Determination of Aluminium by Electrothermal Atomization Atomic Absorption Spectrometry in Serum to Characterize Hemodialysis Toxicity

A simple and cost-effective method is described for the determination of aluminum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS) in serum of hemodialysis patients and healthy subjects. The only preparative step required is the dissolution of the serum sample in 0.2% magnesium nitrate matrix modifier and separate diluents 0.01M EDTA and 0.1% Triton X-100. The calibration curve was linear from 20 to 100 mu g/L with correlation coefficients of 0.9993 and 0.9998 for EDTA and Triton X-100, respectively. The sensitivity of the method for aluminum at the 309.3nm line was 74 pg. The instrumental and method limits of detection were 2.2 mu g/L and 4.4 mu g/L, respectively. The aluminum concentrations of forty serum samples from hemodialysis patients and healthy subjects were determined and the mean values were 170.9 +/- 6.8 mu g/L and 47.3 +/- 9.3 mu g/L, respectively, whereas the permissible limit for aluminum in blood serum is 10 mu g/L. The high level of Al in serum was related to oral phosphate binding agents and dialysis treatment.