Comparison of different sample preparation methods for platinum determination in cultured cells by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

BACKGROUND: Platinum-based agents are widely used in chemotherapy against solid tumors and insufficient intracellular drug accumulation is one of the leading causes of platinum resistance which is associated with poor survival of tumor patients. Thus, the detection of intracellular platinum is pivotal for studies aiming to overcome platinum resistance. In the present study, we aimed to establish a reliable graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS)-based assay to quantify the intracellular platinum content for cultured cells. METHODS: Several most commonly applied cell preparation methods, including 0.2% HNO(3), 0.2% Triton X-100, concentrated nitric acid, RIPA combined with concentrated nitric acid and hydroxide, followed by GFAAS for platinum detection were compared in ovarian, cervical and liver cancer cell lines to obtain the optimal one, and parameters regarding linearity, accuracy, precision and sensitivity were evaluated. Influence of other metals on platinum detection and the storage conditions of samples were also determined. RESULTS: The treatment of cells with 0.2% HNO(3) was superior to other approaches with fewer platinum loss and better repeatability. The recovery rate and precision of this method were 97.3%–103.0% and 1.4%–3.8%, respectively. The average recoveries in the presence of other metals were 95.1%–103.1%. The detection limit was 13.23 ug/L. The recovery rate of platinum remained acceptable even in cell samples stored in −20 °C or −80 °C for two months. DISCUSSION: After comparison, we found that 0.2% HNO(3) was optimal for intracellular platinum quantification based on GFAAS, which presented values compatible with that of inductively-coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS), and this is partially attributed to the simplicity of this method. Moreover, the assay was proved to be accurate, sensitive, cost-effective and suitable for the research of platinum-based antitumor therapy.