Determination of nickel in human scalp hair by slurry sampling —electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The slurry sampling technique has been effective for the determination of nickel in human scalp hair. Hair samples were pulverized using a zirconia vibrational mill ball for 20 min. The powdered samples (0.1 g) were suspended in water and diluted to 25 ml. Nickel was determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using D2 arc background correction combined with chemical modification (magnesium nitrate at 10 mg 1−1). Matrix effects were not observed, aqueous calibrations that covered the 0.8–30 μg Ni 1−1 range were suitable to develop the measurements. A characteristic mass of 22.5 pg was obtained. The effect of foreign species and some nickel levels in scalp hair from healthy adults are given.