A rapid, automated system for the separation, preconcentration and measurement of Sr, and U, Am and Pu isotopes.

An online separation and preconcentration method, using an automated flow injection setup and solid phase extraction followed by ICP-MS/MS, was developed for the analysis of Sr, and U, Am and Pu isotopes in various liquid sample matrices. The radionuclide analytes were separated from interferences and complex matrices using DGA-branched resin and Sr resin, then specific gases were used in the reaction/collision cell in the ICP-MS/MS to measure the different analytes. The system requires smaller sample volumes (10 mL), less sample preparation and shorter processing time (46 min per sample) compared to traditional radiometric and other MS techniques.

Methylmercury accumulation and elimination in mink (Neovison vison) hair and blood: results of a controlled feeding experiment using stable isotope tracers.

Concentrations of metals in hair are used often to develop pharmacokinetic models for both animals and humans. Although data on uptake are available, elimination kinetics are less well understood; stable isotope tracers provide an excellent tool for measuring uptake and elimination kinetics. In the present study, methylmercury concentrations through time were measured in the hair and blood of mink (Neovison vison) during a controlled 60-d feeding experiment.

Accumulation of mercury and selenium in the brain of river otters (Lontra canadensis) and wild mink (Mustela vison) from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Total Hg, methyl-Hg (MeHg) and Se levels were measured in the brain of river otters (Lontra canadensis) and wild mink (Mustela vison) carcasses collected from Nova Scotia, Canada. Total Hg concentrations in the otters' brain were highly variable, ranging from 0.3 to 18.

Mercury concentrations in wild mink (Mustela vison) and river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected from eastern and Atlantic Canada: relationship to age and parasitism.

Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured in the fur, brain and liver of wild mink (Mustela vison) and river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected from eastern and Atlantic Canada. Total Hg concentrations in fur were strongly correlated with levels in the brain and liver. There was no difference in tissue concentrations between male and female mink; however, female otters had significantly higher fur, brain and liver Hg levels than males.

Simultaneous measurement of uptake and elimination of cadmium by caddisfly (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) larvae using stable isotope tracers.

The use of stable isotopes coupled with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry provides a unique opportunity to investigate pathways of metals in aquatic invertebrates. In this study, the simultaneous uptake and elimination of cadmium (Cd) in stream-dwelling caddisfly (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) larvae was measured in laboratory experiments with stable isotopes of Cd. In one experiment, animals were exposed to low levels (0.