title: Analysis of methylmercury concentration in the blood of Koreans by using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Methylmercury is an organic form of mercury that is highly toxic to humans. Here, we present and establish a novel method to detect methylmercury concentrations in the blood of Koreans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Methylmercury concentration was analyzed with an automated methylmercury analytic system (MERX, Brooks Rand Co., USA) using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry (CVAFS). A variety of biological materials were digested in methanolic potassium hydroxide solution. The analysis method was validated by examination of certified reference material (955c, National Institute of Standard and Technology, USA). We randomly selected 30 Korean adults (age 20 yr or older) to analyze total blood mercury and methylmercury concentrations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The detection limit and methylmercury recovery rate using this method were 0.1 pg/L and, 99.19% (range: 89.33-104.89%), respectively. The mean blood concentration of methylmercury was 4.54±2.15 µg/L (N=30). The mean proportion of methylmercury to the total mercury concentration was 78.27% (range: 41.37-98.80%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first report to analyze blood methylmercury concentration using CVAFS in Korea. We expect that this method will contribute to the evaluation of mercury exposure and the assessment of the toxicological impact of mercury in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung-Gwon
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eun-Mi
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Gyeong-Yeon
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae-Seon
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yu-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Rock-Bum
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung-Seong
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Young-Seoub
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D006878:Hydroxides / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000097:blood*; D017680:Potassium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D006878:Hydroxides; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D017680:Potassium Compounds; D008628:Mercury; C029943:potassium hydroxide