Determination of thiomersal by flow injection coupled with microwave-assisted photochemical online oxidative decomposition of organic mercury and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy

Year: 2013

Authors: Campanella B., Onor M., Mascherpa M.C., D’Ulivo A., Ferrari C., Bramanti E.

Autors Affiliation: National Research Council of Italy, C.N.R., Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici-ICCOM-UOS Pisa, Area di Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; National Research Council of Italy, C.N.R., Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, INO–UOS Pisa, Area di Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Abstract: We developed a flow injection (FI) method for the determination of thiomersal (sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate, C9H9HgNaO2S) based on the UV/microwave (MW) photochemical, online oxidation of organic mercury, followed by cold vapor generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVG-AFS) detection. Thiomersal was quantitatively converted in the MW/UV process to Hg(II), with a yield of 97 +/- 3%. This reaction was followed by the reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0) performed in a knotted reaction coil with NaBH4 solution, and AFS detection in an Ar/H-2 miniaturized flame. The method was linear in the 0.01-2 mu g mL(-1) range, with a LOD of 0.003 mu g mL(-1). This method has been applied to the determination of thiomersal in ophthalmic solutions, with recoveries ranging between 97% and 101%. We found a mercury concentration in commercial ophthalmic solutions ranging between 7.5 and 59.0 mu g mL(-1). (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal/Review: ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA

Volume: 804      Pages from: 66  to: 69

KeyWords: Thiomersal; Atomic fluorescence spectrometry;
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2013.10.018

Citations: 26
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