Savory J, Herman M M
Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908, USA.
Ann Clin Lab Sci. 1999 Apr-Jun;29(2):118-26.
Progress in understanding the role of trace metals in biology has been largely dependent on the development of sensitive, accurate and precise analytical methods. Atomic spectroscopic techniques, particularly atomic absorption, have made the greatest contribution. Key to the success of such analytical techniques has been the simplification of sample processing so that contamination is minimized. Electrothermal atomization has allowed sensitivity limits to be lowered sufficiently so that even ultra-trace metals can be detected. More recently, mass spectrometric detection of metal ions has added to the repertoire of available instrumentation, particularly with the use of inductively coupled plasma to introduce ions into the mass analyzer. These analyzers are suitable for multielement analysis. More conventional mass spectrometric analysis of metal chelates offer an alternate solution but require considerable specimen preparation time. Intracellular localization of trace metals necessitates complex specimen processing prior to analysis on instruments that are highly sophisticated and expensive. Metal speciation is a rapidly growing area of trace metal research, with the major advances coming from coupling of the separation process, such as capillary electrophoresis or high performance liquid chromatography, with the analytical instrument for metal detection. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has proved to be an excellent choice for such detection purposes. Refinement of these methods as well as more widely available instruments for microanalysis will add greatly to continued advances in our knowledge of the role of trace metals in biology and medicine.
在理解痕量金属在生物学中的作用方面取得的进展，在很大程度上依赖于灵敏、准确且精确的分析方法的发展。原子光谱技术，尤其是原子吸收技术，做出了最大贡献。此类分析技术成功的关键在于简化样品处理，从而将污染降至最低。电热雾化使检测限得以充分降低，以至于甚至超痕量金属都能被检测到。最近，金属离子的质谱检测增加了现有仪器的种类，特别是利用电感耦合等离子体将离子引入质量分析仪。这些分析仪适用于多元素分析。对金属螯合物进行更传统的质谱分析提供了另一种解决方案，但需要相当长的样品制备时间。痕量金属的细胞内定位需要在高度精密且昂贵的仪器上进行分析之前进行复杂的样品处理。金属形态分析是痕量金属研究中一个迅速发展的领域，主要进展来自于将分离过程（如毛细管电泳或高效液相色谱）与用于金属检测的分析仪器相结合。电感耦合等离子体质谱已被证明是用于此类检测目的的绝佳选择。这些方法的改进以及更广泛可用的微分析仪器，将极大地推动我们在痕量金属在生物学和医学中的作用方面的知识持续进步。
