Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry: ultra trace determination of cadmium in water samples

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique was successfully used as a sample preparation method for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS). In this extraction method, 500 μL methanol (disperser solvent) containing 34 μL carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) and 0.00010 g ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (chelating agent) was rapidly injected by syringe into the water sample containing cadmium ions (interest analyte). Thereby, a cloudy solution formed. The cloudy state resulted from the formation of fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride, which have been dispersed, in bulk aqueous sample. At this stage, cadmium reacts with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, and therefore, hydrophobic complex forms which is extracted into the fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride. After centrifugation (2 min at 5000 rpm), these droplets were sedimented at the bottom of the conical test tube (25 ± 1 μL). Then a 20 μL of sedimented phase containing enriched analyte was determined by GF AAS.Some effective parameters on extraction and complex formation, such as extraction and disperser solvent type and their volume, extraction time, salt effect, pH and concentration of the chelating agent have been optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor 125 was obtained from only 5.00 mL of water sample. The calibration graph was linear in the rage of 2-20 ng L⁻¹ with detection limit of 0.6 ng L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.s) for ten replicate measurements of 20 ng L⁻¹ of cadmium was 3.5%. The relative recoveries of cadmium in tap, sea and rivers water samples at spiking level of 5 and 10 ng L⁻¹ are 108, 95, 87 and 98%, respectively. The characteristics of the proposed method have been compared with cloud point extraction (CPE), on-line liquid-liquid extraction, single drop microextraction (SDME), on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) and co-precipitation based on bibliographic data. Therefore, DLLME combined with GF AAS is a very simple, rapid and sensitive method, which requires low volume of sample (5.00 mL).     

The determination of silicon in deionized process water by graphite furnace AAS

A method for automated in situ preconcentration in graphite furnace AAS is described. The method permits the determination of silicon in deionized process water at the 0.9 μg 1^?1 level with a relative standard deviation of 5%.     

Electrodeposition on pyrolytic graphite platforms for electrothermal atomic-absorption spectroscopic determination of labile lead in saline water

A technique for the determination of labile Pb in sea-water has been developed which uses co-deposition with mercury on 6-14-mg pyrolytic graphite platforms, followed by electrothermal atomization of the deposit. Optimization of the applied voltage, pH and sodium chloride concentration with respect to the deposition efficiency yielded a detection limit of 0.15 mug/l. Pb for 120-sec depositions with a single platform. As the amount of deposit increases linearly with deposition time up to 5 min and the simultaneous use of two platforms increases the analytical signal by a factor of 1.73, a further improvement is possible. Near-shore sea-water and estuarine water samples containing lead in the concentration range 0.4-1.3 mug/l. were analysed with an RSD better than 10%. Background correction was not required as the technique eliminates spectral interferences due to molecular absorption.     

Determination of traces of copper in tap water,iron and steels by electrothermal zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite cupped furnace

The effects of acid and iron concentration on the copper signal are investigated, and conditions are established where these variables are without effect, thus allowing copper to be determined in steel and iron samples without preliminary separation. A miniature inner cup provides greater sensitivity. Copper in tap water is determined after co-precipitation with lead sulfide.     

Direct determination of germanium in botanical samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with palladium-zirconium as chemical modifier

A method has been described for the direct determination of trace levels of germanium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) using chemical matrix modification technique. The stabilization and the pyrolysis temperatures for germanium were investigated with various chemical modifiers including palladium, palladium–magnesium, palladium–strontium and palladium–zirconium. The highest pyrolysis temperature and highest integrated absorbance were obtained using palladium–zirconium modifier, and the severe matrix interference from sulfate can be eliminated. The characteristic mass and absolute detection limit (3σ) of germanium were found to be 16 and 12 pg, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace levels of germanium in botanical samples with a recovery range of 92–106%. The hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometric (HGAFS) method was employed to analyze the samples and the results agree well with those obtained by GFAAS. The contents of germanium in standard reference materials were determined and the results were in good agreement with the reference values.     

Determination of cadmium in river water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry after internal standardization-assisted rapid coprecipitation with lanthanum phosphate.

Cadmium ranging from 1 - 8 ng could be coprecipitated quantitatively with lanthanum phosphate at pH 5 - 6 from up to 200 mL of river water samples spiked with 5 microg of indium as an internal standard. Cadmium and indium coprecipitated were measured by using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The cadmium content in the original sample solution could be determined by internal standardization with indium. Since complete collection of the precipitate and strict adjustment of the volume of the final solution after coprecipitation are not required in this method, the precipitate could be collected by using decantation and centrifugation, and then dissolved with 1 mL of about 2.4 mol L(-1) nitric acid. The proposed method is simple and rapid, and enrichment close to 200-times can be attained; the detection limit (3sigma, n = 6) was 0.63 ng L(-1) in 200 mL of the sample solution.     

Determination of cadmium in river water samples by flame AAS after on-line preconcentration in mini-column packed with 2-aminothiazole-modified silica gel.

A rapid and sensitive method was developed to determine trace levels of Cd2+ ions in an aqueous medium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, using on-line preconcentration in a mini-column packed with 100 mg of 2-aminothiazol modified silica gel (SiAT). The Cd2+ ions were sorbed at pH 5.0. The preconcentrated Cd2+ ions were directly eluted from the column to the spectrometer's nebulizer-burner system using 100 microL of 2 mol L(-1) hydrochloric acid. A retention efficiency of over 95% was achieved. The enrichment factor (calculated as the ratio of slopes of the calibration graphs) obtained with preconcentrations in a mini-column packed with SiAT (A = -1.3 x 10(-3) + 1.8 x 10(-3)[Cd2+]) and without preconcentrations (A = 4 x 10(-5) + 3.5 x 10(-5)[Cd2+]), was 51 and the detection limit calculated was 0.38 microg L(-1). The preconcentration procedure was applied to determine trace levels of Cd in river water samples. The optimum preconcentration conditions are discussed herein.     

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

The formation of a complex with 2-(5-brom-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)-phenol (5-Br-PADAP) and cloud point extraction have been applied to the preconcentration of cadmium followed by its determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) using octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (TritonX-114) as surfactant. The chemical variables affecting the separation were optimized. At pH 7.0, preconcentration of only 10 mL of sample in the presence of 0.05% TritonX-114 and 2.5 × 10⁻⁶ M 5-Br-PADAP enabled the detection of 0.04 μg/L cadmium. The enrichment factor was 21 for cadmium. The regression equation was A = 0.0439C(μg/L) + 7.2 × 10⁻³. The correlation coefficient was 0.9995. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at 10 μg/L Cd was 2.7% relative standard deviation (RSD). The proposed method has been applied to the determination of cadmium in water samples. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Pyrolytic and non-pyrolytic boron nitride platforms in electrothermal AAS for the determination of cadmium in sea and estuarine water without chemical modification.

The analytical performance of pyrolytic and non-pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN and NBN) platforms, attached to a commercially available graphite tube furnace, in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) for Cd was studied. Although the tolerable pyrolysis temperature was 300 degrees C with the conventional pyrolytic graphite platform, it increased to 600 and 950 degrees C with the PBN and NBN platforms, respectively. The lifetime of the ceramic platform was 500 firings. The NBN platform provided an enhanced sensitivity with a better reproducibility than others. Using the NBN platform allowed the LOD, based on the variability of the blank (3sigma), to be 0.1 microg l(-1) within a seawater matrix (20,000 mg NaCl l(-1)) and a constant sensitivity in the range 0-30,000 mg NaCl l(-1). Good recovery in the range of 90-105% was observed for Cd (2.0 microg l(-1)) spiked into sea, estuarine and river water samples using the recommended procedure. This work proposes that using the NBN platform allows the direct monitoring and control of contaminated water for Cd by ETAAS without any chemical modification.     

Single drop microextraction combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for determination of lead in biological samples

Single drop microextraction combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is introduced for the determination of trace lead in water samples. A drop of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolone (PMBP) dissolved in benzene was held at the tip of a microsyringe and immerged into the sample solution which was stirred, the solvent drop interacts with the sample solution, and the analyte was extracted into the drop and concentrated. After extracting for a period of time, the drop was retracted into the microsyringe and directly injected into graphite furnace for GFAAS determination of Pb. Several factors affecting the extraction efficiency, such as pH of sample solution, drop volume, stirring rate and extraction time, were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, an enhancement factor of 16 was achieved, and the detection limits for Pb were 25 ng L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation for seven replicate determination of 10 ng mL⁻¹ Pb was 6.1%. The method was applied to determine trace Pb in biological samples with satisfactory results. Correspondence: Pei Liang, Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, P.R. China     

The determination of arsenic by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite furnace : Part 1. Difficulties in the direct determination

The direct determination of arsenic by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is critically examined. Matrix stabilization by nickel salts is effective for preventing charring losses of arsenic, but cannot eliminate strong interferences. Direct analysis of environmental and biological samples is impossible because of the presence of aluminium, sodium, potassium and sulphates.     

Ionic liquid-based hollow fiber supported liquid membrane extraction combined with thermospray flame furnace AAS for the determination of cadmium

We have developed a simple and effective method for hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction of cadmium. It is based on the use of a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) and was coupled to thermospray flame furnace AAS. The RTIL was placed in the pores of a polypropylene hollow fiber (acting as a liquid membrane) and also used as the acceptor solution. Ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) was used as the chelating agent. The effects of the concentration of APDC, the pH of samples, stirring rates, extraction time, and potential interferences were optimized to result in a detection limit of 9?ng?L^?1 and an enrichment factor of 90. The relative standard deviation is 4.7% (at 0.5?ng?mL^?1, for n?=?5). The method was successfully applied to the determination of cadmium.

Ionic liquid-based ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for a sensitive determination of cadmium in water samples

A new method was developed for the determination of cadmium in water samples using ionic liquid-based ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (IL-based USA-DLLME) followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The IL-based USA-DLLME procedure is free of volatile organic solvents, and there is no need for a dispersive solvent, in contrast to conventional DLLME. The ionic liquid, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (HMIMPF₆), was quickly disrupted by an ultrasonic probe for 1 min and dispersed in water samples like a cloud. At this stage, a hydrophobic cadmium–DDTC complex was formed and extracted into the fine droplets of HMIMPF₆. After centrifugation, the concentration of the enriched cadmium in the sedimented phase was determined by ETAAS. Some effective parameters of the complex formation and microextraction, such as the concentration of the chelating agent, the pH, the volume of the extraction solvent, the extraction time, and the salt effect, have been optimized. Under optimal conditions, a high extraction efficiency and selectivity were reached for the extraction of 1.0 ng of cadmium in 10.0 mL of water solution employing 73 µL of HMIMPF₆ as the extraction solvent. The enrichment factor of the method is 67. The detection limit was 7.4 ng L^− 1, and the characteristic mass (m₀, 0.0044 absorbance) of the proposed method was 0.02 pg for cadmium (Cd). The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 11 replicates of 50 ng L^− 1 Cd was 3.3%. The method was applied to the analysis of tap, well, river, and lake water samples and the Environmental Water Reference Material GSBZ 50009-88 (200921). The recoveries of spiked samples were in the range of 87.2–106%.     

Direct determination of cadmium in calcium drug samples using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with a metal tube atomizer and thiourea as a matrix modifier

A laboratory constructed molybdenum tube atomizer was used for direct determination of trace cadmium in drug samples by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric (ETAAS) method. An ultrasonic agitation method for a solution including the sample powder was used. A calibration curve was constructed with a cadmium standard solution including matrix. To eliminate interference from other matrix elements, a chemical modifier thiourea, was used. The detection limit were 17 pg ml(-1) (3 S/N), and the RSD of the direct analysis was 5-17%. The results for cadmium in the four drug samples analysed by the direct ETAAS method matched well with those obtained with nitric acid digested samples. The recovery of added cadmium was 103-106%. An accurate method is elaborated for the determination of cadmium in drug samples by direct ETAAS techniques. The merits of this method are rapid calibration, simplicity, fast analysis, and low cost.     

Blister-colorimetric determination of phosphate ions in water,agricultural samples,and biological samples

A procedure was proposed for the determination of phosphate ions in a blister cell (pellet cartridge) with a dry reagent mixture. The procedure is suitable for the quantitative determination of phosphate in different samples using a dry reagent mixture in an ampule or a blister without dissolving the reagents. After an ampule or a blister cell was opened and several drops of a test liquid were added, a color developed, whose intensity was proportional to the concentration of phosphate ions in the solution. The solution was then diluted to 2 mL with water and analyzed by photometry. The composition of the mixture was determined, and the procedure for the quantitative determination of phosphate ions was proposed; the procedure involves the formation and reduction of phosphomolybdic acid and the use of auxiliary reagents. The error of the colorimetric determination of phosphate ions in aqueous solutions, soil extracts, and urine was estimated with the participation of inexperienced operators.     

Cloud point extraction for the determination of cadmium and lead in biological samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The phase-separation phenomenon of non-ionic surfactants occurring in aqueous solution was used for the extraction of Cd and Pb from digested biological samples. After complexation with O,O-diethyldithiophosphate (DDTP) in hydrochloric acid medium, the analytes are quantitatively extracted to the phase rich in the non-ionic surfactant octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) after centrifugation. Methanol acidified with 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ was added to the surfactant-rich phase prior to its analysis by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS). The adopted concentrations for DDTP, Triton X-114 and hydrochloric acid were all optimized. Pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were optimized using the extracts and pyrolysis temperatures of 700 °C for both elements and atomization temperatures of 1400 and 1600 °C for cadmium and lead, respectively, were used without adding any modifier, which shows that considerable analyte stabilization is provided by the medium itself. A more detailed investigation was carried out to determine which components of the extract were responsible for the high thermal stability achieved and it revealed that the amount of DDTP added and the phosphorus content of the digested samples contributed significantly to this phenomenon. Detection limits (3σ_B) of 6 and 40 ng g⁻¹, along with enrichment factors of 129 and 18 for Cd and Pb, respectively, were achieved. The proposed procedure was applied to the analysis of five certified biological reference materials after microwave-assisted acid digestion in a mixture of H₂O₂ and HNO₃. Comparison with certified values was performed for accuracy evaluation, resulting in good agreement according to the t-test for a 95% confidence level. The high efficiency of cloud point extraction to carry out the determination of the studied analytes in complex matrices was, therefore, demonstrated.     

Sensitive determination of cadmium in water samples by room temperature ionic liquid-based preconcentration and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A sensitive preconcentration methodology for Cd determination at trace levels in water samples was developed in this work. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₄MIM][PF₆]) room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) was successfully used for Cd preconcentration, as cadmium-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol complex [Cd-5-Br-PADAP]. Subsequently, Cd was back-extracted from the RTIL phase with 500 μL of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ nitric acid and determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). A preconcentration factor of 40 was achieved with 20 mL of sample. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained under optimum conditions was 3 ng L⁻¹ and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for 10 replicates at 1 μg L⁻¹ Cd²⁺ concentration level was 3.5%, calculated at peak heights. The calibration graph was linear from concentration levels near the detection limits up to at least 5 μg L⁻¹. A correlation coefficient of 0.9997 was achieved. Validation of the methodology was performed by standard addition method and analysis of certified reference material (CRM). The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cd in river and tap water samples.     

Nickel as a chemical modifier for sensitivity enhancement and fast atomization processes in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of cadmium in biological and environmental samples.

A systematic study of the efficiency of protons, Ni, Pd and Th as chemical modifiers for the determination of cadmium by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using fast temperature programs was made for platform atomization. A comparison was made in terms of the salt type, absorbance-time profiles and elimination of the sodium chloride interference. The results were adapted to develop a method for the ETAAS determination of cadmium in biological and environmental samples. The highest sensitivity to determine cadmium in biological and environmental samples was obtained using nickel (together with protons) as a chemical modifier. The accuracy of the method was tested by the determination of cadmium in different certified reference materials. The best detection limit and the characteristic mass of Cd were found to be 0.03 ng mL(-1) and 0.35 pg, respectively.     

Determination of heavy metals in sea water and in marine organisms by graphite furnace AAS

Summary This paper is a plea for a reference material containing extremely low concentrations of Pb and Cd. A reasoning is given by a historical overview on the main topics of pollution research in relation to those metals. Emphasis has changed from toxicological tests (with high concentrations) over hot spots in the environment (certain organisms and organs, such as kidney and liver, showing significantly elevated concentrations) to mechanisms of transport and modelling. That development has been accompanied and promoted by methodological improvement. Those concentrations, which have to be determined with a sufficiently high precision are now in the lower background range. A proper standard material for such purpose could be fish muscle which, over and above, could be spiked, if necessary, for measurements in a higher concentration range.

---

Bestimmung von Schwermetallen in Meerwasser und marinen Organismen mit Hilfe der Graphitofen-AASXXII. Fischmuskel an Stelle von Leber und Algen als Referenzmaterial für Blei- und Cadmiumbestimmungen

---

Part XXI. Cadmium determination in coastal water samples from the German Bight (1985) Vom Wasser 64:53–68