Measurement of Aluminum in Serum, Blood, Urine, and Tissues of Chronic Hemodialyzed Patients by Use of Electrothermal Atomic Absorption

We describe different methods of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with automatic sampling for deter-mining aluminum in human serum, blood, urine, and tissues. Contamination with Al originating from receptacles and re-agents was minimized. Whole-blood Al concentrations were measured after hemolysis of EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples with Triton X-100. A straightforward method for tissue destruction was developed. Instrument settings of the graphite furnace and of the atomic absorption spectrometer were adjusted so as to obtain close agreement between direct and standard-additions methodologies. The result is a reliable direct method appropriate for use with multiple samples. Tissue Al measurements showed low detection limits and approximately 100 % analytical recoveries. Al con-centration in serum of 10 healthy volunteers and of 10