The primary goal of the Trace Element Analysis (TEA) Core (Core B) is to provide specific analytical servicesand analytical expertise to Dartmouth SBRP researchers to allow them to successfully complete the aims oftheir individual projects. Additionally, the TEA Core strives to be at the forefront of (mission-related) methoddevelopment that augments the themes of the Dartmouth SBRP projects and advances these projects byproviding analytical advances such as lower detection limits, quantification of an as yet unmeasured metalspecies, or the novel application of an analytical methodology. The TEA Core utilizes state of the artanalytical instrumentation based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to provide lowlevel determinations of trace elements in a variety of biological and environmental matrices. The TEA Corealso provides speciation analysis for arsenic and mercury by liquid chromatography and gas chromatographycoupled to ICP-MS, respectively. The chemical form (species) of arsenic or mercury in a sample ultimatelydetermines the toxicity of that element, hence speciation information is essential in assessing the humanhealth effects of these ubiquitous contaminant elements. The TEA Core provides toenail and hair analysis toassess the exposure of an individual to trace metals. Methods have been developed to quantify six chemicalspecies of arsenic in human urine; these species range from arsenobetaine, a non-toxic form of arsenic thatpeople are routinely exposed to through seafood, to monomethlarsenous acid, MMA(III), an extremely toxicchemical form of arsenic. The TEA Core also provides methodology to speciate mercury at extremely lowlevels and in very small sample masses. Our GC-ICP-MS methods can detect less than 1 picogram ofmercury and can determine mercury species in sub milligram sample weights. Methylmercury is anextremely toxic form of mercury that bioaccumulates through the food chain, hence it is essential to be ableto determine this mercury species at very low levels. The TEA Core continues to push the boundary of lowlevel trace element detection to develop and validate methods for the determination of trace elements orelemental species in biological samples with the goal of providing Dartmouth SRBP researchers theinformation they need to make better predictive decisions about human and ecosystem health.
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