Abdelmonem Basma Hossam, Kamal Lereen T, Elbaz Rana M, Khalifa Mohamed R, Abdelnaser Anwar
Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, P.O. Box 74, New Cairo, 11835, Egypt.
Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Physical Therapy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), PO 12566, 6th of October City, Giza, Egypt.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 5;11(1):e41713. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41713. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic are environmental pollutants that accumulate in ecosystems and pose significant health risks to humans and wildlife, primarily through food chain contamination where plants absorb heavy metals, affecting their growth and threatening consumer health. Cognitive and cardiovascular functions are particularly affected by exposure to heavy metals even at low concentrations through the induction of oxidative stress. Various analytical techniques are used in measuring heavy metals in different environmental and biological samples. The atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) offers low cost, simplicity, and portability but lacks sensitivity for certain metals. Although more sensitive, the high cost of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) may limit laboratory accessibility. The inductively coupled plasma with atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) is known for its broad dynamic linear range and ability to identify minute variations in concentration. Atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) is considered a powerful tool for quantifying heavy metals due to its high sensitivity, low detection limits, and wide linear range. The current article reviews heavy metal pollution's impact on health and spectrometric techniques for the detection of these contaminants. This may help efforts of international, and regional policies towards preventing this health hazard problem.
铅、汞、镉和砷等重金属是环境污染物，它们在生态系统中积累，主要通过食物链污染对人类和野生动物构成重大健康风险，在食物链污染中，植物吸收重金属，影响其生长并威胁消费者健康。即使在低浓度下，通过诱导氧化应激，认知和心血管功能也会受到重金属暴露的特别影响。各种分析技术用于测量不同环境和生物样品中的重金属。原子吸收光谱法（AAS）成本低、操作简单且便于携带，但对某些金属缺乏灵敏度。电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）虽然更灵敏，但成本高昂，可能会限制实验室的使用。电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法（ICP-AES）以其宽动态线性范围和识别浓度微小变化的能力而闻名。原子荧光光谱法（AFS）由于其高灵敏度、低检测限和宽线性范围，被认为是定量分析重金属的有力工具。本文综述了重金属污染对健康的影响以及检测这些污染物的光谱技术。这可能有助于国际和地区政策预防这一健康危害问题的努力。
