Reagents for lithium electrodes and sensors for blood serum analysis

Abstract

The measurement of lithium in blood serum requires high selectivity since the blood contains about 140 mM sodium compared to the 0.5-1.5 mM lithium level in manic depressive patients under treatment with lithium salts. This review traces the development of optical and potentiometric methods for the selective measurement of lithium in the presence of sodium. Selectivities of over 1,000:1 are achievable with properly designed ionophores. © 2002 by MDPI.