engleski

Determination of rare earth elements in urine and serum by ICP-MS

Although rare earth elements (REEs) are of some biological importance, their concentrations are not frequently assessed in biological samples. Rare earth elements in recent decade are widely used and lead to the accumulation in the environment and animal and human body. Today, rare earths are part of several devices such as lighters, television sets and computers. They are found in medical technology, nuclear engineering, automobile industry and military devices. Recent studies performed in Croatia have suggested a connection between metal exposure and 1991-1995 action. Differences between populations from eastern Croatia areas exposed to heavy and moderate fighting point to the need for the extensive monitoring, emphasizing the role of biomonitoring through ecologic and preventive activities. In this study concentrations of Cerium (Ce), Dysprosium (Dy), Europium (Eu), Erbium (Er), Gadolinium (Gd), Holmium (Ho), Lanthanum (La), Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Samarium (Sm), Thulium (Tm) and Ytterbium (Yb) were determined in urine and serum using inductively- coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Samples from 388 participants were analyzed. The results showed that mean and maximum concentrations of determined REEs in urine and serum samples of inhabitants living in eastern part of Croatia were higher than published literature reference values. Our data provide some insight in REEs concentrations in biological samples and serve as a basis from comparison to the other region, both in Croatia and worldwide.

Rare earth elements ; urine ; serum ; Croatia ; ICP-MS

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