Methyl mercury in nail clippings in relation to fish consumption analysis with gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: a first orientation.

For the identification of human exposure to one of the most toxic compounds, which is methyl mercury (MeHg(+)), fingernail clippings were selected as the matrix of interest. Within this pilot study, six samples from different origins and from people with different food consumption patterns were chosen. Species-analysis of MeHg(+) was performed according to the following procedure: dissolution of the sample material in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), derivatisation of MeHg(+) with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt(4)), extraction into iso-octane and measurement with gas chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICPMS) for the quantification MeHg(+).