russia

DOI: 10.19112/2413-6174-2018-19-2-12-26 

ABSTRACT. Speciation analysis is one of the new directions in analytical chemistry and allows qualitative and quantitative determination of the compounds (species) of various chemical elements in biosamples, minerals and rocks, food and pharmaceutical products, etc. The definition of metal compounds (metal speciation) provides accurate information about consumption, metabolic pathways, toxicology, the movement of metals between different environmental samples. Determination of the general containing of elements (regardless of the occurrence form) in various environmental samples does not allow an accurate assessment of their potential environmental impact, whereas for a complete description of the behavior of a chemical element in a biogeochemical system, it is required to determine its oxidative state and binding to a complex with organic or inorganic ligands. The principal tasks in speciation analysis of chemical elements are the identification and quantification of chemical species in the form of which the element is present in the sample. The fulfillment of these tasks is often hampered by extremely low concentrations of the analyte and a complex composition of the sample. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) is one of the most effective methods for determining the compounds of chemical elements (As, Hg, Se, Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, Fe, etc.) in a variety of environmental samples while performing speciation analysis. The data obtained through speciation analysis are valuable for criminalistics, toxicological research, fundamental work in the field of biology and medicine. Following with the policy of import substitution in Russia, speciation analysis is especially relevant in the detection of counterfeit drugs and food products.

KEYWORDS: speciation analysis, oxidative state, complexation, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, chemical element species.