1. Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Analytical Science of MOE, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China 2. State Oceanic Administration, First Institute of Oceanography, Qingdao 266061, China 3. Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking University Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
Abstract：In this paper a rapid and simple method using pyrolysis coupled with atomic absorption spectrometry for the analysis of total mercury in Chinese medicinal material and biological samples is presented. No sample digestion was needed and this greatly simplifies the analytical procedure and minimizes potential sources of contamination. Under optimum conditions, the reproducibility of the method was 2.1% for peak area and 9.1% for peak height. The detection limit (3σ) was 6.3 ng·g-1, and the recovery was within the range of 95%-105%. Several standard reference materials were analyzed and the results were obtained with satisfaction. The performance of the method was compared with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and excellent agreements were observed between these two methods.
Key words：Pyrolysis;Atomic absorption spectrometry;Mercury;Cinnabar;Chinese medicinal material
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