Determination of lead in water samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after cloud point extraction

Cloud point extraction (CPE) has been used for the pre-concentration of lead, after the formation of a complex with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)-phenol (5-Br-PADAP), and later analysis by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) using octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (TritonX-114) as surfactant. The chemical variables affecting the separation phase were optimized. Separation of the two phases was accomplished by centrifugation for 15 min at 4000 rpm. Under the optimum conditions i.e., pH 8.0, cloud point temperature 40 °C, [5-Br-PADAP] = 2.5 × 10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹, [Triton X-114] = 0.05%, added methanol volume = 0.15 ml, pre-concentration of only 10 ml sample permitted an enhancement factor of 50-fold. The lower limit of detection (LOD) obtained under the optimal conditions was 0.08 μg l⁻¹. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at 5 μg l⁻¹ Pb was 2.8% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). The calibration graph using the pre-concentration system for lead was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9984 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 30 μg l⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the determination of lead in water samples.     

Continuous flow system for lead determination by faas in spirituous beverages with solid phase extraction and on-line copper removal

A continuous flow system for the determination of lead in home made spirituous beverages was developed. The determination was based on the formation of a neutral chelate of the element with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, its adsorption onto a minicolumn packed with sodium faujasite type Y synthetic zeolite, followed by elution with methyl isobutyl ketone and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Ethanol and copper interfere strongly in the determination and therefore, must be separated prior to the analysis. Copper is removed by precipitation with rubeanic acid, while ethanol is eliminated by rotaevaporation. Sample solutions containing Pb²⁺ in the concentration range from 5 to 120 μg l⁻¹ at pH 2.5 could be analyzed, by using a preconcentration time of 3 min. Preconcentration factors from 80 to 140 were achieved for a sample volume of 6 ml and the detection limit varied from 1.4 to 3.5 μg l⁻¹, depending on the matrix composition. The relative standard deviations for 60 μg l⁻¹ Pb was 3.2% (n = 10) and the recovery of spikes (20, 40, 60 and 80 μg l⁻¹) added to the samples was estimated within 92–105% range, suggesting that lead can be quantitatively determined in such samples. Determining lead in several samples by an alternative technique further checked the accuracy. Finally, the concentrations of Pb²⁺ determined in 28 samples of Venezuelan spirituous beverages were in 12.6–370.0 μg l⁻¹ range, depending on the fermenting material based on different mixtures of agave, raw sugar cane and white sugar.     

Atomic absorption spectrophotometric determination of trace copper in waters, aluminium foil and tea samples after preconcentration with 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid on Ambersorb 572

An atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace copper after adsorption of its 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid chelate on Ambersorb 572 has been developed. This chelate is adsorbed on the adsorbent in the pH range 1–8. The copper chelate is eluted with 5 ml of 0.1 mol l⁻¹ potassium cyanide and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The selectivity of the proposed procedure was also evaluated. Results show that iron(III), zinc(II), manganese(II) and cobalt(II) at the 50 μg l⁻¹ level and sodium(I), potassium(I), magnesium(II), calcium(II) and aluminium(III) at the 1000 μg l⁻¹ level did not interfere. A high enrichment factor, 200, was obtained. The detection limit (3σ) of copper was 0.34 μg l⁻¹. The precision of the method, evaluated by seven replicate analyses of solutions containing 5 μg of copper was satisfactory and the relative standard deviation was 1.7%. The adsorption of copper onto Ambersorb 572 can formally be described by a Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 14.3 mg g⁻¹ and a binding constant of 0.00444 l mg⁻¹. The accuracy of the method is confirmed by analysing tomatoes leaves (NIST 1573a) and lead base alloy (NBS 53e). The results demonstrated good agreement with the certified values. This procedure was applied to the determination of copper in waters (tap, river and thermal waters), aluminium foil and tea samples.     

Evaluation of ammonia as diluent for serum sample preparation and determination of selenium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for the determination of total selenium in serum samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was evaluated. The method involved direct introduction of 1:5 diluted serum samples (1% v/v NH₄OH+0.05% w/v Triton X-100^®) into transversely heated graphite tubes, and the use of 10 μg Pd+3 μg Mg(NO₃)₂ as chemical modifier. Optimization of the modifier mass and the atomization temperature was conducted by simultaneously varying such parameters and evaluating both the integrated absorbance and the peak height/peak area ratio. The latter allowed the selection of compromise conditions rendering good sensitivity and adequate analyte peak profiles. A characteristic mass of 49 pg and a detection limit (3s) of 6 μg 1⁻¹ Se, corresponding to 30 μg l⁻¹ Se in the serum sample, were obtained. The analyte addition technique was used for calibration. The accuracy was assessed by the determination of total selenium in Seronorm™ Trace Elements Serum Batch 116 (Nycomed Pharma AS). The method was applied for the determination of total selenium in ten serum samples taken from individuals with no known physical affection. The selenium concentration ranged between 79 and 147 μg l⁻¹, with a mean value of 114±22 μg l⁻¹.     

Cloud point extraction for the determination of As(III) in water samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Cloud point extraction was applied as a preconcentration step for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) determination of As(III) in aqueous solutions. After complexation with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate, the analyte was quantitatively extracted to the surfactant-rich phase in the non-ionic surfactant octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) after centrifugation. 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ in methanol was added to the surfactant-rich phase before ETAAS determination. The precision (R.S.D.) for 11 replicate determinations of 5.0 μg L⁻¹ of As(III) was 3.0%. The concentration factor, which is defined as the concentration ratio of the analyte in the final diluted surfactant-rich extract ready for ETAAS determination and in the initial solution, was 36 for As(III). The linear concentration range was from 0.1 to 20 μg L⁻¹. The developed method was applied to the determination of As(III) in lake water and river water.     

Use of silica gel chemically modified with zirconium phosphate for preconcentration and determination of lead and copper by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An analytical method using silica gel chemically modified with zirconium (IV) phosphate for preconcentration of lead and copper, in a column system, and their sequential determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), was developed. Sample solutions are passed through a glass column packed with 100 mg of the sorbent material, at pH 4.5, and lead and copper are eluted with 1.0 mol l⁻¹ HNO₃ at a flow rate of 2.0 ml min⁻¹. The extraction of copper is affected by Fe(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) while only Fe(II) interferes in the lead determination. These interferences may be overcome with an appropriate addition of a KI or NaF solution. An enrichment factor of 30 was obtained for both metals. While the limits of detection (3σ) were 6.1 and 1.1 μg l⁻¹, for Pb and Cu, respectively, the limits of determination were 16.7 and 3.3 μg l⁻¹. The precision expressed as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) obtained for 3.3 μg l⁻¹ of Cu and 16.7 μg l⁻¹ of Pb were 4.3 and 4.7%, respectively, calculated from ten measurements. The proposed method was evaluated with reference material and was applied for the determination of lead and copper in industrial and river waters.     

Analysis of acrylamide in coffee and dietary exposure to acrylamide from coffee

An analytical method for analysing acrylamide in coffee was validated. The analysis of prepared coffee includes a comprehensive clean-up using multimode solid-phase extraction (SPE) by automatic SPE equipment and detection by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray in the positive mode. The recoveries of acrylamide in ready-to-drink coffee spiked with 5 and 10 μg l⁻¹ were 96±14% and 100±8%, respectively. Within laboratory reproducibility for the same spiking levels were 14% and 9%, respectively. Coffee samples (n = 25) prepared twice by coffee machines and twice by a French Press Cafetière coffee maker contained 8±3 μg l⁻¹ and 9±3 μg l⁻¹ acrylamide. Five ready-to-drink instant coffee prepared twice contained 8±2 μg l⁻¹. Hence, the results do not show significant differences in the acrylamide contents in ready-to-drink coffee prepared by coffee machine, French Press or from instant coffee. Medium roasted coffee contained more acrylamide (10 μg l⁻¹) than dark roasted coffee (5 μg l⁻¹). Males aged 35–45 years, drinking on average 1.1 l coffee per day are exposed to the highest doses of acrylamide from coffee. The dietary intake of acrylamide from coffee comprises, on an average, 10 μg day⁻¹ for males and 9 μg day⁻¹ for females aged 35–45 years. Probabilistic modelling of the exposure of Danish consumers (all adults) to acrylamide from coffee shows a mean exposure of 6.5 μg day⁻¹ and a 95 percentile of 18 μg day⁻¹.     

Sequential injection spectrophotometric determination of iron as Fe(II) in multi-vitamin preparations using 1,10-phenanthroline as complexing agent

A sequential injection analysis (SIA) system is proposed for the determination of iron (II). Fe(II) was determined by SIA based on the reaction between 1,10-phenanthroline and iron (II), yielding an orange–red colour complex with absorption maximum at 512 nm. The method involved aspiration of 187 μl sample/standard zone followed by a zone of a reagent solution containing 140 μl of 7.8 × 10⁻⁴ mol l⁻¹ 1,10-phenanthroline into a carrier stream to be stacked inside a holding coil and flow reversed through a reaction coil to a detector. The optimum condition was evaluated and the calibration curve is linear over a range of 0.25 to 5.0 mg l⁻¹ of Fe(II) with detection limit of 18 μg l⁻¹. A sample throughput of 40 h⁻¹ was established. This technique is found to be simple, accurate, reproducible and sensitive. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of total iron as Fe(II) in pharmaceutical products (multi-vitamin tablets) and is especially useful for the determination of iron (II) in tablets with lower iron (II) contents. The results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained by manual UV/Vis spectrophotometry and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and with claimed values by the manufacturers.     

Determination of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after cloud point extraction

Cloud point extraction (CPE) has been used for the simultaneous pre-concentration of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc after the formation of a complex with 1-(2-thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol (TAN), and later analysis by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) using octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) as surfactant. The chemical variables affecting the separation phase and the viscosity affecting the detection process were optimized. At pH 8.6, pre-concentration of only 50 ml of sample in the presence of 0.05% Triton X-114 and 2×10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹ TAN permitted the detection of 0.099, 0.27, 1.1 and 0.095 ng ml⁻¹ cadmium, copper, lead and zinc, respectively. The enhancement factors were 57.7, 64.3, 55.6 and 63.7 for cadmium, copper, lead and zinc, respectively. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in water samples and a standard reference material (SRM).     

Solvent extraction of arsenic from acid medium using zinc hexamethylenedithiocarbamate as an extractant

Using zinc hexamethylenedithiocarbamate (Zn(HMDC)₂) and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and/or flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI-HGAAS), solvent extraction of As(III) from HCl and H₂SO₄ media into 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone (diisobutyl ketone, DIBK) was examined. Arsenic(III) was quantitatively extracted with 2.41×10⁻³ mol l⁻¹ Zn(HMDC)₂ from about 0.004 (pH 2.4) to 4 mol l⁻¹ HCl and H₂SO₄ aqueous solutions. The logarithmic conditional extraction constant of As(HMDC)₃ in the HCl–DIBK system was determined to be 8.3±0.7, by the measurement of the distribution ratios of Zn(II) and As(III). The effectiveness of the proposed extraction method was ascertained in the determination of As in geochemical standard reference materials supplied by the Geological Survey of Japan. Furthermore, the analysis of arsenic in procedural blanks was 0.083±0.003 μg l⁻¹.     

Determination of As(III) and total inorganic arsenic by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple procedure was developed for the direct determination of As(III) and As(V) in water samples by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (FI–HG–AAS), without pre-reduction of As(V). The flow injection system was operated in the merging zones configuration, where sample and NaBH₄ are simultaneously injected into two carrier streams, HCl and H₂O, respectively. Sample and reagent injected volumes were of 250 μl and flow rate of 3.6 ml min⁻¹ for hydrochloric acid and de-ionised water. The NaBH₄ concentration was maintained at 0.1% (w/v), it would be possible to perform arsine selective generation from As(III) and on-line arsine generation with 3.0% (w/v) NaBH₄ to obtain total arsenic concentration. As(V) was calculated as the difference between total As and As(III). Both procedures were tolerant to potential interference. So, interference such as Fe(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), Sb(III), Sn(II) and Se(IV) could, at an As(III) level of 0.1 mg l⁻¹, be tolerated at a weight excess of 5000, 5000, 500, 100, 10 and 5 times, respectively. With the proposed procedure, detection limits of 0.3 ng ml⁻¹ for As(III) and 0.5 ng ml⁻¹ for As(V) were achieved. The relative standard deviations were of 2.3% for 0.1 mg l⁻¹ As(III) and 2.0% for 0.1 mg l⁻¹ As(V). A sampling rate of about 120 determinations per hour was achieved, requiring 30 ml of NaBH₄ and waste generation in order of 450 ml. The method was shown to be satisfactory for determination of traces arsenic in water samples. The assay of a certified drinking water sample was 81.7±1.7 μg l⁻¹ (certified value 80.0±0.5 μg l⁻¹).     

Coupling of flow injection wetting-film extraction without segmentation and phase separation to flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of trace copper in water samples

A flow injection wetting-film extraction system without segmentor and phase separator has been coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of trace copper. Isobutyl methyl ketone (MIBK) was selected as coating solvent and 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) as the chelating reagent. By switching of a 8-channel valve and alternative initiation of two peristaltic pumps, MIBK, sample solution containing copper chelate of oxine, and air-segment sandwiched eluting solution (1.0 mol l⁻¹ nitric acid) were sequentially aspirated into an extraction coil made of PTFE tubing of 360 cm length and 0.5 mm i.d. The formation of organic film in the wall of the extraction coil, extraction of the copper chelate into the organic film and back-extraction of the analyte into the eluting solution occurred consecutively when these zones aspirated into the extraction coil were propelled down the extraction coil by a carrier solution at a flow rate of 2 ml min⁻¹. After leaving the extraction coil, the concentrated zone was transported to the nebulizer at its free uptake rate for atomization. Under the optimized conditions, an enrichment factor of 43 and a detection limit of 0.2 μg l⁻¹ copper were achieved at a sample throughput rate of 30 h⁻¹. Eleven determinations of a standard copper solution of 60 μg l⁻¹ gave a relative standard deviation of 1.5%. Foreign ions possibly present in tap water and natural water did not interfere with the copper determination. The developed method has been successfully used to the determination of copper content of tap water and river water.     

Flow injection determination of bismuth in urine by successive retention of Bi(III) and tetrahydroborate(III) on an anion-exchange resin and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

Bismuth as BiCl₄⁻ and BH₄⁻ ware successively retained in a column (150 mm × 4 mm, length × i.d.) packed with Amberlite IRA-410 (strong anion-exchange resin). This was followed by passage of an injected slug of hydrochloric acid resulting in bismuthine generation (BiH₃). BiH₃ was stripped from the eluent solution by the addition of a nitrogen flow and the bulk phases were separated in a gas–liquid separator. Finally, bismutine was atomized in a quartz tube for the subsequent detection of bismuth by atomic absorption spectrometry. Different halide complexes of bismuth (namely, BiBr₄⁻, BiI₄⁻ and BiCl₄⁻) were tested for its pre-concentration, being the chloride complexes which produced the best results. Therefore, a concentration of 0.3 mol l⁻¹ of HCl was added to the samples and calibration solutions. A linear response was obtained between the detection limit (3σ) of 0.225 and 80 μg l⁻¹. The R.S.D.% (n = 10) for a solution containing 50 μg l⁻¹ of Bi was 0.85%. The tolerance of the system to interferences was evaluated by investigating the effect of the following ions: Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Mg²⁺. The most severe depression was caused by Hg²⁺, which at 60 mg l⁻¹ caused a 5% depression on the signal. For the other cations, concentrations between 1000 and 10,000 mg l⁻¹ could be tolerated. The system was applied to the determination of Bi in urine of patients under therapy with bismuth subcitrate. The recovery of spikes of 5 and 50 μg l⁻¹ of Bi added to the samples prior to digestion with HNO₃ and H₂O₂ was in satisfactory ranges from 95.0 to 101.0%. The concentrations of bismuth found in six selected samples using this procedure were in good agreement with those obtained by an alternative technique (ETAAS). Finally, the concentration of Bi determined in urine before and after 3 days of treatment were 1.94 ± 1.26 and 9.02 ± 5.82 μg l⁻¹, respectively.     

Statistical design-principal component analysis optimization of a multiple response procedure using cloud point extraction and simultaneous determination of metals by ICP OES

A procedure has been developed for the simultaneous determination of traces amounts of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Pb from saline oil-refinery effluents and digested vegetable samples using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The procedure is based on cloud point extraction (CPE) of these metals as 2-(bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethyl-amino-phenol (Br-PADAP) complexes into a micellar phase of octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114). Optimization of the procedure was performed by response surface methodology (RSM) using a Doehlert design. Principal components (PC) were used to simplify the multiple response analysis. A response surface for the first PC score is useful in determining the optimum conditions for the Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb determinations whereas the second PC is highly correlated with the Ni response. Improvement factors of 22, 36, 46, 25, 65 and 39, along with limits of detection (3σ_B) of 0.081, 0.79, 0.38, 0.83, 0.28 and 0.69 μg L⁻¹, and precision expressed as relative standard deviation (%R.S.D., n = 8, 20.0 μg L⁻¹) of 1.5, 2.2, 3.5, 2.6, 2.5 and 2.5 were achieved for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Pb, respectively. The accuracy was evaluated by spike tests in oil-refinery effluent samples and analysis of a vegetable certified reference material (NIST 1571, orchard leaves). Results found were in agreement with certified values.     

Biosorption of heavy metals on Aspergillus fumigatus immobilized Diaion HP-2MG resin for their atomic absorption spectrometric determinations

A solid phase extraction procedure based on biosorption of copper(II), lead(II), zinc(II), iron(III), nickel(II) and cobalt(II) ions on Aspergillus fumigatus immobilized Diaion HP-2MG has been investigated. The analytical conditions including amounts of A. fumigatus, eluent type, flow rates of sample and eluent solutions were examined. Good recoveries were obtained to the spiked natural waters. The influences of the concomitant ions on the retentions of the analytes were also examined. The detection limits (3sigma, N = 11) were 0.30 μg l⁻¹ for copper, 0.32 μg l⁻¹ for iron, 0.41 μg l⁻¹ for zinc, 0.52 μg l⁻¹ for lead, 0.59 μg l⁻¹ for nickel and 0.72 μg l⁻¹ for cobalt. The relative standard deviations of the procedure were below 7%. The validation of the presented procedure is performed by the analysis of three standard reference materials (NRCC-SLRS 4 Riverine Water, SRM 1515 Apple leaves and GBW 07605 Tea). The procedure was successfully applied for the determination of analyte ions in natural waters microwave digested samples including street dust, tomato paste, black tea, etc.     

Sequential injection spectrophotometric determination of zinc(II) in pharmaceuticals based on zinc(II)–PAN in non-ionic surfactant medium

A sequential injection analysis (SIA) spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amounts of zinc(II) with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) is described. The method is based on the measurement of absorbance of the zinc(II)–PAN chelate solubilized with a non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100, no extraction procedure is required in the proposed method, yielding a pink colored complex at pH 9.5 with absorption maximum at 553 nm. The SIA parameters that affect the signal response have been optimized in order to get the better sensitivity and minimum reagent consumption. A linear relationship between the relative peak height and concentration was obtained in the concentration range of 0.1–1.0 μg ml⁻¹. The limit of detection (LOD, defined as 3σ) and limit of quantification (LOQ, defined as 10σ) were 0.02 and 0.06 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. The sample throughput about 40 samples/h was obtained. The repeatability were 1.32 and 1.24% (n = 10) for 0.1 and 0.5 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the assay of zinc(II) in three samples of multivitamin tablets. The results were found to be in good agreement with those obtained by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometric method and with the claimed values by the manufactures. The t-test showed no significant difference at 95% confidence level.     

Speciation of chromium in mineral waters and salinas by solid-phase extraction and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple GF-AAS method for speciation analysis of chromium in mineral waters and salinas was developed. Cr(VI) species were separated from Cr(III) by solid-phase extraction with APDC (ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate). The APDC complexes were formed in the sample solution under proper conditions, adsorbed on Diaion HP-2MG resin and the resin was separated from the sample. After elution with concentrated nitric acid Cr(VI) was determined by GF-AAS. Total chromium was determined by GF-AAS directly in the sample and Cr(III) concentration was calculated as the difference between those results.

The detection limit of the method defined as 3 s of background variation was 0.03 μg l⁻¹ for Cr(VI) and 0.3 μg l⁻¹ for total chromium. RSD for Cr(VI) determination at the concentration of 0.14 μg l⁻¹ was 9%, and for total chromium at the concentration of 5.6 μg l⁻¹ was 5%. The recovery of Cr(VI) was in the range of 94–100%, dependently on type of the sample.

The investigation of recovery of the spiked Cr(VI) showed that at concentration levels near 1 μg l⁻¹ and lower recovery may be reduced significantly even by pure reagents that seem to be free from any reductants.     

Solvent impregnated hollow fibre for a selective preconcentration of Pb(II) in an on-line determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A solvent impregnated hollow fibre (SIHF) module has been developed for the preconcentration of lead by using bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) dissolved in kerosene as extractant. The module has been designed for an on-line determination of trace amounts of lead(II) at mg l⁻¹ (ppm) level by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).

The SIHF system is based on the metal liquid–liquid distribution between aqueous solutions of different acidity and the mentioned organic solution. The highest enrichment factor of Pb(II) was determined at pH=4.0 using a formic acid/formiate buffer solution.

Preconcentration experiments were carried out at low lead(II) concentration (mg l⁻¹ level) by using the SIHF module. This study includes the influence of hydrodynamic and chemical conditions on the loading and elution of Pb(II) on the SIHF, i.e., flow rate through the fibres, acidity of the eluent (as nitric acid concentration) and the chemical nature of the acid used in the elution. Breakthrough curves were determined for different sampling flow rates, 0.54 ml min⁻¹ was selected to minimise the loading volume of Pb(II) sample. 0.1 M nitric acid was chosen as eluent solution, and perchloric acid also shows appropriate elution characteristics. The degree of concentration obtained for Pb(II) are of 10 fold the original concentration. The quantification limit for Pb(II) achieved with this preconcentration system is 0.17 mg l⁻¹.

The results obtained indicate that the SIHF system can be applied for on-line determination of trace amounts of lead(II) by FAAS.     

Evaluation of a synergetic effect between Rh as permanent chemical modifier and acetylacetone as complexing agent in Sc determination in sediment slurry samples by ETAAS

In the present work, scandium was determined in sediment slurry samples (from three different rivers) by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Slurries were prepared by weighting 100 mg of dry sediment samples (≤53 μm particle sizes) and adding 6 ml of HCl:HNO₃:HF (3:1:2, v/v). Accurate results were only possible due to the synergetic effect between Rh as permanent chemical modifier and acetylacetone (Acac) as complexing agent. The same platform was used for 400 heating cycles. The performance of the chemical modification was evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SRXRF) and some figures of merit (precision and detectability). The best analytical conditions were attained using 1500 and 2550 °C as pyrolysis and atomization temperatures. The scandium content in the liquid phase of the slurries ranged from 61 to 73%, thus indicating, in this study, that both liquid and solid phases play an important role in slurry analyses. An amount of 5.0–20.0 μg l⁻¹ Sc linear range as well as LOD and LOQ of 0.19 and 0.62 μg l⁻¹, respectively, were obtained under these conditions. The accuracy was checked by using microwave-assisted decomposition, and the results compared to those obtained with the proposed methodology (slurry analysis). By checking both sets of the results, there is no statistical difference at the 95% confidence levels.     

Application of factorial design in optimization of preconcentration procedure for copper determination in soft drink by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

In the present paper, a procedure for preconcentration and determination of copper in soft drink using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is proposed, which is based on solid-phase extraction of copper(II) ions as its ion pair of 1,10-phenanthroline complexes with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecil sulphate (SDS), by Amberlite XAD-2 resin. The optimization process was carried out using 2^4–1 factorial and 2² factorial with a center point designs. Four variables (XAD-2 mass, copper mass, sample flow rate and elution flow rate) were regarded as factors in the optimization. Student's t-test on the results of the 2^4–1 factorial design with eight runs for copper extraction, demonstrated that the factors XAD-2 mass and sample flow rate in the levels studied are statistically significant. The 2² factorial with a center point design was applied in order to determine the optimum conditions for extraction. The procedure proposed allowed the determination of copper with detection limits (3/S) of 3.9 μg l⁻¹. The precision, calculated as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 1.8% for 20.0 μg l⁻¹ of copper. The preconcentration factor was 100. The robustness of this procedure is demonstrated by the recovery achieved for determination of copper in the presence of several cations. This procedure was applied to the determination of copper in soft drink samples collected in Campinas, SP, Brazil.