Chapter 18
Metals Analysis by High Performance Liquid
Chromatography
C. Sarzanini
18.1
Introduction
Metal ion determination and speciation by liquid chromatography has received particular attention during the last years and some reviews (Robards et al.1991; Sarzanini
and Mentasti 1997), with particular regard to ion chromatography (Dasgupta 1992) and
complexation ion chromatography (Timerbaev and Bonn 1993; Jones and Nesterenko
1997), summarize its potentialities.
Why high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for metals analysis? The
instruments used most widely for metal determination (e.g. atomic absorption
and inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometers) are subject to
both spectral and chemical interferences and, in some cases, are unsuitable for
trace analyis in a complex matrix or for studies on metal speciation. High performance
liquid chromatography has become in recent years the most flexible tool for separating different species, removal of matrix intereferences, and may be coupled with
different kinds of detectors enabling the determination of specific or group elements.
Several devices including electrochemical detectors (ED), inductively-coupled
plasma (ICP) and graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA) spectrometers have
been used, as well as inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
coupled to liquid chromatography (Hill et al. 1993; Tomlinson et al. 1994; Sutton et al.
1997)·
The approaches for metal determinations by HPLC are:
• normal phase chromatography
• reversed phase chromatography
• ion chromatography
- ion exchange
- ion exclusion
• ion interaction chromatography
• chelation ion chromatography
• multidimensional and multimode chromatography
The basic principles and retention mechanisms (processes involving solute
interactions in both the mobile and the stationary phases) are summarized hereafter.
Metals Analysis by High Performance Liquid
Chromatography
C. Sarzanini
18.1
Introduction
Metal ion determination and speciation by liquid chromatography has received particular attention during the last years and some reviews (Robards et al.1991; Sarzanini
and Mentasti 1997), with particular regard to ion chromatography (Dasgupta 1992) and
complexation ion chromatography (Timerbaev and Bonn 1993; Jones and Nesterenko
1997), summarize its potentialities.
Why high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for metals analysis? The
instruments used most widely for metal determination (e.g. atomic absorption
and inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometers) are subject to
both spectral and chemical interferences and, in some cases, are unsuitable for
trace analyis in a complex matrix or for studies on metal speciation. High performance
liquid chromatography has become in recent years the most flexible tool for separating different species, removal of matrix intereferences, and may be coupled with
different kinds of detectors enabling the determination of specific or group elements.
Several devices including electrochemical detectors (ED), inductively-coupled
plasma (ICP) and graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA) spectrometers have
been used, as well as inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
coupled to liquid chromatography (Hill et al. 1993; Tomlinson et al. 1994; Sutton et al.
1997)·
The approaches for metal determinations by HPLC are:
• normal phase chromatography
• reversed phase chromatography
• ion chromatography
- ion exchange
- ion exclusion
• ion interaction chromatography
• chelation ion chromatography
• multidimensional and multimode chromatography
The basic principles and retention mechanisms (processes involving solute
interactions in both the mobile and the stationary phases) are summarized hereafter.