Selenium speciation in plants by HPLC-ultraviolet treatment-hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry using various mobile phases

摘要

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human beings and animals. However, its toxic effects can be observed once it exceeds a critical concentration. The beneficial or toxic effect of Se on human beings and animals is not only dose-dependent, but also related to the chemical forms and the bioavailability of Se (Thiry et al., 2012). In living organisms, Se exists in non-volatile inorganic Se (selenite, selenate) and organic Se (SeMet)(Zhu et al., 2009). The objective of this study was to investigate systematically the relationship between Se retention and the eluent based on ammonium salt to address the limitations of the current determination of Se speciation in plant tissues. To achieve the objective, the following aspects were considered: (1) explore the relationship between Se retention and the mobile phases using a PRP-X100 column, (2) reduce the residue left on the sampler and skimmer cones of HPLC-AFS using an ammonium salt as the eluent, and (3) use the proposed method for the analysis of Se speciation in real samples.