Chelate extraction and flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of nanogram amounts of manganese in blood and animal tissue.

A method for the determination of manganese in blood and animal tissue has been developed involving wet digestion of the sample by perchloric and nitric acids, complexing with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, and extracting with methyl isobutyl ketone at pH 6.7. The methyl isobutyl ketone is removed, and the residue is dissolved in 0.05N HCl in acetone-water (9 + 1) and is aspirated into an air-acetylene flame of an atomic absorption spectrometer. The limit of detectability is about 10 ng Mn/ml in the solution aspirated or 2 ng Mn/ml in bovine blood for a 20 ml sample.