Laser-excited atomic fluorescence in a flame as a high-sensitivity detector for organomanganese and organotin compounds following separation by high-performance liquid chromatography.

The coupling of a high-performance liquid chromatograph with a sensitive and selective laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry (LEAFS) detector is described. In connection with this, a study of the signal and noise characteristics of instrumentation for dispersive, nondispersive, and front surface LEAFS is reported together with a comparison of the sensitivity and selectivity achieved with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-flame LEAFS, HPLC-ultraviolet (UV), and HPLC-continuum source excited flame atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFC) instrumentation. The HPLC-flame LEAFS instrumentation was applied to an investigation of the Mn species responsible for (methylcyclopentadienyl)manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) toxicity in rats. The detection limits for various organomanganese species by HPLC-flame LEAFS ranged from 8 to 22 pg of manganese. Recovery of these compounds from rat urine varied between 80% and 100%, with a reproducibility of between 4% and 8% relative standard deviation. Preliminary data for the HPLC-flame LEAFS determination of toxic alkyltin compounds are reported.