Rapid Speciation of Lead in Water by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

The rapid speciation of lead is reported by high performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry. The separation of inorganic lead, trimethyllead, triethyllead and triphenyllead was achieved within 3.5 minutes on a C18 column using a gradient program of methanol and water containing 5 milligrams per liter sodium 1-pentanesulfonate at pH 5. The limits of detection for inorganic lead, trimethyllead, triethyllead, and triphenyllead were 0.01, 0.02, 0.02, and 0.02 micrograms per liter, respectively. The accuracy of the method was verified by the analysis of water (GSBZ 50009-88) and seawater (GBW (E) 080040) certified reference materials. The method was also employed for the analysis of water samples; inorganic lead was measured in river water.