Determination of Selenium in Blood Serum of Children by Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Abstract

The aim of this work was to obtain reference values for Se concentration in blood serum of healthy Slovak children population. In this study 68 children from the Bratislava region aged from 2 weeks to 16 years were examined. Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was used for the direct determination of Se in serum after dilution in the presence of palladium and magnesium nitrates as modifiers using atomization from pyrolytic graphite tubes and Lvov platforms. The reference Se value in serum for the population was 49.42 ± 4.68 μg.l^-1. We found no statistically significant sex or age dependence (P < 0.05). In our study 44 % of children had Se concentration in serum lower than 45 μg.l^-1. The sensitivity ca. 33 pg per 0.0044 AU.s was achieved for the procedure. The within-run precision was 2.7 % at 95 μg.l^-1 (n = 10) and the between-run precision was 4.3 % at 95 μg.l^-1 (n = 24). The accuracy of the proposed procedure was checked by analysing the serum standard reference material Seronorm™. The mean value obtained for Seronorm™ was 94.95 μg.l^-1with a standard deviation of 2.60 μg.l^-1 (n = 10). The certified Se concentration was 97.0 μg.l^-1 (confidence interval: 92.0 - 102.0 μg.l^-1). The reliable, simple and rapid method is suitable for use in epidemiological screening.