Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May;416(12):3033-3044.
doi: 10.1007/s00216-024-05250-8. Epub 2024 Mar 23.

Inorganic arsenic in seaweed: a fast HPLC-ICP-MS method without coelution of arsenosugars

Rebecca Sim  1   2 , Marta Weyer  3 , Ásta H Pétursdóttir  1
Affiliations

Inorganic arsenic in seaweed: a fast HPLC-ICP-MS method without coelution of arsenosugars

Rebecca Sim et al. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2024 May.

Abstract

Seaweed is becoming increasingly popular in the Western diet as consumers opt for more sustainable food sources. However, seaweed is known to accumulate high levels of arsenic-which may be in the form of carcinogenic inorganic arsenic (iAs). Here we propose a fast method for the routine measurement of iAs in seaweed using HPLC-ICP-MS without coelution of arsenosugars that may complicate quantification. The developed method was optimised using design of experiments (DOE) and tested on a range of reference materials including TORT-3 (0.36 ± 0.03 mg kg-1), DORM-5 (0.02 ± 0.003 mg kg-1), and DOLT-5 (0.07 ± 0.007 mg kg-1). The use of nitric acid in the extraction solution allowed for the successful removal of interferences from arsenosugars by causing degradation to an unretained arsenosugar species, and a recovery of 99 ± 9% was obtained for iAs in Hijiki 7405-b when compared with the certified value. The method was found to be suitable for high-throughput analysis of iAs in a range of food and feed matrices including Asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed, grass silage, and insect proteins, and offers a cost-effective, fast, and robust option for routine analysis that requires minimal sample preparation. The method may be limited with regards to the quantification of dimethylarsenate (DMA) in seaweed, as the acidic extraction may lead to overestimation of this analyte by causing degradation of lipid species that are typically more abundant in seaweed than other marine matrices (i.e. arsenophospholipids). However, the concentrations of DMA quantified using this method may provide a better estimation with regard to exposure after ingestion and subsequent digestion of seaweed.

Keywords: Arsenic; Arsenosugars; DOE; HPLC-ICP-MS; Inorganic arsenic; Seaweed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A sample of spiked F. vesiculosus extracted using 1% (v/v) HNO3 and 3% H2O2 and analysed with HPLC-ICP-MS. The sample was spiked with 0.5 µg L−1 DMA, MMA, and As(V)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The plot of actual by predicted for the linear regression model for the separation, and summary of effects. The LogWorth values are transformed p-values for visual clarity (i.e. LogWorth > 2 is significant at p = 0.01 level)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The plot of actual by predicted for the linear regression model for the runtime, and summary of effects. The LogWorth values are transformed p-values for visual clarity (i.e. LogWorth >2 is significant at p = 0.01 level)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A chromatograph of mussel sample extracted with 1% (v/v) HNO3 and 3% H2O2 solution and analysed with HPLC-ICP-MS
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. IARC. Arsenic, metals, fibres, and dusts IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 100C. Lyon, France; 2012. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marshall G, Ferreccio C, Yuan Y, Bates MN, Steinmaus C, Selvin S, et al. Fifty-year study of lung and bladder cancer mortality in Chile related to arsenic in drinking water. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007;99(12):920–8. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djm004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferreccio C, González C, Milosavjlevic V, Marshall G, Sancha AM, Smith AH. Lung cancer and arsenic concentrations in drinking water in Chile. Epidemiology. 2000;11:673–9. doi: 10.1097/00001648-200011000-00010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hopenhayn-Rich C, Biggs ML, Fuchs A, Bergoglio R, Tello EE, Nicolli H, et al. Bladder cancer mortality associated with arsenic in drinking water in Argentina. Epidemiology. 1996;7(2):117–24. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199603000-00003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rossman TG, Uddin AN, Burns FJ. Evidence that arsenite acts as a cocarcinogen in skin cancer. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2004;198(3):394–404. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2003.10.016. - DOI - PubMed

Grants and funding

-