Liu Yongzhong, Xiao Ge, Jones Robert L
Battelle Memorial Institute, 505 King Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201, USA.
Inorganic and Radiation Analytical Toxicology Branch, Division of the Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS S110-5, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
J Radioanal Nucl Chem. 2022 Sep;331(9):3957-3964. doi: 10.1007/s10967-022-08408-9. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has proven to be an excellent analytical technique with high sensitivity for detecting low levels of long-lived radionuclides, such as thorium. However, the high-sensitivity technique increases the memory effect of thorium. This study developed a rapid, high-throughput, simple method for measuring thorium in urine using quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS). Replacing the commonly used hazardous hydrofluoric acid with a rinse solution of 0.025 mol/L oxalic acid and 5% (v/v) nitric acid eliminated the memory effect of thorium. U was used as internal standard in this study. The limit of detection (LOD) for thorium in this study is 0.77 ng/L, which is comparable to those of reported methods using more sophisticated and expensive sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS). This proposed method can determine thorium concentrations in urine in both occupationally exposed workers and populations that live in areas with high background levels of thorium.
电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）已被证明是一种出色的分析技术，对检测低水平的长寿命放射性核素（如钍）具有高灵敏度。然而，这种高灵敏度技术会增加钍的记忆效应。本研究开发了一种使用四极杆电感耦合等离子体质谱法（Q-ICP-MS）快速、高通量、简单的尿液中钍测量方法。用0.025 mol/L草酸和5%（v/v）硝酸的冲洗溶液替代常用的危险氢氟酸，消除了钍的记忆效应。本研究中使用铀作为内标。本研究中钍的检测限（LOD）为0.77 ng/L，与使用更复杂、更昂贵的扇形磁场电感耦合等离子体质谱法（SF-ICP-MS）的报道方法相当。该方法可测定职业暴露工人和生活在钍背景水平高的地区人群尿液中的钍浓度。
