Atomic absorption-spectrometric determination of copper, cadmium, lead and nickel in urine samples after enrichment and separation procedure on an activated carbon column

A sensitive and rapid chromatographic procedure which includes complexation of Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb with 1-(2-pyridylazo) 2-naphtol (PAN), adsorption of the metal-PAN complexes on the activated carbon column, and elution of metals with 2 M HCl in acetone, then determination of metal contents of the urine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry has been established. The influence of major components of the urine samples, as interferents, was discussed. The method has been applied for the determination of Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb in urine samples collected from inhabitants living in Nigde City of Turkey with satisfactory results such as recoveries more than 95%, relative standard deviations 2 - 6% (n = 10) and detection limits under 60 ng/l