Determination of uranium in human urine by total reflection X-ray fluorescence

Uranium has been classified as a toxic chemical. It affects the kidneys, with nephritis being the primarily chemically-induced effect in animals and humans. Intermediate-term studies on animals indicate that increased uranium doses are positively correlated with various biochemical effects and histo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Spectrochimica acta. Part B: Atomic spectroscopy 2001-12, Vol.56 (12), p.2505-2511
Main Authors: Zarkadas, Ch, Karydas, A.G, Paradellis, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical treatment
Total reflection X-ray fluorescence
Uranium
Urine
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Summary:Uranium has been classified as a toxic chemical. It affects the kidneys, with nephritis being the primarily chemically-induced effect in animals and humans. Intermediate-term studies on animals indicate that increased uranium doses are positively correlated with various biochemical effects and histopathological changes. Since the kidneys efficiently excrete in urine the major portion of solubilized uranium circulating in blood, an increased urinary uranium excretion can provide a sensitive quantitative measure of exposure, especially in the case of acute exposure. In the present work a method was developed for the quantitative determination of uranium in human urine. It combines the chemical treatment of urine, which results in a significant pre-concentration of uranium, with its subsequent detection by means of total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). The method has been proven to be relatively fast, offering detection limits that allow for monitoring uranium intake above normal levels.
ISSN:0584-8547
1873-3565
DOI:10.1016/S0584-8547(01)00348-2