Czech J. Food Sci., 2006, 24(3):138-142 | DOI: 10.17221/3309-CJFS

Rapid determination of methylmercury in fish tissues

Petr Marąálek1, 2, Zdeňka Svobodová2
1 Department of Veterinary Public Health and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
2 State Veterinary Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

The aim of the present study was to develop a rapid and inexpensive method for the determination of methylmercury in fish tissues based on GC/ECD instrumentation. The new method is based on acidic digestion in hydrochloric acid and subsequent extraction with toluene. Methylmercury is determined by the GC/ECD technique using a DB-608 capillary column. The following parameters of the method were established: detection limit 13 μg/kg, limit of quantification 22 μg/kg, linearity 0.2-200 ng/ml, reproducibility 9.4%, and recovery 90%. The method was developed and verified using CRM 464 reference material and was successfully tested in inter-laboratory comparisons IMEP - 20 "Trace elements in tuna fish" organised by the Joint Research Centre - Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (Belgium), with the success rate of En=0.43.

Keywords: gas chromatography; ECD; capillary column

Published: June 30, 2006  Show citation

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Marąálek P, Svobodová Z. Rapid determination of methylmercury in fish tissues. Czech J. Food Sci. 2006;24(3):138-142. doi: 10.17221/3309-CJFS.
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