Microwave-assisted digestion procedures for biological samples with diluted nitric acid: Identification of reaction products

Microwave-assisted sample preparation using diluted nitric acid solutions is an alternative procedure for digesting organic samples. The efficiency of this procedure depends on the chemical properties of the samples and in this work it was evaluated by the determination of crude protein amount, fat and original carbon. Soybeans grains, bovine blood, bovine muscle and bovine viscera were digested in a cavity-microwave oven using oxidant mixtures in different acid concentrations. The digestion efficiency was evaluated based on the determination of residual carbon content and element recoveries using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). In order to determine the main residual organic compounds, the digests were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR). Subsequently, studies concerning separation of nitrobenzoic acid isomers were performed by ion pair reversed phase liquid chromatography using a C18 stationary phase, water:acetonitrile:methanol (75:20:5, v/v/v) + 0.05% (v/v) TFA as mobile phase and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. Sample preparation based on diluted acids proved to be feasible and a recommendable alternative for organic sample digestion, reducing both the reagent volumes and the variability of the residues as a result of the process of decomposition. It was shown that biological matrices containing amino acids, proteins and lipids in their composition produced nitrobenzoic acid isomers and other organic compounds after cleavage of chemical bonds.     

Focused microwave-assisted acid digestion of oils: an evaluation of the residual carbon content

A focused-microwave oven was applied for acid digestion of oil samples. The aim was to evaluate the efficiency of the decomposition performed on a system with six reaction vessels, one magnetron, one waveguide and six slots to control the transfer of the microwave radiation to each one of the six cavities. The digestion efficiency was correlated with the residual carbon content, which was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry with an axial view configuration. It was demonstrated that the effective power can vary up to 42% employing water for calibration. This variation in the effective power is similar to the variation observed in the residual carbon content of digested oil samples that was found to be between 2.37 and 9.71%, depending if all cavities were used simultaneously or each one individually. These aspects should be taken into account in the evaluation of possible effects on sample introduction and atomization/excitation conditions in inductively coupled plasmas     

Effect of simultaneous cooling on microwave-assisted wet digestion of biological samples with diluted nitric acid and O2 pressure

The present work evaluates the influence of vessel cooling simultaneously to microwave-assisted digestion performed in a closed system with diluted HNO₃ under O₂ pressure. The effect of outside air flow-rates (60–190 m³ h⁻¹) used for cooling of digestion vessels was evaluated. An improvement in digestion efficiency caused by the reduction of HNO₃ partial pressure was observed when using higher air flow-rate (190 m³ h⁻¹), decreasing the residual carbon content for whole milk powder from 21.7 to 9.3% (lowest and highest air flow-rate, respectively). The use of high air flow-rate outside the digestion vessel resulted in a higher temperature gradient between liquid and gas phases inside the digestion vessel and improved the efficiency of sample digestion. Since a more pronounced temperature gradient was obtained, it contributed for increasing the condensation rate and thus allowed a reduction in the HNO₃ partial pressure of the digestion vessel, which improved the regeneration of HNO₃. An air flow-rate of 190 m³ h⁻¹ was selected for digestion of animal fat, bovine liver, ground soybean, non fat milk powder, oregano leaves, potato starch and whole milk powder samples, and a standard reference material of apple leaves (NIST 1515), bovine liver (NIST 1577) and whole milk powder (NIST 8435) for further metals determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Results were in agreement with certified values and no interferences caused by matrix effects during the determination step were observed.     

Potentially Bioaccessible Phenolic and Antioxidant Potential of Fresh and Stored Lentil Sprouts—Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v Enrichment

The phenolic and antioxidant potential of potentially bioaccessible fractions of lentil sprouts was studied. Sprouts were cocultivated with a probiotic to obtain a new functional product and further stored in cool conditions. The fraction obtained after buffer extraction and gastric digestion had higher content of phenolics compared to the control (by 20% and 46%, respectively); however, a 9% decrease was observed in samples obtained after gastrointestinal digestion. After gastrointestinal digestion, the highest content of phenolics (278 µg/g d.w.) was determined in the fresh control sprouts. Compounds neutralizing ABTS and hydroxyl radicals, chelating metal ions, and exhibiting strong reducing power were effectively released after gastrointestinal digestion (e.g., the values of the gastrointestinal digestibility index for chelating power and ability to quench hydroxyl radicals significantly exceeded 1 in all studied samples). It was proved that the enrichment of sprouts with a probiotic and further storage significantly improved the antioxidant potential; compared to the fresh control sprouts, an increase by 45% and 10% was determined after the gastric and gastrointestinal digestion, respectively. Lentil sprouts enriched with L. plantarum 299v may be a new functional product characterized by the high antioxidant capacity of the potentially bioaccessible fraction.     

A novel high-temperature (360 degrees C)/high-pressure (30 MPa) flow system for online sample digestion applied to ICP spectrometry

A flow injection sample digestion system has been developed comprising an indirectly electrically heated Pt/Ir capillary. Such a capillary allows reaction temperatures of up to 360 degrees C and pressures of up to 30 MPa (300 bar) and withstands concentrated acids. This temperature is 130 degrees C to 160 degrees C higher compared to the operating temperatures of microwave heated flow systems. A combination of an ultrasonic nebulizer and membrane desolvator serves as an interface between the flow digestion system and an ICP/AES spectrometer. The membrane desolvator removes interfering gaseous digestion products so effectively before the sample stream enters the plasma that the measured residual carbon concentration falls in the region of the detection limit of ICP/OES measurements. Sewage sludge samples were digested using nitric acid and the elemental traces online determined. The detection limits related to the original dry substances amount to the lower microg/g range.     

A novel high-temperature (360 °C)/high-pressure (30 MPa) flow system for online sample digestion applied to ICP spectrometry

A flow injection sample digestion system has been developed comprising an indirectly electrically heated Pt/Ir capillary. Such a capillary allows reaction temperatures of up to 360?°C and pressures of up to 30 MPa (300 bar) and withstands concentrated acids. This temperature is 130?°C to 160?°C higher compared to the operating temperatures of microwave heated flow systems. A combination of an ultrasonic nebulizer and membrane desolvator serves as an interface between the flow digestion system and an ICP/AES spectrometer. The membrane desolvator removes interfering gaseous digestion products so effectively before the sample stream enters the plasma that the measured residual carbon concentration falls in the region of the detection limit of ICP/OES measurements. Sewage sludge samples were digested using nitric acid and the elemental traces online determined. The detection limits related to the original dry substances amount to the lower μg/g range.     

Characteristics of a novel UV-TiO2-microwave integrated irradiation device in decomposition processes

The efficiency of oxidation in wet decomposition procedures for organic materials can be of great importance to the quality of the analytical data from various measurement techniques. A novel, microwave-assisted, high-temperature/high-pressure UV-TiO₂ digestion procedure was developed for the accelerated decomposition of various biological samples. The technique is based on a closed, pressurized, microwave digestion apparatus (MW). UV irradiation is generated by immersed electrodeless Cd discharge lamp operated by the focused microwave field in the single polymer vessel. To enhance oxidation efficiency, a photocatalyst TiO₂ was added to the microwave heated Teflon bomb. Measures of digestion completeness were provided by the appearance of carbon content and determination of trace and minor elements, enabling a comparison of different digestion procedures and sample types. Compared with other digestion systems, unusually low residual carbon contents were obtained. For the organic compounds and biological samples digested, the residual carbon content was 1-2%, corresponding to a decomposition efficiency of 98-99%. The potential of the MW-UV-TiO₂ system was illustrated by the decomposition of four certified reference materials (serum, urine, milk, arsenobetaine solution) and subsequent determination of trace and minor elements. Recoveries between 92% and 107% were found.     

Determination of aluminum in high fat content biological materials using emulsions and direct current plasma

A new sample dissolution method employing an emulsion has been developed and evaluated for the determination of aluminum (Al) in high fat content biological samples. An emulsion is used to disperse the residual fat left over from nitric acid digestion to form a stable homogeneous moiety before aspiration into the direct current plasma (DCP) source. The method eliminates the need to filter the fat or extract fat soluble Al species from the undigested fat before analysis. Comparisons were made between the present method and two conventional sample dissolution methods for the determination of Al present in spiked and certified biological samples. The results indicated that the emulsification procedure offers simplicity, speed and improved accuracy/precision for the DCP determination of Al, especially for biological materials containing high amounts of fat and fat soluble Al complex(es).     

Microwave sample-digestion procedure for determination of arsenic in moss samples using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Arsenic in moss samples was determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) after microwave-assisted sample digestion. Two different sample masses (500 mg and 1000 mg) and three different microwave ovens were used in the digestion. There was a slight difference in the digestion efficiency, as determined by the residual carbon concentrations of 500 mg digested samples, between the microwave ovens. The arsenic results obtained for moss reference samples were, in most cases, satisfactory. However, phosphorus was found to have a reducing influence on the arsenic peak area in the ETAAS determination. According to the results, it was not possible to reduce the phosphorus interference by increasing the amount of Mg(NO(3))(2) in the Pd-Mg chemical modifier. The arsenic results obtained by ETAAS were compared to those obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).     

Probenvorbehandlungsstudien mit biologischen und Umweltmaterialien

Summary The efficiency of wet digestion with nitric acid at 320 °C by use of the high pressure asher published by Knapp [10] has been studied with a series of biological materials which usually are only incompletely decomposed by pressure digestion at 170 °C in PTFE vessels. For that purpose the residual carbon content of the digestion solution was determined by coulometry after combustion in an oxygen stream. The results verify a complete sample digestion already after digestion times of less than 3 h. By the example of bovine liver it is shown that the inverse voltammetric determination of zinc, cadmium, lead and copper is feasible without any subsequent oxidation by perchloric acid and is free of interferences.

---

---

Part IV: (1984) Fresenius Z Anal Chem 317:248     

Determination of fat, protein, and total solids in ovine milk by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Analysis by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was investigated as a means of predicting quality parameters of ovine milk. Calibration equations were developed with samples of ovine milk obtained from a flock of Manchega and Lacaune dairy ewes at different stages of lactation for a wide variation in milk composition. Prediction equations for milk protein, fat, and total solids content were developed by use of reflection or transflection methods to measure absorbance values. Accuracies of measurements were compared. R2 (squared multiple correlation coefficient) values were satisfactory in most cases. The highest R2 value for milk protein content (0.92) was obtained in transflectance mode with unhomogenized milk. The highest R2 values for fat (0.99) and total solids (0.98-0.96) content were obtained in both a transflectance mode without sample conditioning and in a transflectance mode with milk homogenized at 40 degrees C. To validate the calibration, an independent set of 40 milk samples was used. The best r2 (simple correlation coefficient) values for protein, fat, and total solids were 0.92, 0.97, and 0.92, respectively. The study showed that NIRS is a potentially useful technique for evaluating the composition of unhomogenized ovine milk.     

Evaluation of oxygen pressurized microwave-assisted digestion of botanical materials using diluted nitric acid

The feasibility of diluted nitric acid solutions for microwave-assisted decomposition of botanical samples in closed vessels was evaluated. Oxygen pressurized atmosphere was used to improve the digestion efficiency and Al, Ca, K, Fe, Mg and Na were determined in digests by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). Efficiency of digestion was evaluated taking into account the residual carbon content (RCC) and residual acidity in digests. Samples were digested using nitric acid solutions (2, 3, 7, and 14 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃) and the effect of gas phase composition inside the reaction vessels by purging the vessel with Ar (inert atmosphere, 1 bar), air (20% of oxygen, 1 bar) and pure O₂ (100% of oxygen, 1 bar) was evaluated. The influence of oxygen pressure was studied using pressures of 5, 10, 15 and 20 bar. It was demonstrated that a diluted nitric acid solution as low as 3 mol L⁻¹ was suitable for an efficient digestion of sample masses up to 500 mg of botanical samples using 5 bar of oxygen pressure. The residual acidities in final digests were lower than 45% in relation to the initial amount of acid used for digestion (equivalent to 1.3 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃). The accuracy of the proposed procedure was evaluated using certified reference materials of olive leaves, apple leaves, peach leaves and pine needles. Using the optimized conditions for sample digestion, the results obtained were in agreement with certified values. The limit of quantification was improved up to a factor of 14.5 times for the analytes evaluated. In addition, the proposed procedure was in agreement with the recommendations of the green chemistry once it was possible to obtain relatively high digestion efficiency (RCC < 5%) using only diluted HNO₃, which is important to minimize the generation of laboratory residues.     

Determination of crude fat in meat by supercritical fluid extraction: direct method: PVM 3:2000

Meat samples are prepared by passing meat through a food chopper, bowl cutter, or food processor, subsampling the meat, and mixing the meat with granular diatomaceous earth. No drying step is necessary. Supercritical CO2 is then used to extract crude fat (which is defined as the components of meat that are extractable with petroleum ether, without digestion of the sample). Extracted material is deposited on glass wool contained in collection vials. After removal of any residual moisture from the extracts, percent crude fat is determined by weight gain of the collection vial. This method has been peer-verified by 3 laboratories, for a wide variety of raw and processed meat products containing 6-28% crude fat. Samples were prepared at the submitting laboratory. Ground samples were split into 4 portions, packed in Whirlpack bags, and immediately frozen. Frozen samples were sent by overnight room temperature, and percent fat was determined (in triplicate), without further processing of the samples. Analysis of the samples was completed within 1 week of sample prepara. tion. On the basis of this study, it can be estimated that all repeatability and reproducibility values are <3.0. Mean accuracy of the direct gravimetric supercritical fluid extraction method for meat samples ranged from +0.22 to -1.41 when the method was compared with AOAC Method 960.39. Interferences are unlikely but would include any nonfat substance that is added to (processed) meat, is soluble in nonpolar solvents, and is present in a quantity that would alter results. This method is expected to perform equally well for all meats with fat content within the stated range of applicability.     

A clean up step of fat content previous to trace metal characterization in mussel tissues by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of trace and major elements of mussel tissues can be quickly and accurately analyzed after cleaning up the interfering fat content before the sample is digested in a microwave oven. Making use of experimental designs, the clean up procedure was achieved by the extraction of 1 g of freeze-dried tissue sample stirred with 5 ml of dichloromethane during five minutes. The microwave assisted digestion of the fat free samples was carried out with 0.2 g of tissue sample, 15 ml of 7.0% nitric acid with a power of 980 W during 18 min. The analytical method efficiency (accuracy and precision) was evaluated with a CRM: (NIST 2977, mussel tissue) and real mussel samples analyzed previously. The results confirmed the accuracy of the analysis by agreement with the previous results but the precision was significantly improved. The developed method allows operating routinely permitting to large numbers of samples to be quickly screened for trace metals.     

Determination of total selenium and selenium distribution in the milk phases in commercial cow’s milk by HG-AAS

A procedure has been developed for determining the selenium in cows milk using hydride generation–atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) following microwave-assisted acid digestion. The selenium distributions in milk whey, fat and micellar casein phases were studied after separating the different phases by ultracentrifugation and determining the selenium in all of them. The detection limits obtained by HG-AAS for the whole milk, milk whey and micellar casein were 0.074, 0.065 and 0.075 g l^–1, respectively. The accuracy for the whole milk was checked by using a Certified Reference Material CRM 8435 whole milk powder from NIST, and the analytical recoveries for the milk whey and casein micelles were 100.9 and 96.9%, respectively. A mass balance study of the determination of selenium in the different milk phases was carried out, obtaining values of 95.5–100.8%. The total content of selenium was determined in 37 milk samples from 15 different manufacturers, 19 whole milk samples and 18 skimmed milk samples. The selenium levels found were within the 8.5–21 g l^–1 range. The selenium distributions in the different milk phases were studied in 14 whole milk samples, and the highest selenium levels were found in milk whey (47.2–73.6%), while the lowest level was found for the fat phase (4.8–16.2%). A strong correlation was found between the selenium levels in whole milk and the selenium levels in the milk components.     

Increasing the Value of Hominy Feed as a Coproduct by Fermentation

Hominy feed is a low value ($83.7/metric ton) coproduct of the corn dry milling process that accounts for nearly 35% of the starting corn quantity. The average composition of hominy feed on a dry basis is 56.9% starch, 25.2% neutral detergent fiber, 11.1% protein, and 5.3% fat. Starch in hominy feed can be fermented to ethanol thus increasing its levels of protein and fat. The increase in protein and fat percentages may increase the market competitiveness and price of hominy feed. Hydrolysis and fermentation were performed on nine hominy feed samples collected from three corn dry milling plants in the USA. The original hominy feed samples and postfermentation solids were analyzed for starch, protein, fat, and fiber content. Compared to the original hominy feed, the percentage increase in protein, fat and fiber in postfermentation solids of nine samples ranged from 10.4 to 21.3, 6.78 to 10.6, and 12.6 to 28.7% (dry basis), respectively. Ethanol yields varied from 271.7 to 380.2 l/metric ton for the nine hominy feed samples. These results indicate that the value of hominy feed as an animal feedstock can potentially be increased with fermentation and can produce more profit per metric ton than currently being derived by its sale as a low protein feed ingredient.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法测定铜原矿尾矿中的镉

采用盐酸、氢氟酸、硝酸、高氯酸分步溶解的方式对具有硅、铁含量高等特性的铜原矿尾矿样品进行溶解。在体积分数为5%的盐酸介质中,利用原子吸收光谱法,采用扣除背景方式对样品溶液进行测定。样品溶解较完全,共存元素对镉的测定基本无干扰。方法重现性较好,准确度较高。相对标准偏差在2.3%~8.3%,加标回收率在96.7%~105%,标准样品分析结果与标准值基本一致。能满足日常分析检测的需要。     

Effect of various irradiation doses on some nutrients of Pakistani date

Summary Date samples were irradiated with different doses using a gamma-irradiator. Levels of moisture, protein, fibre and fats were determined on monthly basis for 5 months. Generally, the moisture contents of control date samples packed in white polythene decreased from 14.1±1.1 to 9.7±0.8% over a 5-month period while the irradiated samples were in the range of 10.4-11.2%, however, no proper pattern of change was observed. After 5-month storage, the protein level of irradiated samples was reduced to 1.00-1.30%, while the percent fibre levels were found to be in the range of 2.40-2.48. Similarly, the fat level decreases from 1.06±0.12 to 0.68±0.06 for control date sample while after 5-month the decrease in fat content was 0.45±0.04%, 0.44±0.04%, 0.44±0.05%, 0.42±0.05% and 0.40±0.04% for samples irradiated with 20, 50, 100, 200 and 300 krads, respectively.     

电感耦合等离子体光谱法测定铜冶炼烟尘中锌

本实验介绍了电感耦合等离子体光谱法测定铜冶炼烟尘中锌含量的分析方法。针对样品碳,硅含量高的特点,有针对性的研究了样品的消解方法,确定采用盐酸、硝酸、氢氟酸、高氯酸对铜冶炼烟尘样品进行消解。同时进行了干扰试验,确定样品中高含量的铜,铅,砷等对样品测定结果没有影响。并对仪器的工作参数进行了优化。方法检出限为为0.011 mg/L,测定下限为0.019 mg/L,3个样品的相对标准偏差在0.54%~0.92%之间,加标回收率在96%~101.14%之间。该方法样品消解完全,流程短,操作简单,快速,测定准确度高,可以满足铜冶炼烟尘中锌含量的测定。     

重铬酸钾容量法测定地质样品中的有机碳

目前,地质样品中有机碳的测定方法有干烧法（高温电炉灼烧）和湿烧法（重铬酸钾氧化）两大类。另外还有ICP-AES法、微波消解法、过硫酸钾法、电导法、石墨电热消解法、比色法等,然而这些有机碳测定方法仍然存在许多不尽如人意的地方。干烧法要求实验条件苛刻,操作繁琐,不易掌握,受碳酸盐的干扰。湿烧法虽然操作比较简单,但方法受样品中还原性物质的干扰,如氯根、亚铁等,上述方法都有待完善和优化改进。如：探索因不同样品基体差异而产生的干扰元素消除方法;寻找更合适的指示剂;本文采 用重铬酸钾-容量法测定地质样品中的有机碳,在220±10℃恒温电热板上,用0.4 mol/mL重铬酸钾溶解样品。通过优化熔矿温度、熔矿时间、熔剂浓度的优化选择,进行了氯离子的干扰试验。样品中含氯化物低的样品通过加入0.1 g硫酸银消除,样品中含氯化物高的样品通过高温灼烧减量消除。氧化指示剂选用邻菲啰啉或苯二氨基苯甲酸。本方法适用于土壤、水系沉积物、岩石等地质调查样品中有机碳的测定,方法相对标准偏差（RSD）在0.80%～4.41%之间,准确度（RE）在-3.15%～+1.15%之间。通过标准物质验证,方法技术指标满足地质行业规范DZ/T0130.4-2006中有机碳的分析要求,建立了一种简单、快捷、经济、准确的测定地质样品中有机碳的测定方法,满足地球化学调查批量样品生产的需要。