The application of resonance monochromators to the determination of lithium in blood serum by atomic absorption spectro photometry

✍ Scribed by J.A. Bowman

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1967
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 527 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2670
• DOI: 10.1016/s0003-2670(01)80708-x

✦ Synopsis

Lithium therapy is used in the treatment of patients suffering from mania and consequently the lithium content of their blood needs to be determined to ensure that it does not esceed the toxic limit. Generally it is maintained at a concentration of approximately x meq/l, i.e. 7 pug/ml, in the serum. Flame photometry has been applied to the determination of lithium in blood and blood serum by many workers including BARROWS, LANG AND HERRMANN~, NEVIUS AND LANCHANTIN~ and MOGENS SCHOU~. Lithium in blood has been determined calorimetrically by PLUM&; this method is only semi-quantitative as is also a spectrographic technique described by SANTOS RUIZ et al .u for determining lithium in biological materials. SILVESTRI~ and NEGINA et a1.H have determined lithium in blood by emission spectrography.

Atomic absorption would appear to be an ideal technique for this determination as it has already been successfully applied to the determination of other metals in blood serumo-11.

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