Background: Aluminum (Al) is one of trace elements in human body and its levels increased in renal failure. In this study, a new ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction (USAEME) method combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) is developed for the extraction and determination of Al in human urine.

Materials and Methods: The pH of a 10 mL sample solution was adjusted to 6.5 and it was added to a 50 µL of the 0.5 M 8-hydroxyquinoline solution. Then, chloroform (120 µL) was injected slowly by a home-made 2.00 mL syringe into centrifuge glass vial containing a sample that was located inside the ultrasonic water bath. After centrifugation 20 µL of organic phase was injected to graphite furnace, and the absorbance was measured.

Results: Under the optimum experimental conditions (pH: 6.5, 8-hydroxyquinoline 0.5M, ultrasonic time 4 min, 120µl choloroform), calibration graphs were obtained by USAEME of 10.0 mL of standard solution containing known amount of Al. The calibration curve was also made using the spiked urine sample.

Conclusion: The USAEME method combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry has been presented for the extraction and determination of Al in urine samples. In this method, sample preparation time as well as consumption of toxic organic solvents was minimized without affecting the sensitivity of the method. In addition, it is avoided the need of employing a high performance separation instrument for the treatment of urine samples. The proposed method gives a very rapid, simple, sensitive, wide dynamic range and low–cost procedure for the determination of Al.