The use of zirconium stationary phase to determine the four major arsenoriboses concentrations in marine organisms by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry

HPLC-ICP-MS utilising a ZirChrom®-SAX column with an aqueous 10 mM ammonium dihydrogen phosphate mobile phase at pH 7.5 (adjusted with aqueous ammonia) was evaluated for measuring glycerol arsenoriboside (OH-ribose), phosphate arsenoriboside (PO₄-ribose), sulfonate arsenoriboside (SO₃-ribose) and sulfate arsenoriboside (OSO₃-ribose) in marine macroalgae and animals by analysis of seven reference materials. The results obtained were compared to those obtained using PRP-X100 anion-exchange chromatography. Inorganic arsenic species were not eluted from the zirconium column due to the strong interaction with the zirconia stationary phase. Measurements of SO₃-ribose and OSO₃-ribose concentrations were in close agreement with those obtained using the PRP-X100 column with a 0.005 mg As kg⁻¹ detection limit. Peak shapes of these arsenoriboses were improved allowing lower amounts to be quantified. The quantification of OH-ribose and PO₄-ribose, however, was sample dependent and not possible if arsenobetaine (AB) and (DMA) were present at large concentrations in samples because of coelution of these species with OH-ribose and PO₄-ribose, respectively. In the absence of OH-ribose, AB can be determined using the zirconium column while AB on the PRP-X100 column coelutes with arsenic cations.