High performance liquid chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry for the speciation of the hydride and chemical vapour-forming elements As, Se, Sb and Hg: A critical review

We present the most recent applications of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated to hydride generation or chemical vapour generation and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG/CVG-AFS), for the determination and speciation of the selected hydride-forming elements arsenic (As), selenium (Se) and antimony (Sb) and the chemical vapour-forming metal Hg. The review focuses on sample preparation, post-column treatments and on the applications of this technique to various liquid and solid samples. This review also intends to discuss some limitations associated to HPLC-HG/CVG-AFS due to the necessity on post-column treatments, including the oxidation of organo-element compounds and the pre-reduction to a suitable valence. Nevertheless, the hyphenated technique HPLC-HG/CVG-AFS remains an efficient, sensitive and affordable approach to perform speciation of the four studied elements as shown by the variety of applications presented and discussed in this review.