Atomic emission analysis of human hair for the presence of trace elements

Abstract

A procedure is developed for the atomic emission analysis of human hair with the preliminary acid mineralization of samples and excitation of spectra in samples of dry residues of hair mineralizate on the end face of a carbon electrode in an alternating current arch. Spectra were recorded on an MFS-8 spectrograph modernized with a MAES photodiode array. Using the developed analytical procedure, samples of hair were analyzed for the presence of Al, B, Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, Fe, P, Pb, and Zn. The average concentrations and concentration ranges of these elements were calculated for samples collected from 42 donors. The results obtained were compared with the published data for other geographical regions.