Simultaneous Speciation of Arsenic, Selenium, and Chromium by HPLC-ICP-MS

Abstract

An adaptation of an analytical method developed for chromium speciation has been utilized for the simultaneous determination of As(III), As(V), Se(IV), Se(VI), Cr(III), and Cr(VI) species using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation with ICP-MS detection. Reduction of interferences for the determination of As, Se, and Cr by ICP-MS is a major consideration for this method. Toward this end, a Dynamic Reaction Cell (DRC) ICP-MS system was used to detect the species eluted from the chromatographic column. A variety of reaction cell gases and conditions may be utilized, and the advantages and limitations of the gases tested to date will be presented and discussed. The separation and detection of the As, Se, and Cr species of interest can be achieved using the same chromatographic conditions in less than 2 minutes by complexing the Cr(III) with EDTA prior to injection on the HPLC column. Practical aspects of simultaneous speciation analysis will be presented and discussed, including issues with HPLC sample vial contamination, standard and sample contamination, species stability, and considerations regarding sample collection and preservation methods. The results of testing to determine the method's robustness to common concomitant element and anion effects will also be discussed. Finally, results will be presented using the method for the analysis of a variety of environmental and geological samples including waters, soil leachates and simulated bio-fluid leachates.