Measurement of Urinary Nickel and Cobalt Using Square Wave Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry and  UV Sample Digestion

Wade Lonsdale1, Magdalena Wajrak1 and J. Maté2

1. School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia

2. School of Public Health, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia

Abstract: This work presents a method for the simultaneous measurement of nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) by square wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry on a Bi film electrode with dimethylglyoxime as the ligand. Electrolyte concentrations and voltammetric run parameters were optimized for the simultaneous measurement of Ni and Co at concentrations relevant for the routine monitoring of Ni and Co excreted by Ni/Co mine and refinery workers in their urine. To assess the optimized procedure’s viability it was applied to spiked urine samples and a certified urine standard. Urine samples were digested using UV photolytic digestion with hydrogen peroxide. 

Key words: bismuth film electrode, dimethylglyoxime, nickel, cobalt, square-wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry, urine analysis, ultraviolet photolysis