20.500.12556/DiRROS-25688 Optimisation of a sample preparation method for the determination of multi-elemental compositions in human hair by triple quadrupole ICP-MS analysis Monitoring toxic elements has a long tradition in Slovenia due to historical mining. More recently, attention has shifted to essential elements, since both deficiencies and excesses can harm health. Regular monitoring of (non-)essential elements supports risk assessment and policymaking. While urine and blood are common biomonitoring matrices, hair offers a non-invasive alternative that reflects exposure over several months, though standardised methodologies for hair analysis remain limited. This study aimed to develop and validate a sensitive and robust analytical method for the determination of 29 elements in human hair, addressing key challenges in sample preparation and contamination control. We developed a sensitive and robust method for the determination of 29 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Ti, U, V, and Zn) in 3 cm segments of human hair that involves a washing procedure with acetone and Milli-Q water, microwave digestion with 65% HNO3, and analysis with Triple Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). Evaluation of preparation steps revealed stainless-steel scissors as a major contamination source. Glass digestion vessels were unsuitable for several elements due to high detection limits and relative standard deviations. The optimised method reduced analytical variability and improved sensitivity compared to published protocols. This validated method enables reproducible multi-elemental analysis in hair, highlights overlooked contamination risks, and is now applied in human biomonitoring studies to strengthen exposure assessment and standardisation efforts. determination of elements optimization human biomonitoring analiza kemijskih elementov optimizacija humani biomonitoring true false true Springer Švica Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © The Author(s) 2026 Neznano 2026-01-27 11:46:22 2026-01-27 11:46:23 2026-01-28 04:15:06 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Soavtorji: Marta Jagodic Hudobivnik, Igor Živković, Polona Klemenčič, Darja Mazej, Milena Horvat; Opis vira z dne 27. 1. 2026; str. [1-15] Vol. 204, article no. [in press] 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-09-26 2025-12-26 2026-01-20 543 1559-0720 10.1007/s12011-025-04968-5 266258691 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-025-04968-5 1 6e3c8402-fb6d-11f0-a15d-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=38993 RAZ_Runkel_Agneta_Annika_2026.pdf RAZ_Runkel_Agneta_Annika_2026.pdf 1 0A79DE356DD6CE007FE4EF4E6239C4F8 edad7c4450dbd139f95262241843d47fd40a63e12deb41faf116bbf8bd51c6f1 49cb634b-fb6e-11f0-a15d-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=38994 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0