Ann Lab Med.  2012 Jan;32(1):31-37. 10.3343/alm.2012.32.1.31.

Analysis of Methylmercury Concentration in the Blood of Koreans by Using Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometry

• Kim BG
• Jo EM
• Kim GY
• Kim DS
• Kim YM
• Kim RB
• Suh BS
• Hong YS

• KMID: 1781435
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2012.32.1.31

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Methylmercury is an organic form of mercury that is highly toxic to humans. Here, we present and establish a novel method to detect methylmercury concentrations in the blood of Koreans.
METHODS
Methylmercury concentration was analyzed with an automated methylmercury analytic system (MERX, Brooks Rand Co., USA) using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry (CVAFS). A variety of biological materials were digested in methanolic potassium hydroxide solution. The analysis method was validated by examination of certified reference material (955c, National Institute of Standard and Technology, USA). We randomly selected 30 Korean adults (age 20 yr or older) to analyze total blood mercury and methylmercury concentrations.
RESULTS
The detection limit and methylmercury recovery rate using this method were 0.1 pg/L and, 99.19% (range: 89.33-104.89%), respectively. The mean blood concentration of methylmercury was 4.54+/-2.15 microg/L (N=30). The mean proportion of methylmercury to the total mercury concentration was 78.27% (range: 41.37-98.80%).
CONCLUSIONS
This study is the first report to analyze blood methylmercury concentration using CVAFS in Korea. We expect that this method will contribute to the evaluation of mercury exposure and the assessment of the toxicological impact of mercury in future studies.

Keyword

Methylmercury; Blood; Limit of detection

MeSH Terms

Adult
Humans
Hydroxides/chemistry
Mercury/blood
Methylmercury Compounds/*blood
Potassium Compounds/chemistry
Reproducibility of Results
Republic of Korea
*Spectrophotometry, Atomic

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Blood methylmercury analysis system (MERX, Brooks Rand Co, Seattle, WA, USA).

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  Fig. 2 Preprocessing flow chart for blood methylmercury analysis. Abbreviation: DI, deionized.

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  Fig. 3 Calibration curve for methylmercury analysis using standard solutions at 1, 2, 10, 50, 100, and 250 pg/mL concentrations.

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  Fig. 4 Chromatogram for the determination of Hg0, MeHg, and Hg2+ in blood samples.

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  Fig. 5 Correlation between the concentration of total mercury and that of methylmercury in 30 blood samples.

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  Fig. 6 Correlation between the total mercury concentration and the proportion of methylmercury/total mercury concentration in 30 blood samples.

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