Title: Arsenic and antimony speciation analysis in the environment using hyphenated techniques to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: a review

Authors: M. Espinosa Bosch, A.J. Ruiz Sanchez, F. Sanchez Rojas, C. Bosch Ojeda

Addresses: Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla, Spain. ' Faculty of Sciences, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain. ' Faculty of Sciences, Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Malaga, E-29071, Malaga, Spain. ' Faculty of Sciences, Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Malaga, E-29071, Malaga, Spain

Abstract: Elemental speciation involves the separation and quantification of different oxidation states or chemical forms of a particular trace element. Trace metals exhibit widely different toxicities depending on their elemental species in the environment. On the other hand, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is considered to be the method of choice for elemental analysis for several reasons. In this review, the speciation analysis of arsenic and antimony in environmental samples using ICP-MS detection is described. In this sense, the use of ICP-MS coupled with various separation techniques (e.g., HPLC, CE, GC, etc.) for the purpose of elemental speciation has recently gained a lot of attention.

Keywords: arsenic; antimony; review; speciation analysis; ICP-MS; HPLC–ICP–MS; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; environment; separation techniques; elemental speciation; environmental pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2010.029685

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2010 Vol.5 No.1/2, pp.4 - 63

Published online: 01 Dec 2009 *

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