RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To develop a rapid and reliable method, using an octopole reaction system (ORS) ICP-MS, capable of monitoring trace levels of Co and Cr in whole blood samples from hip arthroplasty patients with metal-on-metal prostheses. DESIGN AND METHOD: Whole blood is diluted 10-fold with an alkaline diluent and analyzed using an Agilent 7500 CE ORS-ICP-MS. RESULTS: Limit of quantification of 0.03 µg/L Co and 0.20 µg/L Cr in patient samples. <6% covariance obtained for quality control materials analyzed over 10 runs. CONCLUSION: This method is capable of monitoring trace levels of Co and Cr in diluted whole blood samples with a vial to vial run time of approximately 2 min. Results are comparable to those obtained using high resolution (HR) ICP-MS with sample digestion.
