Analytical Sciences

Complementary Use of LC-ICP-MS and LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS for Selenium Speciation

Yasumi ANAN,* Genki NAKAJIMA,* and Yasumitsu OGRA*,**

*Laboratory of Chemical Toxicology and Environmental Health, Showa Pharmaceutical University, Machida, Tokyo 194-8543, Japan
**Department of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chuo, Chiba 260-8675, Japan

We demonstrated the complementary use of inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF-MS) for the analysis of Se-containing compounds, such as selenate, selenomethionine (SeMet), and trimethylselenonium ion (TMSe), found in biological samples. The sensitivity of ESI-Q-TOF-MS for Se-containing compounds was strongly dependent on the chemical species. ICP-MS exhibited higher sensitivity than ESI-Q-TOF-MS, and had no species dependency. On the other hand, ESI-Q-TOF-MS enabled easy and robust identification of Se-containing compounds.

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