Determination of cadmium in whole blood and urine by Zeeman atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Direct determination of cadmium in whole blood and urine can be achieved using Zeeman effect flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy. Within-run precision studies for whole blood cadmium determinations gave relative standard deviations of 11.3% and 6.3% for 0.53 micrograms/l and 3.16 micrograms/l, respectively. Within-run precision studies for the urine analyses yielded relative standard deviations of 11.3% and 5.2% for 0.62 micrograms/l and 2.48 micrograms/l, respectively. The detection limit is 0.12 micrograms/l in the diluted specimens. Thus, this methodology may be used to quantitate normal and toxic cadmium levels in whole blood and urine.