Table 7. Validated methods for antimony quantification in human samples.

	Anodic stripping voltammetry	Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and on-line ion chromatography	Graphite furnace atomic absorption	Electrothermal atomic absorption Spectroscopy	Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry	Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Sample	Heparinized blood	Heparinized blood, plasma, urine, hair	Urine	Plasma, urine	Hair	Plasma, PBMCs
Amount of biological sample	5 ml	Blood, plasma and urine: ND† Hair: 0.5–2.0 cm length (measured from the scalp)	2g	ND	0.5 g	Plasma: 100 μl PBMCs: 2.27 ×106–25.7 ×106 cells
Extraction or digestion methods	ND†	Blood, plasma and urine: ND† Hair: nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide	Chelation with thenoyl-trifluoro-acetone in supercritical carbon dioxide	Nickelous nitrate hexahydrate in nitric acid and Triton X-100	Nitiric acid, hydrochloric acid and water in closed system	1% TMAH/1% EDTA
LLOQ	76 ng/ml	0.16 ng/ml for SbV 0.15 ng/ml for SbIII	12.5 ng/ml	20 ng/ml	4.6 ng/g	25 ng/ml
CV at lowest quantification	1.3–3.4 %	0.9985 (R2) for SbV 0.9989 (R2) for SbIII	2.8% (RSD)	11.1%	2.8% (RSD)	Plasma: 5.16% PBMCs: 8.88%
Quantification range of Sb concentrations	76–29,500 ng/ml	0–100 ng/ml for both SbV and SbIII	2.5–200 ng/ml	0–200 ng/ml	ND†	25–10000 ng/ml
SbV and SbIII speciation	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Reference	Chulay JD et al. (1988) [27]	Miekeley N etal. (2002) [12]	Hui-Ming L (2013) [28]	Cruz A et al. (2007) [11], de Aguilar MG et al. (2018) [29]	Cardozo MC et al. (2016) [30]	Current study

LLOQ: Lower limit of quantification; ND: Not described; PBMC: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell; TMAH: Tetramethylammonium hydroxide.