Separation and preconcentration of cadmium by biological organisms and analysis by graphite furnace atomic absorption

A pure strain of algae (Stichococcus bacillaris) is utilized to preconcentrate Cd ions from dilute solutions. Cd uptake curves for several concentrations of Cd and algae mass are presented. To assess the analytical utility of this algae, the concentrations of Cd in two dilute solutions (0.288 and 0.576 μg/l) are determined using preconcentration techniques. The calculated results are within 5% of the nominal concentrations. Stichococcus bacillaris is most useful at low concentrations of analyte with nearly quantitative uptake. At higher concentrations changes in either the analyte amount, or volume of the solution drastically affect the Cd uptake by this organism     

Determination of lead in geological and biological materials by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary Serious systematic errors inherent in the determination of lead in geological and biological samples by flameless atomic-absorption spectrometry are demonstrated. The reduced absorption of lead is due to partial interaction with alkaline, alkaline-earth and iron chlorides during the atomization stage. Incomplete dissociation of the volatile monochloride of lead in the gaseous phase reduces the absorption signal. An addition of 20% hydrogen to nitrogen (purge gas) diminishes signal suppression by removing the chlorine in form of volatile HCl. The detection limit is about 0.6 ppm in rocks and about 0.3 ppm in plant materials. Depending on the content in the samples the relative standard deviation is between 1 and 12%. The accuracy of the method was tested on 39 international standard reference samples.

---

Bestimmung von Blei in geologischen und biologischen Materialien durch AAS mit der Graphitrohrküvette

Zusammenfassung Schwerwiegende systematische Fehler bei der Bestimmung von Blei in geologischen und biologischen Materialien mit der Graphitrohrküvette werden aufgezeigt. Die Reaktion von Blei mit Alkali-, Erdalkali- und Eisenchloriden während der Atomisierungsphase führt zur Bildung von Bleimonochlorid, das nur unvollständig dissoziiert und eine Signalunterdrückung zur Folge hat. Ein Zusatz von 20% Wasserstoff zu Stickstoff als Spülgas vermindert die Signalunterdrückung, indem überschüssiges Chlor als Chlorwasserstoff entfernt wird. Die Nachweisgrenze liegt bei ca. 0,6 ppm für Gesteine und bei ca. 0,3 ppm für Pflanzenmaterialien. Je nach der Konzentration beträgt die relative Standardabweichung 1–12%. Die Genauigkeit der Methode wurde an 39 internationalen Standardreferenzproben überprüft.

     

Preconcentration of lead in biological matrices for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Lead was transferred by a two-step extraction procedure from complicated biological matrices into an aqueous solution. Thereafter, lead could be accurately determined in the aqueous solution without interference by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Biological samples were digested sequentially by a mixture of sulphuric acid and nitric acids and a strong oxidant, potassium peroxodisulphate. Lead was extracted by dithiocarbamate in chloroform from the digest solution and subsequently back-extracted into a mercury(II) solution. Matrix materials such as chloride, phosphate and sulphate, which were known to cause serious interference in the determination of lead by GFAAS, could be eliminated in the preconcentration procedure. Close to 90% recovery of lead was achieved. The proposed procedure was applied for the analysis of several NBS biological standard reference materials containing lead in the mg kg^?1 range and satisfactory results were obtained.     

石墨炉原子吸收法快速测定血液中铅和镉

建立了快速测定血液中铅和镉的石墨炉原子吸收光谱法。使用5%硝酸溶液对样品进行脱蛋白处理,然后在旋涡混合器上振摇,离心后取上清液上石墨炉原子吸收进行测定。 结果表明,Pb、Cd工作曲线线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.9994;方法检出限分别为4.32μg/L和0.27μg/L;Pb的回收率为91.60%～97.31%,镉的回收率为97.04%～98.86%;Pb测定的RSD（n=7）为2.35%,Cd测定的RSD（n=7）为1.53%。冻干牛血铅、镉标准物质GBW09139k和GBW09140k的测定值与参考值吻合。该方法快速准确,精密度、准确度、检出限等测定结果令人满意。可以作为日常血铅、血镉的检测的方法。     

Fast determination of lead and copper in dairy products by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A rapid and direct procedure for determining lead and copper in dairy products by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is described. Samples are slurried in a medium containing 50% v/v hydrogen peroxide, 1% v/v nitric acid, 0.5% w/v dihydrogen phosphate, and 20% v/v ethanol and directly injected into the furnace with no previous mineralization. Calibration is performed with aqueous standards. Limits of determination were 0.4 and 2.4 ng/mL for copper and lead, respectively. The reliability of the procedure was checked by comparison with the acid mineralization procedure and by analyzing 3 certified reference milk samples.     

石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定茶叶中的铅

采用石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定茶叶中铅,以NH4H2PO4作为基体改进剂,提高了测定的灰化温度,消除了基体干扰.方法简便,快速,准确度高.通过对标准物质的多次测定,结果均在其保证值范围内,相对标准偏差为2.8%.对样品进行加标回收试验,回收率为96%～105%,方法检出限为0.12μg/L.     

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.     

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentration of palladium in water samples and determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method for the determination of palladium was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentration and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry detection. In the proposed approach, diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) was used as a chelating agent, and carbon tetrachloride and ethanol were selected as extraction and dispersive solvent. Some factors influencing the extraction efficiency of palladium and its subsequent determination, including extraction and dispersive solvent type and volume, pH of sample solution, concentration of the chelating agent and extraction time, were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor of this method for palladium reached at 156. The detection limit for palladium was 2.4 ng L⁻¹ (3σ), and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 4.3% (n = 7, c = 1.0 ng mL⁻¹). The method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amount of palladium in water samples.     

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     

Flow-injection preconcentration and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric determination of platinum

Flow-injection graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric (GFAAS) methods were worked out using oxime, sulphoxine and 2,2′-diamino-diethylamine (DEN) cellulose microcolumns for preconcentration of platinum after reduction by iodide or sulphite ions. The detection limits were, at 20-fold enrichment, 0.21, 0.18 and 0.30 μg l⁻¹, respectively. The total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF) was also used for the determination of platinum in eluates. The method was applied for the determination of platinum in salmeterol xinafoate and Ca-folinate pharmaceutical compounds. Decomposition of organic matrix of Ca-folinate was necessary before the preconcentration.     

Hollow-fiber liquid-liquid-solid micro-extraction of lead in soft drinks and determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A novel hollow-fiber liquid-liquid-solid micro-extraction technique based on simultaneous liquid-liquid micro-extraction and solid phase micro-extraction using a polypropylene microporous membrane has been developed. The applicability of the proposed procedure was evaluated by extraction of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions and soft drinks. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized using multivariate methodology, and the analytical features were established. Under optimized conditions, Pb(II) was concentrated for 20 min on three microporous membrane hollow fibers of 6 mm of length each, placed into 20 mL of sample containing 60 μL of toluene and ammonium O,O-diethyl dithiophosphate. The fibers were introduced directly into the graphite furnace as a solid sample, and the analyte was thermally desorbed from the fiber and atomized using ruthenium as a permanent modifier. A detection limit of 7 ng L⁻¹ Pb was obtained for soft drink samples and good repeatability was found for all samples. The enrichment factor varied between 22 and 66, depending if only one or all three hollow fibers were used for the determination of lead. The results suggest that the proposed procedure represents a simple and low-cost micro-extraction alternative rendering adequate limits of quantification for the determination of Pb(II) in soft drink samples.     

Arsenic determination in the ultratrace range by atomic absorption spectrometry after preconcentration of the hydride

Summary A method for the determination of extremely low levels of arsenic by hydride AAS is presented. It is based on hydride preconcentration in a quartz tube at liquid nitrogen temperatures under carefully evaluated and optimized experimental conditions, followed by rapid heating up to 100° C and measurement in a heated quartz cell. Under the given experimental conditions an absolute detection limit of 0.05 ng and a linear range up to 6 ng could be achieved, representing a 6.5-fold improvement of detection power in comparison to commercially available hydride systems.

---

Arsenbestimmung im Ultraspurenbereich durch AAS nach Anreicherung des Hydrids

---

On leave from Universidad de Antofagasta, Departamento de Quimica Analítica, Antofagasta, Chile. Taken in part from the Ph. D. thesis, University of Bonn     

Determination of tin and lead in sediment slurries by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Methods were determined for lead and tin determinations in river, marine and lake sediments by slurry sampling and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The optimizations were carried out using River Sediment BCR 320 and Marine Sediment PACS-2 for Pb and Sn, respectively. For Pb determination, the parameters studied included inorganic acid mixture, stabilizing agent, sample mass and sonication time. The influence of diluents and the extraction to the liquid phase for two different matrices was evaluated for Sn. The Pb content in the slurry liquid phase was ca. 56%, and ranged from 75% to 100% for Sn. Representative masses of 34 and 45 mg, and effective masses of 12 and 48 μg for Pb and Sn, respectively, were obtained under optimized conditions. Detection and quantification limits of 0.2 and 0.7 μg g⁻¹ for Pb, and 1.5–2.6 and 4.5–7.6 μg g⁻¹ for Sn were obtained.

     

On-line sorbent extraction, preconcentration and determination of lead by atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for the quantitative preconcentration of lead based on an existing batch process was developed for implementation in a flow system including a flame AAS detector. Lead can be quantitatively preconcentrated as pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate or dithizonate on an activated carbon minicolumn. The chelates are eluted in methyl isobutyl ketone and introduced directly into the nebuliser-burner. An enrichment factor of 50 is typically obtained for a preconcentration time of 2 min (lead can be determined at concentrations between 15 and 400 ng/ml), which results in a throughput of ca. 25 samples per hr. The sensitivity achieved with the two reagents is similar, but the selectivity provided by APDC exceeds that of dithizone. Based on the results obtained in the determination of lead in reference materials (minerals and skim milk), the proposed APDC method is applicable to real samples.     

Direct determination of atmospheric lead by Zeeman solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS)

Summary Atmospheric lead was collected by membrane filters using two low volume air samplers at Jülich, Stolberg, and Wetzlar, Federal Republic of Germany. Sampling times varied from 2 to 8 h. After sampling, each filter was subsampled in two cross-sections using a clean stainless steel punch (diameter 5 mm). The lead content of each subsample disc was determined directly by Zeeman GFAAS, calibrated with aqueous standard solutions and supported by solid reference materials. The distribution of lead between the subsamples was generally homogeneous, with standard deviations ranging from 11 to 37%, but typically <15% for samples with 8 h sampling time. The analysis of each filter usually took about 30 min. The differences in air quality between the three sampling locations, as measured by the lead concentrations, are discussed. In general, Stolberg appears to have the highest lead concentrations. The mass particle-size distribution of lead in the aerosol samples collected by membrane filters using a cascade impactor at Stolberg was also investigated with the same analytical technique. Using graphite platform boats as direct samplers, it is possible for the dry deposition flux of lead to be estimated. This provides a quick means of assessing the levels of lead pollution in the atmospheric environment. With lead concentrations measured in parallel, the dry deposition velocities of lead can be estimated under various meteorological conditions. Application of similar sampling and analytical techniques to other atmospheric trace metals may be possible.     

Chemical reactions in the determination of germanium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The chemical reactions of Ge in the graphite furnace are determined by atomic absorption measurements, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and molecular absorption. The sodium germanate formed after the drying cycle is reduced by the carbon of the tube to elemental Ge. Volatile GeO is formed during this reduction process at temperatures higher than 1100 K leads to losses of atomizable Ge. Excess of NaOH enhances the absorbance value of Ge by a factor of two. The reason for this effect is an additional reduction process of GeO to Ge by metallic sodium at temperatures higher than 1500 K. Impregnation of the tube surfaces by carbide forming elements also leads to an enhancement of absorbance.     

Automated on-line separation preconcentration system for palladium determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and its application to palladium determination in environmental and food samples

A flow injection (FI) system was used to develop an efficient on-line sorbent extraction preconcentration system for palladium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The investigated metal was preconcentrated on a microcolumn packed with 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridyl)methylene thiocarbohydrazide immobilized on silica gel (DPTH-gel). The palladium is eluted with 40 μl of HCl 4 M and directly introduced into the graphite furnace. The detection limit for palladium under the optimum conditions was 0.4 ng ml⁻¹. This procedure was employed to determine palladium in different samples.     

The determination of low lead levels in the bone of lead-depleted mice by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Low lead levels in the femurs of mice fed with a lead-depleted diet have been determined by use of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman-effect background correction. The method is based on the use of Mg(NO₃)₂/Pd as matrix modifier which enables significant reduction of the spectral interferences prevalent if chemical modifiers based on NH₄H₂PO₄ with either Ca or Mg are used for samples rich in Ca₃(PO₄)₂ matrix. The method was developed and validated by use of the NIST standard reference material 1486 bone. Bones were decomposed in a pressurized microwave-heated system using 70% nitric acid. Forty-three mice femurs, with a mass of 74.62 ± 12.54 mg, were dissolved in concentrated nitric acid. The lead results found in SRM 1486 (1.25 ± 0.15 μg g^–1, n = 9) were in good agreement with the certificate (1.335 ± 0.014 μg g^–1). Recoveries of 200 ng lead added to the SRM before or after digestion were 99.0 ± 1.4% and 98.5 ± 1.6%, respectively. The lead detection limit in bone samples is 0.06 μg g^–1 dry mass. This method is, therefore, suitable for the determination of very low lead levels (0.06–0.20 μg Pb kg^–1 bone) in the femurs of mice fed a diet with lead level of < 20μg kg^–1.     

微波消解-石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定纸质包装材料中铅含量

建立了微波消解-石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定纸质包装材料中铅含量的方法.该方法具有良好线性关系,线性相关系数R~2为0.999 5,检出限为0.028μg/L,回收率为97%~102%,其相对标准偏差在3.14%~5.76%之间,优点为检出限低、精密度好、准确度高,能精确测定纸质包装材料中的铅含量.     

石墨炉原子吸收法测定钢中铅的干扰抑制

研究了石墨炉原子化法测定钢铁中痕量铅的干扰情况，并进行了干扰抑制实验。提出了抑制干扰的方法。