Dr. Austin Roberts conducting arsenic speciation analysis using LC-ICP-MS/MS
Dr. Patrick Parsons, Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences (DEHS) and Chief of the Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry at the Wadsworth Center, delivered an invited lecture at the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS) on November 19, 2025, in Princeton, New Jersey. EAS is one of the premier analytical chemistry conferences in the United States, drawing experts from across the country—particularly the Northeast—to highlight advances in chemical measurement science. His presentation, titled “A Public Health Laboratory Approach to Arsenic Speciation Analysis of Food Matrices using Isocratic Elution LC-ICP-MS/MS,” was part of the technical session “The Use of Innovative Atomic Spectrometry Strategies to Solve Challenging Chemical Problems.”
Arsenic, a naturally occurring non-essential trace element, exists in multiple chemical forms (species) in food products, each with markedly different toxicity profiles. For example, inorganic arsenic, commonly found in rice, is highly toxic and carcinogenic, while arsenobetaine, the predominant arsenic species found in seafood such as shrimp and crab, is considered non-toxic. Differentiating among these species is essential for accurate exposure assessments and public health protection.
Dr. Parsons highlighted his laboratory’s development and full validation of a rapid screening method capable of distinguishing five key inorganic and organoarsenic species in food products using isocratic elution liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole ICP-MS. His talk emphasized both the strengths and limitations of the method, demonstrating its suitability for high-throughput screening and regulatory applications.
The work was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Austin Roberts and Dr. Christopher Palmer of the Trace Elements and Human Health Laboratory within DEHS, and was supported through funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The method was fully validated to FDA standards, underscoring its rigor and applicability to national food safety efforts.
Dr. Parsons’ invited presentation reflects the Wadsworth Center’s leadership in advancing analytical methods that directly support public health decision-making and regulatory science.