The Measurement of Soluble (< 10 kDa) Trace Metals in Seawater by the Vivaflow® 50
Overview
Physical speciation of trace metals in aquatic systems is of great importance in understanding their reactivity, bioavailability and overall residence time in the ocean. Processes such as colloidal formation, scavenging by particles and ligand dissolution of particles create a dynamic equilibrium between soluble, colloidal and particulate metals.
In open ocean systems, phytoplankton productivity can be controlled by the concentrations of iron. Determining the soluble and colloidal speciation of iron helps our understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of iron in the ocean.
In this application note, we describe a procedure for determining soluble (< 10 kDa) iron in seawater using ultrafiltration with the Vivaflow® 50.
Page Count: 4
Read Time: 5 minutes
Last Updated: August 2020
Key Takeaways
- We outline a rigorous cleaning procedure for examining soluble metals at ambient seawater concentrations.
- This method can also be employed for other trace metals and for metal binding organic complexes in seawater.
- The preliminary data suggests that the Vivaflow® 50 is a fast, convenient and accurate way to separate soluble and colloidal metal species in seawater.