Determination of Methylmercury by Species Specific Isotope Dilution-Liquid Chromatography-ICP Mass Spectrometry

The precise determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in fish tissues has been performed by species specific isotope dilution mass spectrometricanalysis (IDMS) using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer as detector after liquid chromatography (LC-ICP-MS). A labelled MeHg standard (ERMAE670, a Hg 202 enriched methylmercury isotopic reference material) commercial isotope provided by IRMM (Geel, Belgium) was used for these determinations. The experiment procedure included spiking, extraction, and a simultaneous separation and detection procedure. The method gave yield to good precision (<2%). The accuracy of the method has been validated on the certified reference materials BCR 464 (5.50±0.17 mg/kg MeHg) for the tunafish. The result obtained was in good agreement with the certified reference value. And this method was used to do the international comparison CCQM P39.1.