The speciation of natural tissues by electrospray-mass spectrometry. I: Biosynthesized species, As and Se

The interest in natural tissues and their accumulation or bio-induction abilities with respect to toxic or non-essential metals is the focal point for many current speciation studies. This bibliographical review outlines the applications of, and developments in, electrospray-mass spectrometry (ES-MS) for biological tissues that are at the forefront of current biochemical speciation analysis. The application of soft-ionization techniques coupled to MS for speciation of trace elements falls into two main categories: naturally induced organometallics; and, anthropogenic environmental contaminants. Part I of this review is intended as a biographical source for the application of ES-MS as a tool for the speciation of biosynthesized metal-containing species in natural tissues. The categories have been chosen with respect to the elements, and each section includes information on the tissues that have been investigated to date, the analytical procedures used to purify and isolate the species and the interpretation of mass spectra for identification. Part II, to be published later, will deal with bioinduced ligands and exogenous contaminants.