DETERMINATION OF 8 ELEMENTS IN HUMAN LIVER-TISSUE BY FLAME ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY IN SULFURIC-ACID SOLUTION

A flame atomic-absorption spectrometric method is detailed for the determination of Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Rb and Cd in human liver tissue. Metal losses for three alternative sample destruction procedures are discussed; in the recommended procedure, low-temperature ashing in an oxygen plasma is followed by dissolution in sulphuric acid and aspiration into an air-acetylene flame. The necessity of close matching of the K, Na, phosphate and sulphuric acid contents for samples and standards is demonstrated for several elements. The accuracy of the method was established by using NBS SRM Bovine Liver and carefully prepared synthetic standards. The relative standard deviation is typically 5%, although variations in the blood content between portions of liver tissue lead to poorer precision for iron. © 1979.