DETERMINATION of the TRACE ELEMENT LEVELS in HAIR of SMOKERS and NON-SMOKERS by ICP-MS

For at least 50 years, determination of the trace element levels in human hair has been used to assess environmental and vocational exposure to toxic elements . As compared to other biological matrices (e.g. blood, urine), human hair is stable and therefore useful as a matrice. In this study, analyses of toxic and essential trace elements, such as Cd, Pb, Cu and Fe, were done in hair samples which we collected from male smokers (10 people) and non-smokers (10 people) who live in Diyarbakir, Turkey and concentrations in hair samples were compared. Hair samples were washed by a standard procedure proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Then the samples were dried for 16 h at 110°C in an oven. Solubilization procedure was carried out by nitric acid hydrogen peroxide mixture (3:1) in closed vessels in a microwave oven. Trace element analyses were carried out by using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)  technique. In our study, while concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Fe elements were found to be considerably higher in smokers than non-smokers, similar results were observed in Cu concentrations. The precision and accuracy of the method was evaluated by applying spike method to samples. Analytical recovery results were found between 91.2% and 104.6%.