Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of calcium and other metallic elements in some animal protein sources

The phosphorus content of some animal protein sources was determined in order to identify the sample with the highest phosphorus content for use as a pilot sample. Varying concentrations of strontium and lanthanum were added to solutions of the ashed pilot sample for the determination of calcium and magnesium using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry operated on the air-acetylene mode. At least 3000 ppm of strontium or lanthanum was required to completely overcome the interference of phosphate ion, PO(4)(3-), and give peak values for calcium. The presence of strontium or lanthanum did not affect the amount of magnesium obtained from the analyses. Based on this, a procedure is proposed and the results obtained by this procedure for calcium are more enhanced than those obtained without the addition of strontium or lanthanum for the same samples whereas comparable results were obtained for all other elements whether strontium or lanthanum was added or not. The method gives more accurate results and is reproducible. The coefficients of variation calculated using one of the samples were 0.58% for magnesium, 3.12% for zinc; 0.44% for calcium, 11.06% for lead, 22.22% for nickel, 3.53% for manganese and 3.50% for iron at the concentration levels found in that sample. Recoveries of spiked calcium, magnesium and zinc were quantitative. Also, for selected elements, results from the procedure compared well with those from chemical analysis.     

Comparison of ultrasound-assisted extraction and microwave-assisted digestion for determination of magnesium, manganese and zinc in plant samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

In this paper, a sample preparation method based on acid extraction of magnesium, manganese and zinc from plant tissue by means of high intensity probe ultrasonication is described. Acid extracts obtained upon sonication were directly nebulised into an air-acetylene flame for fast metal determination by atomic absorption spectrometry. Parameters influencing extraction such as sonication time, ultrasound amplitude, sample mass, particle size, extractant composition and volume were fully optimised. Optimum conditions for metal extraction were as follows: a 3-min sonication time, a 30% ultrasonic amplitude, a 0.1-g sample mass, a particle size less than 50 mum, a 0.3% m/v HCl concentration in the extractant solution and a 5-ml extractant volume. Six plant samples used in the human diet were analysed, the concentration range of the three metals approximately being in the range of 1500-3000 mug g(-1) for Mg, 30-735 mug g(-1) for Mn and 20-45 mug g(-1) for Zn. Limits of detection corresponding to the ultrasound-assisted extraction method were 0.10, 1.26 and 0.65 mug g(-1) for Mg, Mn and Zn, respectively. Between-batch precision, expressed as R.S.D., was about 0.5, 1.5 and 1% for Mg, Mn and Zn, respectively. Analytical results for the three metals by ultrasound-assisted extraction and microwave-assisted digestion showed a good agreement, thus indicating the possibility of using mild conditions for sample preparation instead of intensive treatments inherent with the digestion method. The advantages and drawbacks of ultrasound-assisted extraction in respect to the microwave-assisted digestion are discussed.     

The determination of wear metals in used lubricating oils by flame atomic absorption spectrometry using sulphanilic acid as ashing agent

A simple and reliable ashing procedure is proposed for the preparation of used lubricating oil samples for the determination of calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, chromium and nickel by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Sulphanilic acid was added to oil samples and the mixture coked and the coke ashed at 550 degrees C. The solutions of the ash were analysed by flame AAS for the metals. The release of calcium, zinc, iron and chromium was improved by the addition of sulphanilic acid to samples. The relative standard deviations of metal concentration results in the initial oil samples were 1.5% for Ca (1500 mg l(-1) level), 0.3% for Mg (100 mg l(-1) level), 3.1% for Zn (1500 mg l(-1) level), 0.7% for Fe (500 mg l(-1) level), 0.02% for Cr (50 mg l(-1) level) and 0.002% for Ni (10 mg l(-1) level). The optimum sample size for efficient metal release was 20 g while the optimum sulphanilic acid to oil ratio was 0.05 g per gram of oil for Zn and Cr and 0.10 g for Ca and Fe. Results obtained by this procedure were highly reproducible and comparable with those obtained for the same samples using standard procedures.     

Direct determination of calcium,copper, iron,magnesium, manganese and zinc in amniotic fluid samples using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

An inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometric method is reported for the determination of calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and zinc. Samples are introduced directly when a sheath gas device is used. An external calibration procedure is used. The standards are prepared in a matrix composed of 0.5% (w/v) albumin and 0.76% (w/v) sodium chloride. The procedure was evaluated with a standard reference material (NBS SRM 909 Human Serum); all the values obtained are in agreement with the certified values. Results obtained for the determination of zinc, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese in amniotic fluid samples are reported.     

Atomic-absorption spectrometric determination of calcium, magnesium and potassium in leaf samples after decomposition with molten sodium hydroxide

The decomposition of standard leaf samples of varied origin and nature by fusion with sodium hydroxide in an open system has been studied. The use of sodium nitrate as an auxiliary agent facilitated the mineralization of most of the samples. The solutions obtained were analysed for calcium, magnesium and potassium by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry. The method is fast and quite precise, with absolute standard deviations of 0.04-0.13, 0.002-0.03 and 0.04-0.12% for calcium, magnesium and potassium contents of O.8-5.0, 0.13-0.48 and 0.36-2.2% respectively. The limits of detection (mug/ml) in the determination step were 0.10 for calcium, 0.011 for magnesium, and 0.09 for potassium.     

Determination of calcium, magnesium and zinc in unused lubricating oils by atomic absorption spectroscopy

Varying concentrations of lanthanum and strontium were added to solutions of ashed unused lubricating oils for the determination of calcium, magnesium and zinc content using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. At least 3000 μg g⁻¹ of lanthanum or strontium was required to completely overcome the interference of the phosphate ion, PO³⁻₄, and give peak values for calcium. The presence of lanthanum or strontium did not cause an appreciable increase in the amount of magnesium and zinc obtained from the analyses. The method is fast and reproducible, and the coefficients of variation calculated for the elements using one of the samples were 1.6% for calcium, 3.5% for magnesium and 0.2% for zinc. Results obtained by this method were better than those obtained by other methods for the same samples.     

Rapid determination of nitroimidazole residues in honey by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

We developed a rapid and efficient means of determining residues of four nitroimidazoles-i.e., dimetridazole, ipronidazole, metronidazole, and ronidazole-and three hydrophilic metabolites- i.e., 2-hydroxymethyl-1-methyl-5-nitroimidazole, 1 -methyl-2-(2'-hydroxyisopropyl)-5-nitroimidazole, and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-hydroxymethyl-nitroimidazole--in honey. We applied a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) procedure improved to suit a nitroimidazole analysis, which is fast (approximately 30 min) and uses less organic solvent. The procedure involves initial single-phase extraction of 5 g of honey with acetonitrile containing 1% acetic acid, followed by liquid-liquid partitioning involving the addition of 5 g sodium chloride, 1.5 g trisodium citrate dihydrate, and 4 g magnesium sulfate. Moreover, matrix from honey was reduced by an SPE method with an alumina-N cartridge. The samples were analyzed using LC/MS/MS. Chromatographic separation of these nitroimidazoles and metabolites was performed in the gradient mode on a pentafluorophenylpropyl-bonded silica column (150x2.0 mm, 3 pm particle size) at 40 degrees C. The mobile phase consisted of a 0.01% acetic acid solution and acetonitrile, and the flow rate was 0.2 mL/min. The method was validated using honey spiked with these nitroimidazoles from 0.1 to 0.5 microg/kg. The overall recovery of the seven nitroimidazoles ranged from 76.1 to 98.5%; intra- and interassay CV values were <9.5 and <14.2%, respectively. The LOQ ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 microg/kg. LC/MS/MS coupled with the QuEChERS method showed good potential as a method for determining nitroimidazole residues in honey.     

Determination of silver, antimony, bismuth, copper, cadmium and indium in ores, concentrates and related materials by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry after methyl isobutyl ketone extraction as iodides

Methods for determining ~ 0.2 mug g or more of silver and cadmium, ~ 0.5 mug g or more of copper and ~ 5 mug g or more of antimony, bismuth and indium in ores, concentrates and related materials are described. After sample decomposition and recovery of antimony and bismuth retained by lead and calcium sulphates, by co-precipitation with hydrous ferric oxide at pH 6.20 +/- 0.05, iron(III) is reduced to iron(II) with ascorbic acid, and antimony, bismuth, copper, cadmium and indium are separated from the remaining matrix elements by a single methyl isobutyl ketone extraction of their iodides from ~2M sulphuric acid-0.1M potassium iodide. The extract is washed with a sulphuric acid-potassium iodide solution of the same composition to remove residual iron and co-extracted zinc, and the extracted elements are stripped from the extract with 20% v v nitric acid-20% v v hydrogen peroxide. Alternatively, after the removal of lead sulphate by filtration, silver, copper, cadmium and indium can be extracted under the same conditions and stripped with 40% v v nitric acid-25% v v hydrochloric acid. The strip solutions are treated with sulphuric and perchloric acids and ultimately evaporated to dry ness. The individual elements are determined in a 24% v v hydrochloric acid medium containing 1000 mug of potassium per ml by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry with an air-acetylene flame. Tin, arsenic and molybdenum are not co-extracted under the conditions above. Results obtained for silver, antimony, bismuth and indium in some Canadian certified reference materials by these methods are compared with those obtained earlier by previously published methods.     

Applications of enzyme-catalysed reactions in trace analysis-V Determination of zinc and calcium by their activation of the apo-enzyme of calf-intestinal alkaline phosphatase

The activation of the apo-enzyme of calf-intestinal alkaline phosphatase by zinc in the presence and absence of magnesium 4 x 10(-4)M) is applied to the determination of 6-65 ng and 65-650 ng of zinc, respectively. The activation of the apo-enzyme by calcium in the presence of 1.4 x 10(-7)M zinc is used to determine 1-4 mug of calcium. The mechanism of the re-activation effects is discussed.     

Carbon fiber cylindrical microelectrode-based detector for the determination of antithyroid drugs

An amperometric flow-injection method for the determination of antithyroid drugs such as 6-methyl-2-thiouracil (MTU) using a carbon fiber cylindrical microelectrode-based detector is reported. A home-made flow-cell specially adapted for working with cylindrical microelectrodes ranging between 4 and 10 mm in length was used for this purpose. Methanol containing 0.05 mol l(-1) tetrabutylammonium perchlorate as the supporting electrolyte was employed, and a potential of +1.6 V was selected for the amperometric detection of MTU. No cleaning or electrode surface regeneration of the fiber was necessary during the whole working day. A limit of detection of 2.6x10(-7) mol l(-1) (37 mug MTU l(-1)) was achieved. The method was applied to the determination of MTU in spiked feed samples (peas and corn flour), at the 142 mug g(-1) level. The procedure involved the extraction of the drug in methanol, a clean-up step using Florisil cartridges and the use of the standard additions method. Recoveries of 81+/-6 and 85+/-8% were obtained for peas and corn flour, respectively.     

Direct determination of selenium in a wild fruit juice by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A matrix modifier composed of platinum and nickel is proposed for the determination of selenium in a wild fruit juice made from Lantingguo (Vuccinium uliginosam). Five matrix modifiers (copper/nickel, palladium/magnesium, platinum/magnesium, platinum/nickel and platinum/copper) for suppressing the interference effects of seven co-existing elements (potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and iron) in a wild juice were studied and a matrix modifier composed fro;m 10 mug of platinum and 200 mug of nickel was found to give the best performance. Selenium in three juices was determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry employing the proposed matrix modifier without matrix preseparation. The relative standard deviation was 14% for 0.20 mg l(-1) of selenium. The recoveries were 95-110%. A characteristic mass was 28 pg.     

Determination of zinc in plant samples by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Determination of zinc involved spiking with (68)Zn enriched solution, digestion by HNO(3)+H(2)O(2) in microwave decomposition unit, off-line separation of zinc on Chelex-100 column and measurement of ((64)Zn+(66)Zn)/(68)Zn isotope ratio on ICP-MS spectrometer with a quadrupole mass filter. After optimization of standard operation procedure (details are given) the method was validated. LOD was found to be 0.3 mug g(-1) for the procedure without zinc separation and 3.6 mug g(-1) for the procedure involving zinc separation, respectively. The accuracy of results was proved by analyses of several CRM and a primary solution of zinc, the concentration of which was verified by gravimetry and complexometric titration. Barium is the only element causing serious interferences and it must be removed from samples. The uncertainty budget is given together with the scheme of combined uncertainty calculation. The main uncertainty components are contamination during zinc separation and uncertainty of isotopic composition of natural zinc.     

Fast determination of phosphorus in honey,milk and infant formulas by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using a slurry sampling procedure

A procedure for the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of phosphorus in honey, milk and infant formulas using slurried samples is described. Suspensions prepared in a medium containing 50% v/v concentrated hydrogen peroxide, 1% v/v concentrated nitric acid, 10% m/v glucose, 5% m/v sucrose and 100 mg l^− 1 of potassium were introduced directly into the furnace. For the honey samples, multiple injection of the sample was necessary. The modifier selected was a mixture of 20 μg palladium and 5 μg magnesium nitrate, which was injected after the sample and before proceeding with the drying and calcination steps. Calibration was performed using aqueous standards prepared in the same suspension medium and the graph was linear between 5 and 80 mg l^− 1 of phosphorus. The reliability of the procedure was checked by comparing the results obtained by the new developed method with those found when using a reference spectrophotometric method after a mineralization step, and by analyzing several certified reference materials.     

Fluoride determination with a micro flow-calorimeter

Fluoride is determined by an integration technique with a flow calorimeter. All samples are absorbed on an anion-exchange resin before being brought into the calorimetric system. The reaction between hydrofluoric add and sodium hydroxide is used in the determinations. The method is applied to samples with between 7 mug and 5 mg of fluoride. The confidence limit is +/-2-5 mug for small samples and +/-25 mug for large samples. The enthalpy of the reaction H(+) + F(-) --> HF((aq)) was found to be 13.77 +/- 0.08 kJ mole .     

Determination of magnesium and calcium ions in seawater by capillary zone electrophoresis

Capillary zone electrophoresis is proposed for the determination of magnesium and calcium ions in seawater. A carrier solution containing EDTA was adopted for the complexation of these ions and the effect of sodium chloride concentration in the sample solutions on the results was examined. It was found that magnesium and calcium ions could be determined without any pretreatment by injecting 100-fold diluted seawater samples. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for standard solutions containing up to 10.0 mg/l of calcium ion when both peak area and peak height were used. On the other hand, a linear calibration graph was obtained for standard solutions containing up to 20.0 mg/l of magnesium ion when the peak area was used, while a curved one was obtained when the peak height was used. Relative standard deviations were 0.8 and 1.2% when a standard solution containing 5.0 mg/l of magnesium and 8.0 mg/l of calcium ions was analysed 8 times using the peak area. Limits of detection for magnesium and calcium ions were 0.13 and 0.26 mg/l, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of magnesium and calcium ions in surface and bottom seawater samples.     

Simultaneous determination of calcium and magnesium by derivative spectrophotometry in pharmaceutical products

First- and second-derivative spectrophotometric methods for the simultaneous determination of calcium and magnesium in their mixtures are described. The methods are based on the colored complexes formed by calcium and magnesium with bromopyrogallol red in presence of Tween 80 as a surfactant. The zero-crossing method has been utilized to measure the first- and second-derivative value of the derivative spectrum. Calcium (0.8-4.8microgml(-1)) is determined in the presence of magnesium (0.5-3.5microgml(-1)) at the pH 10 and vice versa at zero-crossing wavelengths of 544.5 and 570nm in the first-derivative procedure and 574 and 531nm in the second-derivative procedure, respectively. The detection limits achieved were 0.0575microgml(-1) of calcium and 0.03microgml(-1) of magnesium. The relative standard deviations were in all instances less than 2%. The proposed method has been applied to the simultaneous determination of calcium and magnesium in different samples: commercial multivitamin, human serum and drinking water where excellent agreement between reported and obtained results was achieved.     

Flow injection flame atomic absorption spectrometry for slurry atomization. Determination of iron, calcium and magnesium in samples with high silica content

A study on the use of slurries in flame atomic absorption spectrometry is reported. Samples with a very high silica content are ground and then slurried in a solution containing 2% hydrochloric and 3% v/v hydrofluoric acids. The suspensions are prepared in the 0.01-1% m/v range and introduced into the flame by means of a simple flow injection manifold. Relative standard deviations for the measurements of iron, calcium and magnesium in diatomaceous earth samples are in the 1.5-2.8, 2.2-5.3 and 2.8-5.0% ranges, respectively. To avoid the use of suspensions prepared with a very low percentage of solid sample and to improve the reproducibility, an on-line dilution manifold is tried. The use of an easy-to-construct variable volume dilution chamber allows the on-line dilution of the slurries, thus permitting the determination of calcium and magnesium over a wide range of concentrations. Calibration is performed using aqueous standards. The experimental conditions, optimized for the determination of iron, calcium and magnesium in diatomaceous earth samples, can also be applied to other silica-based materials, as is shown by the analysis of several standard reference materials.     

Comparison of slurry sampling and microwave-assisted digestion for calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc determination in fish tissue samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The development of a slurry sampling method for the determination of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium and zinc in fish tissue samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry is described. In comparison with microwave-assisted digestion, the proposed method is simple, requires short time and eliminates total sample dissolution before analysis. Suspension medium was optimized for each analyte to obtain quantitative recoveries from fish tissue samples without matrix interferences. Nevertheless, iron recoveries higher than 46% were not found. Treatment of samples slurried in nitric acid by microwave irradiation for 15-30 s at 75-285 W permitted to achieve efficient recoveries for calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc. Further improvement in the matrix effects for iron determination was accomplished by the use of an additional step of short microwave-assisted suspension treatment. However, standard addition method was required for calcium and copper determination, being necessary hydrochloric acid as suspension medium for the last one. Although copper could not be determined in the certified reference material using microwave-assisted digestion, the accuracy of the slurry sampling method was verified for all the investigated analytes. Detection limits were 22.8 ± 8.0, 0.884 ± 0.092, 5.07 ± 0.76, 35.5 ± 0.7 and 1.17 ± 0.04 μg g⁻¹ for calcium, copper, iron, magnesium and zinc, respectively. The standard deviations obtained using slurry sampling method and microwave-assisted digestion were not significantly different, and the mean relative standard deviation of the over-all method (n = 3) of the slurry sampling method for different concentration levels was below 12%.     

Rapid visual compleximetric titration of calcium in natural waters

Visual compleximetric methods for the titration of calcium in the presence of magnesium have been based either on masking the magnesium or using an indirect indicator procedure, e.g., the system Zn-EGTA-Zincon. In the proposed method these two approaches are combined. Zn-EGTA complex is added to the mixture and the zinc liberated in the calcium replacement reaction is titrated with EGTA after the magnesium has been masked with fluoride ion.     

Standard-addition determination of nitrogen in coal with an ammonia-sensitive electrode

After semimicro Kjeldahl digestion of the coal sample with a K(2)SO(4)-V(2)O(5)-Se catalyst and sulphuric acid, the digest is cooled, diluted with water, neutralized and then made alkaline with NaOH/EDTA solution. The ammonia thus formed is determined by measuring the potential of a properly conditioned ammonia-sensitive electrode containing an appropriate filling solution; a gravimetric standard-addition technique is used. Known additions of 1-2 mug of N per g to blank solutions enables all measurements of potential to be made in the linear region of the electrode-response curve. The electrode measurement procedure gives blank-corrected recoveries of between 99.0 and 101.0% for synthetic sample solutions. Results obtained for nitrogen in reference coal samples by the electrode procedure have been found to agree well with those obtained by other methods.