Methods for the Determination of Platinum Group Elements in Environmental and Biological Materials: A Review

Automobile catalysts are major anthropogenic sources of ultra-traces of platinum group elements (PGEs) in the environment. Nanoparticles of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, the active components of autocatalysts, are being spread into the environment during vehicle operation. Bioaccumulation of the metals can lead to their elevated levels in living organisms. The evaluation of the health risk from PGEs requires the investigation of a large variety of environmental and biological materials for their content. Plants, airborne particulate matters, soils, and sediments are most often examined for such purposes. The introduction of platinum and ruthenium complexes as anticancer agents into chemotherapy has stimulated growing interest in their determination in clinical materials (physiological fluids and tissues). Identification and determination of drug species formed under physiological conditions are fundamental for recognition of the mechanism of their biological activity. Analytical procedures applicable to the determination of PGEs in various environmental and clinical samples are reviewed in this article. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry to view the free supplemental file.