Optimization of the extraction and determination of monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acids in seafood products by coupling liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A study was carried out to develop and optimize a method for determining monomethylarsonic (MMA) and dimethylarsinic (DMA) acids in seafood products by coupling highperformance liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Extraction and instrumental determination of MMA and DMA were established in popular seafood products. The analytical features of the method are as follows: detection limits, which vary in accordance with the dilution employed, were: for MMA, 0.2-2 ng g(-1) As (fresh mass) and for DMA, 0.3-4 ng g(-1) As (fresh mass). The relative standard deviation was 3% for MMA for a concentration level of 11 ng g(-1) As and 2% for DMA (88 ng g(-1) As). The recovery for MMA was 103 +/- 6% and for DMA 99 +/- 5%. The analysis of DORM-1 (Dogfish Muscle, National Research Council of Canada, Certified Reference Material) provided a DMA value of 440 +/- 40 ng g(-1) As (dry mass), which is very close to that obtained by other workers using high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.