An evaluation of analytical techniques for determination of lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury in food-packaging materials

Closed microwave digestion and a high-pressure asher have been evaluated for wet-oxidation and extraction of lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury from a range of typical packaging materials used for food products. For the high-pressure asher a combination of nitric and sulfuric acids was efficient for destruction of a range of packaging materials; for polystyrene, however, nitric acid alone was more efficient. For microwave digestion, a reagent containing nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrogen peroxide was used for all materials except polystyrene. Use of the high-pressure asher resulted in the highest recoveries of spiked lead (median 92%), cadmium (median 92%), chromium (median 97%), and mercury (median 83%). All samples were spiked before digestion with 40 μg L^–1 Cd, Cr, and Pb and 8 μg L^–1 Hg in solution. The use of indium as internal standard improved the accuracy of results from both ICP–MS and ICP–AES. Average recovery of the four elements from spiked packaging materials was 92 ± 14% by ICP–MS and 87 ± 15% (except for mercury) by ICP– AES. For mercury analysis by CVAAS, use of tin(II) chloride as reducing agent resulted in considerably better accuracy than use of sodium borohydride reagent.     

Digestion of plastic materials for the determination of toxic metals with a microwave oven for household use.

A rapid sample-digestion method for the determination of toxic metals, cadmium, chromium, and lead, in polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride has been developed by using a microwave oven for household use. An appropriate amount of the sample taken in a PTFE decomposition vessel was mixed with nitric acid or nitric and sulfuric acids. The vessel was heated in a microwave oven by a predetermined operating program. The digested sample was diluted to a definite volume with water after evaporating most of the nitric acid. The precipitate, if formed, was filtered off by a membrane filter. The metals were determined by ICP-AES. The sample digestion required 5 min (for 20-mg sample) to 25 min (for 60-mg sample). The analytical results obtained for cadmium, chromium, and lead in a polyethylene certified reference material, BCR-680, digested with nitric acid, were in good agreement with the certified values.     

High-throughput determination of seven trace elements in food samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

A method was developed for high-throughput determinations of 7 elements in food samples, namely antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and tin (Sn). The samples were digested by closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion using concentrated nitric acid (HNO3) as the medium, followed by microwave- assisted evaporation to concentrate the sample solutions before dilution to the desired volume. The microwave-assisted evaporation procedure effectively reduced the final acid concentration to around 8% before analysis by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This reduction allows determination by ICP-MS to proceed without further sample dilution, which would affect the detection limit. The method was validated, and method recoveries for As, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg were within the certified ranges of the chosen certified reference materials. Recoveries of the 7 elements from spiked samples ranged from 93.1 to 103.6%. The standard uncertainties of precision for the 7 elements were between 3.1 and 4.3%. Interlaboratory comparison studies for As, Cd, and Pb gave z-scores ranging from -0.2 to 0.3.     

微波消解-ICP-MS法测定硫磺中18种微量元素

建立了用微波消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)同时测定硫磺中18种微量元素(锂、镁、铝、钙、钒、铬、锰、铁、钴、镍、铜、锌、镉、砷、硒、钡、铅和汞)的定量分析方法。通过对消解所用试剂及条件进行研究,确定最佳的样品处理条件;为了获得最佳的信噪比并降低光谱干扰,研究采用单变量方法,对ICP-MS的射频功率和雾化气体流量等因素进行了性能优化。结果显示：该方法各元素的校准曲线线性相关系数在0.999以上,所有元素的检出限(LODs) 在0.001-0.962 mg/Kg之间,测定下限范围在0.004-3.85 mg/Kg之间,回收率在82.9 %~115 %之间,相对标准偏差均小于3 %。     

Removal of exogenously bound elements from human hair by various washing procedures and determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A review of the literature shows that a variety of washing procedures to remove external contamination from hair have been proposed, but as yet no standardised procedures are available. In this study, methods for the pre-treatment and determination of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium in human hair by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are developed.Investigations of various washing procedures to remove external contaminants show that in unexposed hair samples cadmium, lead and mercury are significantly removed from hair using a 0.1 M HCl wash, with 87, 73 and 5%, respectively being washed-off. The removal of antimony, arsenic and chromium from unexposed hair is, however, more efficient with 1% (v/v) sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), with 43, 40 and 13% of each element, respectively being washed-off. Selenium is not removed from the hair by any of the washing methods studied. For the digestion of hair samples a digestion mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide is used.Experiments with simulated sweat spiked with each of these elements show that exogenously bound chromium, cadmium and lead are removed after washing with 0.1 M HCl. In contrast, antimony, arsenic, selenium and mercury irreversibly bind and, thus, are not removed with any of the washing solutions investigated. This work also compares hair levels of these elements in an unexposed and exposed group using the method developed.     

SI-traceable certification of the amount content of cadium below the ng g(-1) level in blood samples by isotope dilution ICP-MS applied as a primary method of measurement

The development and implementation of a method for the certification of cadmium in blood samples at low ng g(-1) and sub ng g(-1) levels is described. The analytical procedure is based on inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ICP-IDMS) applied as a primary method of measurement. Two different sample digestion methods, an optimized microwave digestion procedure using HNO3 and H2O2 as oxidizing agents and a high-pressure asher digestion procedure, were developed and compared. The very high salt content of the digests and the high molybdenum content, which can cause oxide-based interferences with the Cd isotopes, were reduced by a chromatographic matrix separation step using an anion-exchange resin. All isotope ratio measurements were performed by a quadrupole ICP-MS equipped with an ultrasonic nebulizer with membrane desolvator. This sample introduction set-up was used to increase sensitivity and minimize the formation of oxides (less MoO+ interference with the Cd isotopes). Because of the very low Cd concentrations in the samples and the resulting need to minimize the procedural blank as much as possible, all sample-processing steps were performed in a clean room environment. Detection limits of 0.005 ng g(-1) Cd were achieved using sample weights of 2.7 g. The method described was used to recertify the cadmium content of three different blood reference materials from the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) of the European Commission (BCR-194, BCR-195, BCR- 196). Cadmium concentrations ranged between approximately 0.2 ng g(-1) and approximately 12 ng g(-1). For these materials, SI-traceable certified values including total uncertainty budgets according to ISO and Eurachem guidelines were established.     

Determination of metals in composite diet samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

A study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques for determination of metals in composite diets. Aluminum, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, vanadium, and zinc were determined by this method. Atmospheric pressure microwave digestion was used to solubilize analytes in homogenized composite diet samples, and this procedure was followed by ICP-MS analysis. Recovery of certified elements from standard reference materials ranged from 92 to 119% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.4-1.9%. Recovery of elements from fortified composite diet samples ranged from 75 to 129% with RSDs of 0-11.3%. Limits of detection ranged from 1 to 1700 ng/g; high values were due to significant amounts of certain elements naturally present in composite diets. Results of this study demonstrate that low-resolution quadrupole-based ICP-MS provides precise and accurate measurements of the elements tested in composite diet samples.     

土壤中铅的分析方法比对

对不同的样品消解方法及电感耦合等离子体质谱、电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱、石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定土壤中铅的测定结果进行比对。采用电热板、微波及水浴3种加热方式,选择硝酸、氢氟酸、双氧水、王水、高氯酸、盐酸的不同组合进行土壤样品消解,通过分析测定值的精密度和准确度,考察消解体系对电感耦合等离子体质谱、电感耦合等离子体发射光谱、石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定结果的影响。结果表明采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定土壤中的铅,最适宜的消解体系是硝酸-氢氟酸-高氯酸(微波加热),采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定最适宜的消解体系是硝酸(电热板加热),采用石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定最适宜的消解体系是硝酸-盐酸-高氯酸(微波加热)。电感耦合等离子体质谱法的精密度和准确度优于另外两种方法。     

Determination of Titanium in Nano-Titanium(IV) Oxide Composite Food Packaging by Microwave Digestion and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Titanium was determined in nano-titanium(IV) oxide food packaging by microwave digestion with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Microwave digestion was optimized using different acid combinations. Both spectrometry techniques showed good reproducibility, repeatability, and recovery. For ICP-AES, the limit of detection was 5.0 mg kg^?1, the linear dynamic range was 100–5000 µ g L^?1, the average recoveries for blank samples spiked with titanium were between 94.7% and 100.1%, and the relative standard deviations were from 2.1% to 7.1%. By ICP-MS, the limit of detection was 0.3 mg kg^?1, the linear dynamic range was 0.5–200 µ g L^?1, the recoveries were 88.4%–96.3%, and the relative standard deviations were 6.3%–7.4%. These results indicated that methods were effective for the determination of titanium in food packaging.     

微波消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)同时测定土壤中11种金属元素

称取0.25 g样品加入5ml硝酸和2ml氢氟酸,用微波消解技术对样品进行前处理。以Re作为As、Pb、Tl的内标,Rh作为Cd、Co、Cr、Ni的内标,Bi作为Be、Cu、Zn的内标,Tb作为V的内标,建立了KED模式下可同时测定土壤中Be、As、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb、Tl、V、Zn 11种金属元素的微波消解ICP-MS方法。该方法线性关系良好,线性相关系数均在0.9990以上,检出限为0.002mg/kg-0.054 mg/kg。检测土壤标准物质GSS-17、GSS-18验证方法准确性,结果显示测定值均在标准差允许范围内,相对标准偏差在0.29%-5.33%,是一种快速、可靠的土壤多种金属元素检测方法。     

微波消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法同时测定土壤中11种金属元素

称取0.25g样品加入5 mL硝酸和2 mL氢氟酸,用微波消解技术对样品进行前处理.以Re作为As、Pb、Tl的内标,Rh作为Cd、Co、Cr、Ni的内标,Bi作为Be、Cu、Zn的内标,Tb作为V的内标,建立了KED模式下微波消解电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法同时测定土壤中Be、As、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、...     

Comparison of microwave-assisted acid leaching techniques for the determination of heavy metals in sediments, soils, and sludges

Microwave-assisted EPA method 3051 for nitric acid leaching of environmentally key elements from sediments, soils, and sludges was tested, and the influence of leaching temperature and time on element recovery for an estuarine sediment (CRM 277) was investigated. The extraction efficiencies for four certified reference materials applying EPA method 3051, an optimized nitric acid procedure, and an aqua regia (HCl/HNO₃ 3:1) procedure were compared. Digestions were carried out in a high-pressure microwave system offering simultaneous temperature and pressure control for all digestion vessels employed. Eight elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Extraction efficiency strongly depended on the applied leaching parameters and varied for certain elements among different materials when a nitric acid procedure was applied. In general, element recoveries obtained from the aqua regia procedure were superior to those obtained from nitric acid procedures and showed good agreement with the 95% confidence interval of the certified value for most of the elements investigated. Received: 27 March 1998 / Revised: 29 June 1998 / Accepted: 3 July 1998     

微波消解-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定含铜污泥中多种重金属

为了填补现有方法的技术空白,本方法采用微波消解和电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法（ ICP-AES）相结合,实现对含铜污泥中铅、锌、铬、镉、砷、镁、铝、锑量的同时测定。首先采用盐酸-硝酸-氢氟酸微波消解进行样品的前处理,消解后加入高氯酸置于电热板进行除碳并赶酸,溶样效果理想,且有效避免了高温溶样对易挥发元素砷、锑的损失,整个过程安全、高效、无损。溶样后以电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法（ ICP-AES）进行测定。对含铜污泥的分解方法进行了合理选择,并对测定时的元素分析谱线及各测定元素间干扰情况等进行了讨论。该方法的加标回收率在95.31%~107.28%%,相对标准偏差（RSD）在0.31%~2.05%之间（n=7),结果表明,该方法准确度高,操作简单快捷,可同时测定多种元素,能满足批量的测定含铜污泥中铅、锌、镍、铁、镉、铬、砷、锑含量的测定要求。     

Boron determination in biological materials by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry: effects of sample dissolution methods

This study compares four sample dissolution methods for Boron determination in two National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) botanical Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and three Agriculture Canada/NIST RMs, each having a reference (certified or best estimate) B concentration. The dissolution treatments consisted of: 1) dry ashing at 500° C, 2) wet digestion with HNO₃ + H₂O₂, 3) extraction with hot HNO₃ and 4) closed vessel microwave dissolution. The samples were spiked before and after imposing dissolution treatments to study B recovery by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis. Microwave digests of NIST SRM 1515 and some in-house RMs were also used to compare the B values of ICP-MS and ICP-AES (atomic emission spectrometry). While all three digestion methods (dry ashing, wet ashing and microwave) dissolved botanical samples, only the microwave method worked well for animal tissues. In terms of B values in these materials, there was no significant difference among the three digestion treatments. Near 100% recovery of B spiked before and after the sample dissolution indicates that there may not be a significant loss of B during the dissolution process used in this study. Extraction with hot HNO₃ was as effective as the three digestion treatments, and B values for this method agreed well with reference values. For the botanical materials studied, the B values determined by ICP-AES were not significantly different from ICP-MS values. This study shows that a simple, time and labor efficient hot HNO₃ extraction is as effective as other digestion/dissolution methods for quantitative B recovery from biological materials. Received: 13 June 1996 / Revised: 17 September 1996 / Accepted: 19 September 1996     

微波消解/电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定食品纸包装材料与食品模拟物中24种元素

建立了微波消解/电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)同时检测食品纸包装材料及3种食品模拟物(纯水、4%乙酸、10%乙醇)中Li,Be,B,Al,V,Cu,Mn,Zn,Cr,Ni,As,Sr,Zr,Se,Mo,Ag,Cd,Sn,Sb,Te,Ba,Hg,Tl,Pb 24种元素的分析方法,并对元素的迁移行为进行了研究。包装材料样品经微波消解后利用ICP-MS检测;迁移试验中的食品模拟物直接利用ICP-MS检测。在优化实验条件下,24种元素在0~1 000μg/L范围内线性关系良好;方法检出限(MLOD)为0.000 3~0.465 mg/kg;在1.0~1 000 mg/kg加标水平下的平均回收率为90.5%~125.3%;相对标准偏差(RSD,n=3)为1.2%~6.8%。该方法前处理简便、灵敏准确、适用范围广,可用于食品纸包装材料中元素含量的测定及迁移行为的研究,从而为食品纸包装材料的质量监督提供了科学依据。     

微波消解-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定高速工具钢中锰、磷、镍、铜、铬、钒

高速工具钢为高碳高合金工具钢,常温下样品酸溶分解较为困难,因此建立了微波消解电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定高速工具钢中锰、磷、镍、铜、铬、钒的方法,利用微波消解提高溶样的温度和压力,在王水、氢氟酸和硫酸介质中使样品充分消解,再用饱和硼酸溶液络合过量的氢氟酸,基体匹配消除铁基体的影响,ICP-AES法同时测定锰、磷、镍、铜、铬、钒的含量。测定高速工具钢标准样品,测定值与标样值相吻合,方法的相对标准偏差在0.55%~4.1%。加标回收率在95.6%~114.8%,满足测定要求。     

Comparison of dissolution procedures for the determination of cadmium and lead in plastics

Summary A microwave digestion procedure and an oxygen flask combustion procedure were developed for the determination of cadmium and lead in plastic materials. A comparison with conventional wet ashing shows acceptable agreement. Different types of plastics such as polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyamide, and polyethyleneterephthalate were investigated. The precision of microwave digestion was determined within a series and from day to day. The results obtained by flame atomic absorption spectrometry were verified by measurement with inverse voltammetry. Overall, microwave digestion as well as oxygen flask combustion are time saving and cost-effective dissolution procedures to supervise the legal cadmium limit in plastics.Abbreviations FAAS Flame atomic absorption spectrometry - GFAAS Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectometry - ICPMS Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry - PVC Polyvinylchloride - PP Polypropylene - PE Polyethylene - PS Polystyrene - PET Polyethyleneterephthalate - PA Polyamide 6.6 - PTFE-TFM Polytetrafluoroethylene-tetrafluoromethoxylate - HMDE Hanging mercury drop electrode - MS Mass spectrometry - OFC Oxygen flask combustion - MWD Microwave digestion - CWA Conventional wet ashing - DL Detection limit - QL Quantification limit     

Determination of cadmium,aluminium, and copper in beer and products used in its manufacture by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Procedures were developed for determining cadmium, aluminium, and copper in beer and the products used in its manufacture by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Beer samples were injected into the furnace and solid samples were introduced as suspensions after preparation in a medium containing hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid, and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate for cadmium atomization. Calibration was performed with aqueous standards, and characteristic masses and detection limits were, respectively, 1 and 0.3 pg for cadmium, 18 and 5.4 pg for aluminium, and 5.6 and 6.8 pg for copper. Different samples of beer, wort, brewer's yeast, malt, raw grain, and hops were analyzed by the proposed procedures. Cadmium was found in low concentrations (0.001-0.08 microg/g and 0-1.3 ng/mL); copper (3-13 microg/g and 25-137 ng/mL) and aluminium (0.6-9 microg/g and 0.1-2 microg/mL) were found at higher levels. The reliability of the procedure was confirmed by comparing the results obtained with others based on microwave oven sample digestion, and by analyzing several certified reference materials.     

Ultrasound-assisted extraction in the determination of arsenic,cadmium, copper,lead, and silver in contaminated soil samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

An extraction method was developed for the determination of toxic elements in contaminated soil samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The determination of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and silver in ultrasound-assisted extracts of SRM 2710 and SRM 2711 by ICP-AES was carried out with high accuracy and precision (RSD<3.7%). The certified concentrations of the SRMs were obtained for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and silver by using an ultrasound-assisted extraction method with a digestion solution of (1+1)-diluted aqua regia. The determination of copper in SRMs by the ultrasound-assisted extraction method and analysis by ICP-AES failed to obtain the certified concentrations at the 95% level of confidence using (+/-2 s) as confidence limits of the mean. However, the same results were observed with the use of the microwave digestion method and reflux, which is the ISO 11466 standard method. The analysis of the SRMs showed that the ultrasound-assisted extraction method is highly comparable with the other methods used for such purposes. The major advantages of the ultrasound-assisted extraction method compared to the microwave and reflux methods are the high treatment rate (50 samples simultaneously in nine minutes) and low reagent usage, the main benefit of which are the low chloride and nitrate concentrations in the extracts.     

Determination of mercury in microwave-digested soil by laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry with electrothermal atomization

A sample digestion procedure was developed which employs microwave heating of soil and sediment in concentrated nitric acid in a high-pressure closed vessel. Complete dissolution of mercury into the sample solution occurs within 5 min at 59 W/vessel without loss of analyte through overpressurization. Laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry with electrothermal atomization (LEAFS-ETA) was used as the detection method. The scheme uses a two-step excitation, with λ₁ = 253.7 nm and λ₂ = 435.8 nm. Direct line fluorescence was measured at 546.2 nm. The absolute instrumental limit of detection was 14 fg; 1.4 pg/ml with a 10 μl sample injection. The recoveries of mercury in two spiked samples were 94 and 98%. The SRM 8406 (Mercury in River Sediment) was digested and analyzed for mercury, and the results (58.4 ± 1.8 ng/g) agreed well with the reference value of 60 ng/g. The results obtained by LEAFS-ETA with microwave sample digestion are in good agreement with those found by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry with EPA Series Method 245.5 sample digestion, which is one of the most commonly used methods for the determination of mercury in soil.