Speciation

Determining the chemical form of a metal in a sample, not just the total. Critical for arsenic because As(III) trivalent arsenite is 60 times more toxic than As(V) pentavalent arsenate, and methylated organic species like arsenobetaine from seafood are essentially non-toxic. Modern speciation runs by HPLC-ICP-MS.

Explained in

Toxic Metals and Anions: Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Thallium and Beyond

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Speciation

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