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Kamerman 1944 Metallic Poisons A System of Analysis
Kamerman 1944 Metallic Poisons A System of Analysis
Dr. P. A. E. KAMERMAN,
(ioL'I'I'IlIllGnt Chemical Laboratories, Johannesburg.
Arsenic.
If arsenic is present it is determined by the method of
Green (1918, 539). This' method still remains the simplest of
[lll those suggested for the determination of small amounts of
arsenic, and with a slight modification, including the use of a
more dilute iodine solution, we have been able to determine
amounts of arsenic of the magnitude of 5 micrograms arseniou"
oxide, which is usually sufficient for the estimation of arsenie
in hair. It may be mentioned here that for the purpose of
determining the amount of arsenic lvhen only very small amount"
of hair and nails are available, we have modified the Gutzeit
method by making use of a solution of lead acetate instead of
the common solid devices like lead acetate paper, and are now
;tule to determine arsenic with a fair amount of accuracy when
present in amounts as small as 0,1 microgram .
. Intimol/y.
Antimony is determined by the method of Bamford (1934,
101), which depends 011 the measurement of the intensity of
the orange colour produced by mealls of sulphuretted hydrogell
in the presence of a protective colloid like gum acacia.
J3iSl1t1lth.
All accurate Illdhod of determining bismuth is that of
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010).
7,ill('.
The zmc can be recovered from tlle diUlizone extract by
shaking it out with a solution of potassium cyanide, which
removes the zinc but leaves the other four metals comuined with
the dithizone. As it is rarely necessary to estimate traces of
zinc, any of the stnnd[lrd methods can be employed far, its
determin a tion.
If zinc is known to ue absent, the potassium cyanide solutioll
e:m be added directly to the alkaline solution, but in such event
it is nec'essary to gum-d against the possibility of oxidation of
the dithizone by the ferric iron present in the viscera, as' the
ferric;yanide formed destroys the reaction capacity of the dithi-
zone. This can be done most suitably through the addition of
a few crystals of hydroxylamine hydrorhloride to the solution
~mT_\LLlC 1'01S0:\S: A:\ALYSLS_
Til!.
If it is desired to determine till, \,11is cm] be achievecl bv
the use of any of the standard methods. Its separation fro~l
bismuth can be effected by making lise of the fact_ that whilst
the tin sulphides arc soluble in yellow ammonium sulphide, thnt
c;>f bismuth is insoluble.
.Copper.
Although it is rare to have to cll'termine copper in toxico-
logical investigatiOlv, its estimation is easily effected by the
method of Haddock and Evers (1932, 495) using the reaction
between ropper and -di-ethyl-c1i-thiocal·bamate.
17U • SOt:TH AFRIC.\:-I JOlJR:-IAL' OF SCIE:-ICE.
SUlIIMARY.
As under South African conditions, experience has shown
that the number of metals encountered in cases of poisoning is
~lETALLIC POISO!\S: A!\ALYSIS. 171
REFERENCES.
BAllBACH, K. und BURKEY, R. E.: "Micro-determination of lead by
dithizone." Ind. Eng. Chem. (Anal. ed.), 14 :904-907 (1942).
BAMFORD, F.: "Deter~ination of antimony in "iscera and excreta."
Analyst, 59: 101-102 (1934).
COPEMAN, P. V. d. R.: Private communication (1940).
GREEN, H. H. : "The micro-titration of arsenic." 5th and 6th Report
of the Director of Vet. Research; 539 et seq. (1918).
HADDOCK, L. A. and EVERS, N.: "The determination of minute
amounts of copper in the presence of iron and certain other
metals." A 1Ullyst, 57: 341-346 (1932).
JlAMMATT, L. P. and LOTTERY, C. T.: "New reagent for aluminium."
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010).