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Analysis of Human Serum and Whole Blood for Mineral Content by ICP-MS and ICP-OES: Development of a Mineralomics Method

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Abstract

Minerals are inorganic compounds that are essential to the support of a variety of biological functions. Understanding the range and variability of the content of these minerals in biological samples can provide insight into the relationships between mineral content and the health of individuals. In particular, abnormal mineral content may serve as an indicator of illness. The development of robust, reliable analytical methods for the determination of the mineral content of biological samples is essential to developing biological models for understanding the relationship between minerals and illnesses. This paper describes a method for the analysis of the mineral content of small volumes of serum and whole blood samples from healthy individuals. Interday and intraday precision for the mineral content of the blood (250 μL) and serum (250 μL) samples was measured for eight essential minerals—sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se)—by plasma spectrometric methods and ranged from 0.635 to 10.1 % relative standard deviation (RSD) for serum and 0.348–5.98 % for whole blood. A comparison of the determined ranges for ten serum samples and six whole blood samples provided good agreement with literature reference ranges. The results demonstrate that the digestion and analysis methods can be used to reliably measure the content of these minerals and potentially of other minerals.

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Abbreviations

ICP-MS:

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

ICP-OES:

Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

NIST:

National Institute of Standards and Technology

ELOQ:

Estimated limit of quantitation

LOD:

Limit of detection

KED:

Kinetic energy discrimination

SRM:

Standard reference material

SF-MS:

Sector field mass spectrometry

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the NIH Eastern Regional Metabolomics Resource Core (NIH Common Fund Grant 1U24DK097193; PI Susan Sumner) and the NIH Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (NCATS Grant UL1TR00111; PI Marshall Runge). Mr. Glenn Ross is appreciated for providing logistical support for the development of the experimental protocol.

Ethical Statement

This manuscript does not contain samples that were obtained from clinical studies and no personally identifiable patient data are included. Sample collection procedures followed the Helsinki Declaration guidelines regarding informed consent of human volunteers. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trace Inorganics Department, Technologies for Industry and the Environment, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA

    James M. Harrington, Daniel J. Young, Amal S. Essader & Keith E. Levine

  2. Discovery Science Technology, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA

    Susan J. Sumner

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  1. James M. Harrington
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  2. Daniel J. Young
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Correspondence to James M. Harrington.

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Harrington, J.M., Young, D.J., Essader, A.S. et al. Analysis of Human Serum and Whole Blood for Mineral Content by ICP-MS and ICP-OES: Development of a Mineralomics Method. Biol Trace Elem Res 160, 132–142 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0033-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0033-5

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