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Inter-laboratory study for the certification of trace elements in seawater certified reference materials NASS-7 and CASS-6

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Abstract

Certification of trace metals in seawater certified reference materials (CRMs) NASS-7 and CASS-6 is described. At the National Research Council Canada (NRC), column separation was performed to remove the seawater matrix prior to the determination of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Mo, Ni, U, V, and Zn, whereas As was directly measured in 10-fold diluted seawater samples, and B was directly measured in 200-fold diluted seawater samples. High-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICPMS) was used for elemental analyses, with double isotope dilution for the accurate determination of B, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mo, Ni, U, and Zn in seawater NASS-7 and CASS-6, and standard addition calibration for As, Co, Mn, and V. In addition, all analytes were measured using standard addition calibration with triple quadrupole (QQQ)-ICPMS to provide a second set of data at NRC. Expert laboratories worldwide were invited to contribute data to the certification of trace metals in NASS-7 and CASS-6. Various analytical methods were employed by participants including column separation, co-precipitation, and simple dilution coupled to ICPMS detection or flow injection analysis coupled to chemiluminescence detection, with use of double isotope dilution calibration, matrix matching external calibration, and standard addition calibration. Results presented in this study show that majority of laboratories have demonstrated their measurement capabilities for the accurate determination of trace metals in seawater. As a result of this comparison, certified/reference values and associated uncertainties were assigned for 14 elements in seawater CRMs NASS-7 and CASS-6, suitable for the validation of methods used for seawater analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council Canada (NRC), 1200 Montreal Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada

    Lu Yang, Kenny Nadeau, Juris Meija, Patricia Grinberg, Enea Pagliano & Zoltán Mester

  2. Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genoa (UG), Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146, Genoa, Italy

    Francisco Ardini & Marco Grotti

  3. GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR), Wischhofstr 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Christian Schlosser, Peter Streu & Eric P. Achterberg

  4. Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University (KU), Gokasho, Uji-city, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan

    Yoshiki Sohrin, Tomoharu Minami & Linjie Zheng

  5. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Jingfeng Wu & Gedun Chen

  6. School of Biology and Marine sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, Guangdong, China

    Jingfeng Wu

  7. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Michael J. Ellwood

  8. Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes, National Research Council of Italy (DEP), Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, (VE), Italy

    Clara Turetta

  9. CFOS/IARC, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7220, USA

    Ana Aguilar-Islas & Robert Rember

  10. Laboratoire des sciences de l’Environnement MARin (LEMAR), UMR CNRS UBO IRD Ifremer 6539, Place Nicolas Copernic, Technopôle Brest Iroise, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Géraldine Sarthou, Manon Tonnard & Hélène Planquette

  11. Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Hobart, TAS, 7004, Australia

    Manon Tonnard

  12. Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IAC), Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Matoušek

  13. QUASIMEME, NL- 6700 EC Wageningen, Bornsesteeg 10, Bennekom, 6721 NG, Ede, The Netherlands

    Steven Crum

Authors
  1. Lu Yang
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  2. Kenny Nadeau
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  3. Juris Meija
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  14. Jingfeng Wu
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  17. Clara Turetta
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  18. Ana Aguilar-Islas
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  20. Géraldine Sarthou
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  21. Manon Tonnard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lu Yang.

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Yang, L., Nadeau, K., Meija, J. et al. Inter-laboratory study for the certification of trace elements in seawater certified reference materials NASS-7 and CASS-6. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 4469–4479 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1102-y

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