[Direct determination of trace elements in human serum by electrothermal vaporization ICP-AES].

A method for direct determination of trace elements in human serum by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ETV-ICP-AES) with slurry sampling was developed. A polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) emulsion was used as a fluorinating agent to promote the vaporization of the analytes from graphite furnace, resulting in a remarkable improvement of analytical performances for the recommended method. The main factors affecting emission signals of the interested elements were investigated. The detection limits of 1.4 ng x mL(-1) for Cu and 2.9 ng x mL(-1) for Fe were achieved, and the precisions expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) were less than 6.0% after optimization of the operating conditions.