Multi-Element Trace Analysis Lab (METALab)

Multi-element Trace Analysis Lab Director: Kathrin Schilling, PhD

Multi-element Trace Analysis Senior Director: Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, MPH

The METAL Lab performs high-quality trace metal analysis of biological samples and has successfully participated in blind intercalibration programs. The facility houses numerous analytical instruments to assess aqueous and solid biological samples. The lab specializes in urinary and blood trace element analysis and speciation measurements. It performs a suite of solid-phase (e.g., tissue, nanoparticle) digestions using a CEM Mars 6 microwave apparatus for superior total trace metal analyses. With a Perkin Elmer NexION 350S ICPMS, the METAL Lab can perform high-sensitivity measurement of 30 elements in various biospecimens (e.g., urine, blood, tissue, vesicles). The lab also measures arsenic speciation in urine and blood samples using an Agilent 8900 ICPMS with SPS4 autosampler equipped with Agilent 1260 Infinity II Bio-inert high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. It is one of the key laboratories in the country able to conduct these analyses with great sensitivity and performs routine urinary creatinine and specific gravity analysis. Dr. Schilling’s expertise in isotope metallomics and advanced instrumentation (Nu Plasma 3 Multicollector ICPMS, located at LDEO where Dr. Schilling is a major user of the facility) provides additional analytical techniques of metals and their isotopes (e.g., selenium, zinc, copper) in various biospecimens and environmental matrices. These high-precision isotope-ratio measurements (uncertainty of ±0.0005%) can revolutionize the assessment of metal exposures as well as biological responses at a molecular scale to mixtures of toxic metals.