Zinc is one of the most wide-spreaded chemical element in our environment. Many objects around us as well as many foods contain zinc. Human body, of course, also contains zinc and it plays a significant role here. Three main functions of zinc in human organism can be distinguished: catalytic function (catalyst for enzymes), structural role (protein structure) and regulation of gene expression. In plasma zinc is transported by albumin and trasferrin. Other elements, such as copper and iron, can significantly affect zinc assimilation. Noticeable health disorders can be observed in cases of zinc deficiency or excess.
There are a lot of analytical methods for zinc determination. The most popular and most widely used of them are spectrometric and chromatographic methods. Spectrometric techniques that are most frequently used for zinc determination in biological objects are spectrophotometry, atomic absorption spectrometry with flame or electrothermal atomisation, inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence and arc emission spectroscopy. These methods are universal, multielement and sensitive. Chromatographic methods are one of the most universal methods and are used for widest range of applications, also for the determination of metals. In most cases, for the zinc determination one type of liquid chromatography - ion chromatography is used, also with post column derivatisation. Other methods - neutron activation analysis, isotope dilution, also could be used for zinc determination. Electrochemical methods and enzymatic analysis are less used for this purpose.
