Method for the determination of five toxicologically relevant arsenic species in human urine by liquid chromatography–hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

An analytical method for the simultaneous quantitation of arseneous acid (As(III)), arsenic acid (As(V)), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO) in human urine by coupling of high-performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC/HG-AAS) via a flow-injection interface is presented. After arsenic species separation by anion-exchange displacement chromatography the compounds are on-line reduced to their corresponding hydrides and detected by atomic absorption spectrometry. Detection limits range from 1.1 (TMAO) to 2.6 μg/L (As(V)). The method has been applied to determine arsenic species in the urine of a volunteer before and after consumption of seafood as well as to analyse certified reference urine samples for their arsenic species content.