Abstract: Objective To establish an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry（ICP-MS） method for determination of Hg in biological samples. Methods The samples were digested with microwave digestion instrument. ICP-MS was applied to detect Hg in blood, urine and hair specimens by using ¹¹⁵In as an internal marker. The ability of gold to eliminate the memory effect of mercury was investigated with the gold amalgamate produced by gold and mercury. Results The limits of detection were in the 0.01 µg/L, and the accuracy of the method ranged from 97.0% to 107.1%. The concentration of gold was 10 µg/L and the memory effect of mercury was resolved. Conclusion The method is accurate, rapid, sensitive and suitable for the cases of mercury poisoning and the clinical diagnosis and monitoring for patients with mercury poisoning.

Key words: forensic toxicology, mercury, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, microwave digestion