Elimination of matrix effects in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometric determinations of bismuth in serum and urine.

A sensitive and precise electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for determining bismuth concentration is described. Protein precipitation and the use of a palladium modifier reduce the problems of foaming and permit the use of a higher ashing temperature. The detection limit of the assay is 0.9 nmol/L. Total CVs (intra- and interassay) for serum ranged from 3.5% to 15.1% and for urine from 4.8% to 14.5% at concentrations of 60.0 and 6.0 nmol/L, respectively. Analytical recoveries of bismuth added to serum and urine were 102% and 103% over the same range. The method is robust and reproducible and can be accurately calibrated with aqueous standards.