Speciation - targets, analytical solutions and markets

An analysis of speciation-relevant issues leads to the conclusion that, despite the rapidly increasing number of reports, the field has reached a level of virtual stagnation in terms of research originality and market perspectives. A breakthrough is in sight but requires an advanced interdisciplinary collaboration of chemists-analysts with clinicians, ecotoxicologists and nutritionists aimed at the definition of metal (metalloid)-dependent problems relevant to human health. The feedback from analytical chemists will be stimulated by a wider availability of efficient HPLC (CZE)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS) interfaces, chromatographic software for ICP AES and MS and sensitive on-line methods for compound identification (electrospray MS/MS). The maturity of purge and trap thermal desorption techniques and capillary GC chromatography is likely to be reflected by an increasing number of commercial dedicated systems for small molecules containing Hg, Pb, Sn and metalloids. The pre-requisite of success for such systems is the integration of a sample preparation step (based on focused low-power microwave technology) into the marketed set-up. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.