Determination of zinc in biological materials by sequential metal vapor elution analysis with atomic absorption detection

Determination of zinc in biological materials by sequential metal vapor elution analysis (column temperature; > 1150 K) with hydrogen carrier gas and an atomic absorption detector (AA) is described. The column was a molybdenum tube inserted a tungsten coil. Zinc was completely separated from Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Na and Pb metals in the 1.3 ml min−1 of H2 carrier gas at a column temperature of 1150 K and an atomization temperature of 1880 K. Under the experimental conditions, it became feasible to determine zinc in biological materials without the interferences of matrix elements observed in AA spectrometry. The relative standard deviation for zinc determination in biological materials by the method was 4.1–10% (n = 3–4). The analytical results were in good agreement with the certified values in standard biological samples (NIST SRM). Consequently, an accurate determination of zinc in biological materials was possible immediately after only the acid-digestion.