Objective
Research objectives and content
Development of reliable and validated complete analytical procedures for the speciation of inorganic, methylated, and ethylated antimony compounds in food webs of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems by gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography on-line coupled to hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
Transformations of Sb species during different approaches of sampling, sample preparation and storage will be elucidated. A primary emphasis of this work consists in the validation of the various steps of the analytical procedure with respect to the recovery of Sb determining the total concentrations of Sb at all stages of the sample preparation. Moreover, the critical analytical steps of extraction and preconcentration have to be optimized for the different matrices to be investigated. For the characterization of the original state of Sb species patterns in nature the samples studied will be mainly fresh specimens, stored under cryogenic conditions in the Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) at the Research Center J|lich. From aquatic food webs water, sediment, algae, mussels and fish organs and from terrestrial ecosystems rain water, soils, tree leaves or shoots, possibly grass and deer liver will be studied. After appropriate developments and validation of the analytical procedures, the various matrices from well-defined and well-described sampling sites will be characterized with respect to their pattern of antimony species.
Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact)
This Marie Curie Research Training Grant, stimulating the mobility and international cooperation of the applicant, will help applicants' intention to get an employment at one of the Joint Research Centers (JRC). The training in J|lich, working on new aspects and problems of additional environmental and biological matrices, new instrumental and mathematical methods/chemometrics, will significantly extend the applicants knowledge of modern analytical instrumentation, speciation trace elements in biological samples and assessment of the analytical results. Consequently, the applicant wants to use his acquired knowledge and training to contribute to European research in a JRC, as outlined in the White Paper on 'Growth, competitiveness and employment' (OJ L361. 31.12.1994).
Links with industry / industrial relevance (22)
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
- natural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistrymass spectrometry
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
RGI - Research grants (individual fellowships)Coordinator
52428 Jülich
Germany