Mercury is one of the more toxic elements to living organisms. It is
encountered at relatively low concentrations in the environment but with its
amplifi cation through the food chain, the fi nal concentration in some foods
can be relatively high. In addition, its toxicity is not only linked to its total
concentration but is also dependent on the species. Mercury speciation
in food analysis is necessary to fully estimate the toxic potential of this
element to humans.
Due to the low detection limits required for the analysis of Hg species,
GC-ICP-MS has been the preferred method. However, with the sensitivity
improvements in modern ICP-MS systems, the use of HPLC has become
practical for the separation. Coupling HPLC and ICP-MS is particularly
attractive due to the simple and fast connection between the techniques.
Furthermore, in contrast to a GC analysis, sample extracts are directly
injected into the system and no species derivatization is required, greatly
simplifying the sample preparation and reducing the cost of the total
analytical procedure