Rapid Analysis Of Sr-90 In Cattle Bone And Tooth Samples By Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Rapid analysis of Sr-90 in bone and tooth samples of cattle was achieved by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) coupled with mass-shift and solid-phase extraction techniques. The mass-shift technique with the O-2 reaction mode of ICP-MS was applied to the mass shift of isobaric element Zr-90, effectively removing its interference. The solid-phase extraction technique using a Sr resin, which is a polymeric resin supported by 4,4 '(5 ')-bis-t-butylcyclohexano-18-crown-6, quantitatively separated Sr-90 from the interfering matrix elements and isobars in the bone and tooth samples. The activity concentrations determined by ICP-MS were comparable with those determined by the conventional radiometric method. However, the limit of detection in the ICP-MS measurement of 0.1 g samples was lower than that in the radioactivity measurement. The analytical time of the ICP-MS method was shortened from 20 days to 11 h, compared with the radiometric method. Therefore, the ICP-MS method can be a rapid and useful procedure for determination of Sr-90 in small bone and tooth samples taken from terrestrial animals.