Analysis of Low Level Beryllium in Urine Using the PlasmaQuant MS Application Note · PlasmaQuant MS

Introduction

Elemental beryllium is a steel gray appearing alkaline earth metal with properties like brittleness and high rigidity being the lightest among metals. The majority of beryllium is found in minerals and soils rather than in its elemental form. Beryllium is found in about 30 different mineral species like different compounds including aluminium e.g. Beryl (beryllium aluminium silicate).

Beryllium is used as alloying additive for hardening copper and nickel. In fact, it has a 50 % higher modulus of elasticity than steel. Such alloys find use in many applications because of their particular properties: high strength, hardness, good corrosion resistance, non-magnetic behavior and high electrical as well as thermal conductivity. Due to dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, beryllium alloys are used as a light-weight material for high performance aircraft and airspace industry. Beryllium, unlike most metals, is virtually transparent to x-rays and hence it is used in radiation windows for x-ray tubes. Beryllium mirrors are used in meteorological satellites.

The human health effects of beryllium from low environmental exposures are relatively unknown, although higher exposures particularly through inhalation can lead to several adverse medical conditions. Beryllium is chemically similar to magnesium and, therefore, can displace it from enzymes, which causes them to malfunction. Inhalation of beryllium dust or fumes can lead to an incurable inflammation of the lungs called Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) or berylliosis. Berylliosis can occur within a few months or many years (10 years in some cases) after exposure to high levels of beryllium (greater than 0.2 µg/m3).

Symptoms of chronic beryllium disease are breathing difficulties, persistent coughing, chest pain, fatigue, and weakness. It can result in severe weight loss, and may also lead to heart diseases in advanced cases. Beryllium may also affect such organs as the liver, kidneys, nervous system and the lymphatic system. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the U.S. EPA and the NTP list beryllium and beryllium compounds as Category 1 carcinogens.

Chronic beryllium disease is confirmed by using a number of medical tests beyond the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) and may include a lung biopsy, chest x-rays, scans or lung function tests. However, this research has proven that a faster and more sensitive analysis can be performed by measuring beryllium levels in urine by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).

ICP-MS offers extremely low detection capability and simple sample preparation with low sample consumption and is well suited for the determination of trace and ultra-trace elements like beryllium in various biological samples including urine. The following procedure outlines a simple yet sensitive method for the direct analysis of human urine for the determination of beryllium by ICP-MS.