Reinsch test
Encyclopedia
The Reinsch test is an initial indicator to detect the presence of one or more of the following heavy metals
in a biological sample, and is often used by toxicologists where poisoning by such metals is suspected.
Heavy metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...
in a biological sample, and is often used by toxicologists where poisoning by such metals is suspected.
- AntimonyAntimonyAntimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
- ArsenicArsenicArsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
- BismuthBismuthBismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
- SeleniumSeleniumSelenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...
- ThalliumThalliumThallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. This soft gray poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. The two chemists William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy discovered thallium independently in 1861 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy...
- MercuryMercury (element)Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
Process
- Dissolve suspect body fluid or tissue in a hydrochloric acidHydrochloric acidHydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
solution - Insert a copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
strip into the solution. - The appearance of a silvery coating on the copper may indicate MercuryMercury (element)Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
. A dark coating indicative of the presence of one of the other metals. - Confirm finding using absorption or emission spectroscopySpectroscopySpectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
, X-ray diffraction, or other analytical technique suitable for inorganic analysis.
- A scientific application of the Reinsch Test was presented in 2010 by chemists of Technische Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Radiochemie (Institute for Radiochemistry, Technical University Munich) and ITU (Institute for Transuranium ElementsInstitute for Transuranium ElementsThe Institute for Transuranium Elements is a European Commission nuclear research institute in Karlsruhe, Germany. The ITU is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre , a Directorate-General of the European Commission . The ITU has about 300 staff...
, Karlsruhe): in the course of the radiochemical purification of 79SeSelenium-79Selenium-79 is a radioisotope of selenium present in spent nuclear fuel and the wastes resulting from reprocessing this fuel. It is one of only 7 long-lived fission products. Its yield is low as it is near the lower end of the mass range for fission products...
for the determination of its half-lifeHalf-lifeHalf-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to...
, reductive deposition of selenium on metallic copper was the first step to extract 79Se from high active raffinate (= PUREX raffinatePUREX raffinateThe term PUREX raffinate is a better term for the mixture of metals in nitric acid which are left behind when the uranium and plutonium have been removed by the PUREX process from a nuclear fuel dissolution liquor. This mixture is often known as high level nuclear waste.Two PUREX raffinates exist...
) in a hot cellHot cellShielded nuclear radiation containment chambers are commonly referred to as hot cells. The word "hot" refers to radioactivity.Hot cells are used in both the nuclear-energy and the nuclear-medicines industries....
.
External links
- Analytical tests for Hg rcm-medicine.upr.clu.edu