Chemical speciation analysis as a tool for identification and determination of Hg and as species in different biological samples aiming food safety and the toxicokinetics of ethylmercury

Abstract

In the last years, chemical speciation analysis is becoming a fundamental tool for the study of the toxicology of trace elements, since the toxic effects are directly related to their chemical forms in the environment, food and human matrices. The most common analytical techniques used for this purpose are Liquid chromatography (LC), Gas chromatography (GC) and Capillary eletrophoresis (CE) hyphenated to Atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) or Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). On the other hand, the use of analytical tools for the elucidation and characterization of molecular species, such as mass spectrometry with eletronspray ionization (ESI-MS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H1 NMR) are nowadays of primary importance. In this way, the aims of this project are: (i)- The development and validation of methods for the extraction and determination of arsenic species (As(III), As(V), DMA, MMA e Arsenobetaine) in animal tissues (muscle, kidney) food (rice and eggs); (ii)- Characterization of molecules bound to different species of mercury in clinical samples (blood, plasma and tissues) by using LC-ICP-MS and ESI-MS/MS; (iii)-Identify the chemical forms of mercury in kidney, blood, heart, brain of mousse exposed to thimerosal.Finally, this project may contribute to the establishment of a multidisciplinary group of research aiming to identify potential sources of toxicity in several matrices related to human health. (AU)