Development of a simultaneous gas chromatographic method for the analysis of copper, nickel and vanadium at the ultra-trace level.

The development of a sensitive gas chromatographic method for simultaneously determining trace amounts of copper, nickel and vanadium in biological materials is described. The reagent is the fluorinated Schiff base 1,1,1,1',1',1'-hexafluoro-4,4'-(1-methylethane-1,2-diyldiimino)bis (pent-3-en-2-one), which is readily prepared in its isomerically pure form. Suitable column components are identified and the stability of chelates and optimum chromatographic conditions are discussed. Detection limits are about 5 pg for each of these elements. Some preliminary analytical results are also presented.