Speciation Analysis

Abstract

Speciation of an element i.e., determination of various forms of the elements is of utmost importance in several studies such as toxicity. Speciation analysis of an element may be defined as the determination of concentrations of the physico- (such as the fraction of the element bound with a suspension in the adsorbed state) chemical forms (inorganic, organic, co-ordination, or complexes) of the element constituting its total concentration. The total content of an element in a sample does not give an idea of the various forms of the element existing in an environment responsible for its activities including transportation. The determination of different oxidation states of an element (metals or metalloids) and study of other forms has gained significance due to their toxicity or mobility due to their high ionic potential, and gas chromatography (GC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) methods are used for quick separation of the analyte from a complex matrix of a sample and quantized with different detectors such as AAS, AES, MS, etc. giving rise to GC-AAS, GC-AES, GC MS, or GC-ICP-MS-TOF.