Objective  To establish a method for determination of 13 elements in human urine with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

  Methods  We collected urine samples from 58 healthy people aged 20 – 79 years randomly selected in a city in 2018. One mL urine sample was centrifuged for 5 minutes after mixed with 9 mL 1% nitric acid. Germanium (Ge), rhodium (Rh) and indium (In) were used as internal standard for compensation of matrix effect and the 13 elements (chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, arsenic, selenium, molybdenum, cadmium, tin, antimony, mercury, thallium and lead) in the samples were detected with ICP-MS.

  Results  Good linearity was observed for the measurements of the 13 elements within the concentration range from 0.05 μg/L to 5.00 μg/L. The detection limits were between 0.05 μg/L and 1.00 μg/L. The inter-batches relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 0.5% and 9.2% and the inter-days RSDs were between 0.8% and 11.9%; the average recoveries were between 87.6% – 118.5%. The detection results of Seronorm Trace Elements Urine L-1 and L-2 were all within the acceptable ranges.

  Conclusion  The established method is simple, accurate, and suitable for a variety of simultaneous detections of elements in human urine samples.