Cadmium determination by etaas in proteic fractions of serum separated by acetate cellulose electrophoresis

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous heavy metal, prevalent as an environmental contaminant. In the general population, exposure to Cd occurs primarily through dietary sources, cigarette smoking, and, to a lesser degree, drinking. The aim of this work was to perform a sensitive and accurate method for Cd determination in serum protein fractions obtained by acetate cellulose electrophoresis, by an on-line system coupled to electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy (ETAAS). Albumin, alpha-1, alpha-2, beta, and gamma-globulins fractions were cut and collected in separated free metals-tubes, then were dissolved with acetic acid (80%) and homogenized. Aiming to optimize the overall analysis time, the discontinuous nature of ETAAS was synchronized with the continuous mode of the FI-SPE. Cd was preconcentrated through a conical carbon nanotubes mini-column, and eluted with a discrete volume of nitric acid, placed directly into the platform of a L?Vov tube. Our results showed that Cd levels were below detection limits in the majority of proteins fractions and only gamma-globulins had detectable levels of Cd. Good accuracy was achieved using the proposed FI-SPE-ETAAS method. This procedure joined the excellent sensitivity attainable by ETAAS with the simplicity of protein separation by acetate cellulose electrophoresis.