Analytical Sciences

A Simple and Effective Method for Speciation Analysis of 13 Arsenic Species Using HPLC on a Fluorocarbon Stationary Phase Coupled to ICP-MS

Shin-ichi MIYASHITA,*1 Kenji KINOSHITA,*2 and Toshikazu KAISE*3,*4

*1 Environmental Standards Group, Research Institute for Material and Chemical Measurement, National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST Tsukuba Central 3, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8563, Japan
*2 Biotechnology Group, Research and Development Department, Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 2-4-10 Aomi, Koto, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan
*3 Laboratory of Environmental Chemodynamics, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
*4 Deceased November 2009

The separation properties of arsenic species was investigated using HPLC-ICP-MS with several commercially available fluorocarbon stationary phases and no ion-pair reagents in HPLC. One pentafluorophenyl column showed the highest potential for the separation of a larger number of arsenic species when using simple acid-based mobile phases. After modification of the operational parameters in HPLC, the speciation analysis of 13 representative arsenic species: arsenite, arsenate, methylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, thio-dimethylarsinic acid, oxo-arsenosugar-glycerol, oxo-arsenosugar-phosphate, oxo-arsenosugar-sulfonate, and oxo-arsenosugar-sulfate, was achieved by HPLC-ICP-MS with the column along with a mobile phase of 0.05% heptafluorobutyric acid–methanol (99:1, volume per volume).

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