Mercury Speciation studies using the P S Analytical Millennium Merlin Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometer – Easier than you think

The coupling of the PSA 10.820 MI with PSA’s Millennium Merlin significantly extends application capability from the detection of the total mercury concentration to the speciated forms, including inorganic mercury as well the highly toxic methyl and other Organomercury species.

This information is critical to determine bioavailability and toxicity of mercury. Applications include the analysis of drinking water, fish, shellfish, seaweed, blood and urine as well as environmental samples such as waste water, soils and sediments.

The PSA 10.820 MI is configurable and may include; LC pump, injection valve, UV cracker as well as heating and cooling modules.

With a simple interface, and compatible flow rates, this accessory facilitates speciation studies online digestion (heat and UV), as well as a variety of post column reactions. The conjunction of the Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometers with the MI accessory provides ultimate detection performance for both sensitivity and selectivity.

In addition to the impressive detection performance, the automated approach significantly speeds up analysis times, reduces any sample pre-treatment and handling errors.

Mercury Speciation

Organomercury needs to be oxidised to inorganic Hg²⁺ prior to vapour generation and subsequent determination by atomic fluorescence. By applying heat and UV oxidation this reaction can be carried out in less than one minute.

P S Analytical is the leading company in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation for the analysis of Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Selenium (Se), Antimony (Sb), Bismuth (Bi) and Tellurium (Te) in all matrices.