Polarographic Studies on the Nature of Cadmium in Scallop, Oyster, and Lobster

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Abstract
Free and bound forms of cadmium were determined in raw shellfish by use of differential pulse polarography and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Free cadmium is defined by its polarographic peak potential of −0.62 ± 0.02 V (saturated calomel electrode) in solvent washed ammonium sulfate extracts. Bound cadmium was determined by subtracting the free cadmium from the total cadmium present in the meat. Both scallop (various species) and American lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissues contain no free cadmium. Oyster (various species), on the other hand, had a considerable percentage (~50%) of its total cadmium present as free cadmium, a phenomena as yet unexplained. The detection limit for free cadmium is approximately 0.05 μg/g raw tissue. Key words: cadmium, polarography; free cadmium, oyster, lobster, scallop