Sequential extraction combined with HPLC–ICP-MS for As speciation in dry seafood products

A sequential extraction procedure followed by HPLC–ICP-MS analysis was developed for the speciation and quantization of arsenic species in dry seafood products (DSPs). The extraction process involved three major steps, which produced respectively three As fractions: non-polar (Asnonpolar), polar (Aspolar) and inorganic arsenic species (Asinorganic). The extraction efficiency (EE%) is in the range of 87–115%. Asnonpolar is 0.6–10.2% of total arsenic in DSPs, which is served as the index of level of arsenolipid. For Aspolar and Asinorganic, a hyphenated HPLC–ICP-MS technique was established for the separation and quantification of six arsenic species including arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenocholine (AsC), arsenite (AsIII), arsenate (AsV), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). The results indicate that AsB and AsV are the two dominate species in DSPs, while all other species are present in relatively low concentrations. The recovery efficiency of 77–02.8% could be obtained with spike recovery test in this two-steps extraction.