Analysis of whole blood samples with low gas flow inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry.

Low gas flow ICP-OES with a total argon consumption below 0.7 L/min is introduced for the analysis of trace elements in blood samples to investigate the influence of samples containing an organic solvent in a demanding matrix on the performance of this plasma for the first time. Therefore, gadolinium was determined in human plasma samples and mercury in red blood cells, human plasma, and precipitated plasma protein fraction. Limits of detection (LOD) were determined to be in the low microgram per liter range for the analytes and the accuracy of the method was assessed by comparison with a conventional Fassel-type torch-based ICP-OES. It was proven that the low gas flow ICP-OES leads to comparable results with the instrument based on the Fassel-type torch.