Publications

Evaluation of extraction techniques to study the interaction of As and Se in B. juncea by HPLC-ICP-MS

This poster relates to work carried out under project S3 – Analytical tools and procedures for trace element speciation studies in metal accumulating plants of the NMS Chemical and Biological Metrology programme.

Toxic pollutants have reached alarming levels in the environment due to agriculture, industrial, defence and municipal processes. Physical remediation, such as removal of contaminated land or containment, does not destroy or remove the contamination but merely postpones the problem.

Phytoremediating plants such as Brassica juncea (Indian mustard) are able to tolerate and accumulate high concentrations of metal pollutants and can be used to remove contaminants from soils or estuaries.

It has recently been reported that selenium (Se) may have a protective effect on toxic arsenic (As) in mammals and the presence of Se may also affect the uptake of As by hyperaccumulating plants. However, very little work is available on the interactions of As and Se in plants. To understand the processes involved in, and the effects of elemental interactions upon metal uptake, requires the development of analytical methods for the accurate extraction, measurement and identification of elemental species in plants.

This poster describes the suitability of different sample extraction strategies to investigate the interaction of As and Se in B. juncea and was presented at the 14^th Biennial National Atomic Spectroscopy Symposium (BNASS) held at the University of Sussex on 7^th-9^th July, 2008.

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