Quantification of titanium from TiO2 particles in biological tissue

This study presents the development of a strategy for the quantification of titanium from titanium dioxide polydisperse particles (TiO2) in dry biological tissue. Calf liver was chosen as laboratory testing material. The challenge was to (i) obtain a complete mineralization of the solid material (biological tissue and TiO2) and (ii) ensure the accuracy of the determined concentrations with a sufficient sensitivity. Mineralization was performed using a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrofluoric acids. Atomic mass spectrometry associated with light-scattering technique was used to control the physical state (dissolved and particle forms) of titanium and reliably estimate the total titanium concentration in calf liver. The monitoring of 46Ti and 49Ti, operating in helium collision/reaction cell mode, and using external calibration with internal standard addition, allowed the quantification of Ti while removing isobaric interferences. The limit of detection and quantification were 0.7 and 2.3 μg (Ti) g−1 (tissue) respectively. The mean analytical recovery over the whole procedure was (103 ± 6)% in a range of concentrations from LOD to 200 μg(Ti) g−1 (tissue).