Methyl mercury in nail clippings in relation to fish consumption analysis with gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: A first orientation

For the identification of human exposure to one of the most toxic compounds, which is methyl mercury (MeHg+), fingernail clippings were selected as the matrix of interest. Within this pilot study, six samples from different origins and from people with different food consumption patterns were chosen. s-analysis of MeHg+ was performed according to the following procedure: dissolution of the sample material in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), derivatisation of MeHg+ with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt4), extraction into iso-octane and measurement with gas chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICPMS) for the quantification MeHg+.