Evaluation of the use of microwave oven systems for the digestion of environmental samples

In most chemical analyses for inorganic determinations in environmental matrices the sample is physically destroyed by dissolution, calcination etc. These digestion procedures have to be validated in order to ensure that no contamination and/or losses have occurred which could affect the accuracy of the final results obtained; this validation can be made by using certified reference materials (CRMs).In the recent past, microwave digestion procedures have been developed and have been shown to offer the benefits of rapid sample preparation and reduced contamination risks; however, an incomplete dissolution was suspected in some cases, e.g. in interlaboratory exercises, for the analysis of organic matrices.The aim of this study was to test microwave digestion procedures for different environmental CRMs and to evaluate the suitability of these methods for the determination of some trace elements. The effects of chemical species (As, Hg and Se-species) on the total element recovery after digestion are discussed.     

Sample preparation methods for subsequent determination of metals and non-metals in crude oil—A review

In this review sample preparation strategies used for crude oil digestion in last ten years are discussed focusing on further metals and non-metals determination. One of the main challenges of proposed methods has been to overcome the difficulty to bring crude oil samples into solution, which should be compatible with analytical techniques used for element determination. On this aspect, this review summarizes the sample preparation methods for metals and non metals determination in crude oil including those based on wet digestion, combustion, emulsification, extraction, sample dilution with organic solvents, among others. Conventional methods related to wet digestion with concentrated acids or combustion are also covered, with special emphasis to closed systems. Trends in sample digestion, such as microwave-assisted digestion using diluted acids combined with high-efficiency decomposition systems are discussed. On the other hand, strategies based on sample dilution in organic solvents and procedures recommended for speciation analysis are reported as well as the use of direct analysis in view of the recent importance for crude oil field. A compilation concerning sample preparation for crude oil provided by official methods as well as certified reference materials available for accuracy evaluation is also presented and discussed.     

Improvements in the methylmercury extraction from human hair by headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas-chromatography cold-vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Improvements in the methylmercury extraction from human hair by solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography coupled to cold-vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (GC-CVAFS) have been carried out. They consisted in the optimisation of the digestion step prior to the aqueous-phase ethylation and in the GC-CVAFS interface set-up. The main digestion parameters such as acid type, concentration, temperature and time have been optimised for hair sample analysis, thereby avoiding methylmercury degradation. Moreover, the stability of the digested samples was evaluated to improve the sample throughput.     

Literature study of microwave-assisted digestion using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The literature on the use of microwave-assisted digestion procedures for subsequent sample analysis by means of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is reviewed. The literature survey reveals that this digestion technique has been applied mainly for biological materials. The elements most extensively determined by this method are cadmium and lead followed by copper, chromium, nickel and iron. The microwave digestion conditions, ETAAS furnace programmes and analytical details of the developed methodologies have been carefully revised.     

Literature study of microwave-assisted digestion using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The literature on the use of microwave-assisted digestion procedures for subsequent sample analysis by means of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is reviewed. The literature survey reveals that this digestion technique has been applied mainly for biological materials. The elements most extensively determined by this method are cadmium and lead followed by copper, chromium, nickel and iron. The microwave digestion conditions, ETAAS furnace programmes and analytical details of the developed methodologies have been carefully revised.     

Determination of Al,B and 11 Other Trace Elements in Plants by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry:Comparison of Five Different Sample Digestion Procedures

For accurate determination of nutritional and toxic elements in plants by means of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), sample preparation is a critical phase. Although some procedures such as dry ashing in a muffle furnace or wet digestion with HN0₃-HC10₄ on a hot plate have been available for many years, growing interest has been focused on the use of microwave-based digestion in recent years. Compared to the classical digesting procedures, microwave digestion has some significant advantages:the digestion is carried out in closed vessels so that the contamination and the loss of volatile elements are markedly minimized; the digestion is less time consuming due to the elevated pressure and temperature within the vessels. In addition, the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) vessels for microwave digestion makes it both easy and safe to employ very corrosive reagents, such as HF.     

极谱配合吸附波测定人发微量锰和铁

采用浓硝酸-高氯酸消化法结合锰铁-乙二胺极谱配合吸附波方法测定人发微量猛铁。对各种预处理方法进行了比较研究。测定了模拟人发、混合人发、国家一级标准物质人发样品以及某些肿瘤患者的发锰铁含量,均获得了满意结果。     

Honey as an environmental indicator: Effect of sample preparation on trace element determination by ICP-AES

Trace element concentrations in honey collected from a wide area can be used as an environmental indicator, but sample preparation methods prior to analysis can have large effects on the results. The efficiency and reproducibility of sample preparation methods (dilution, ashing and digestion) for simultaneous multi-element analysis have been compared for 13 elements. Digestion in a PTFE bomb was found to be the most reliable method.     

Proficiency testing has improved the quality of data of total vitamin B2 analysis in liquid dietary supplement

A previously reported proficiency test for the analysis of vitamin B₂ in liquid dietary supplement demonstrated bimodality. The same trend has now been observed in four subsequent tests of this type. The trend would not so easily have been observed without applying a fit-for-purpose standard deviation that is more generous than that predicted by the Horwitz equation. Since originally reporting the bimodal problem and hypothesising its cause by incomplete enzymic digestion of riboflavin-5-phosphate, there has been a general improvement in the reporting of the higher mode. This is thought to correspond to free riboflavin following complete digestion of the sample. Several individual participants appear to have learned from the experience and have changed their reporting of the lower mode to the higher mode.     

微波消解技术在农业样品分析中的应用

利用光纤压力自控密闭微波消解系统对土壤和植株样品中重金属元素测定的影响进行了研究，确立了样品消解试剂、微波消解每件及样品预处理方法。结果表明，该方法与常压湿法消解相比，具有样品消解时间短、消解试剂用量少、样品污染小等特点，是准确可靠的土壤及植株样品中重金属元素检测样品消解处理方法。     

Matrix sensitivity of solid sampling AAS. Determination of zinc in geological samples

Direct solid sampling techniques in AAS have several advantages over wet digestion methods such as small sample size requirements and simple calibration procedures. But some disadvantages also exist such as the sample in homogeneity and the matrix sensitivity of calibration. The calibration is commonly carried out by varying the sample mass and evaluating the peak intensity versus absolute analyte amount. It is shown here that this procedure must be considered doubtful when matrix effects are expected. In the case of zinc determination in geological samples it has been shown that calibration functions obtained by different reference materials differ significantly from each other. As an alternative a three-dimensional calibration technique can be applied that evaluates the peak intensity versus both analyte content and sample weight. The resulting calibration planes are expected to be hyperbolically curved. This three-dimensional calibration has been applied to the determination of Zn in geological samples and compared with classical solid sampling AAS calibration procedures.     

Trace mercury analysis in biological material: use of 203Hg-labelled methylmercury chloride for in vivo labelling of fish to study the efficacy of various wet ashing procedures

Several wet ashing techniques for trace mercury analysis by cold vapour atomic absorption have been evaluated with radiotracer mercury, and in particular fish labelled in vivo with ²⁰³Hg-tagged methylmercury chloride. Partial digestion methods suffer from strong matrix effects; these include incomplete extraction from the sample, hold-back of mercury in the extraction solution during the reduction/aeration step, and alteration of the aeration release pattern so as to cause low results if measurement is based on peak height. A complete digestion method is outlined; this gives good results and is tentatively recommended pending further tests with other types of biological samples.     

Conductive carbon tape as a sample platform for microwave-based MALDI MS detection of proteins and phosphoproteins

In this study, we developed a novel microwave-assisted protein preparation and digestion method for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis and identification of proteins that involves using conductive carbon tape as a sample platform for sample preparation (reduction and alkylation) and digestion under microwave heating and as a plate for MALDI analysis. This method allows for the enzymatic digestion products of proteins to be directly analyzed by MALDI mass spectrometry and results in a marked reduction in sample loss. Our protocol requires only a small volume (1 μL) of reaction solvent, which increases the frequency of enzyme-to-protein contact, thereby resulting in more efficient digestion of sample than conventional in-solution digestion methods. To test this protocol, we used magnetic iron (II, III) oxide nanoparticles as concentrating probes to enrich phosphopeptides from a mixture of peptides in enzymatically digested protein samples. We found that the one-pot on-tape-based protein preparation and digestion under microwave heating combined with the on-tape-based enrichment method not only dramatically reduced the time required for phosphopeptides analysis but also allowed for the simultaneous identification of phosphoproteins. The advantages of our protocol include ease of use, high digestion efficiency, high specificity, and rapid (15 min) identification of proteins and enrichment of phosphopeptides in a mixture of enzymatically digested protein samples.     

微波消解-石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定植物染发剂中的铅镉铜

建立了微波消解-石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定植物染发剂中重金属铅、镉和铜的方法.采用L9(34)正交设计讨论了固液比、消解剂体积比、消解时间和消解压力对样品消解效果的影响,最佳的消解条件:固液比(g/mL)为1∶12,HNO3/H2O2(V/V)为4∶1,消解时间为5min,消解压力1.5MPa.在最佳微波消解条件下,进行了精密度实验、回收率实验,相对标准偏差为1.05%~3.35%,回收率为96.67%~105.43%.微波消解法处理植物染发剂样品,试剂用量少、消解完全、快速、简便,而且测定结果的精密度、准确度较好.     

催化剂中钨的测定溶样方法的改进

研究了新的溶样方法——微波消解法,并将其与常规光度法相结合测定催化剂中钨。考察了测定条件,研究了消解用酸的种类、用量和不同的消解程序对消解效果的影响,确定了微波消解催化剂的最佳消解程序。将经微波消解处理的催化剂样品用常规光度法测定钨的含量,其相对误差小于2．0%,相对标准偏差小于1．3%。将微波消解法与常压敞口消解法进行对比,测定结果基本一致。微波消解法酸用量减少了约5．0倍,消解速度提高了3．5～6．7倍。该方法具有省时、省酸、样品损失少、无环境污染、测定结果准确可靠等优点。     

Automatic flow-injection system for the determination of heavy metals in sewage sludge by microwave digestion and detection by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (MW-ICP/AES)

Results are shown obtained in the optimization of an automatic flow injection system that combines microwave digestion with atomic spectrometric detection (FAAS, ICP/AES) for the determination of heavy metals in sewage sludge. Digestion is performed by preparing a suspension of the sample in 1.5 mol/l HNO₃ and making it flow through a PTFE capillary tube placed inside a conventional microwave oven. The effects of the length and inner diameter of the capillary tube, as well as that of the pumping rate, have been studied in order to find the experimental conditions that allow a quantitative elemental recovery in the shortest period of time possible. The optimization study was carried out on a certified sample (BCR No. 146), and the elements determined were Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr. The experimental data (percent recovery vs. digestion time) have been fitted to a mathematical model in order to quantify the influence of each of the variables studied. The optimized procedure (MW-ICP/AES) has been applied to one ordinary and one certified sewage sludge sample. In comparison with the conventional methods of sewage sludge analysis, the one proposed is less time consuming, while being equally precise and accurate.     

Automatic flow-injection system for the determination of heavy metals in sewage sludge by microwave digestion and detection by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (MW-ICP/AES)

Results are shown obtained in the optimization of an automatic flow injection system that combines microwave digestion with atomic spectrometric detection (FAAS, ICP/AES) for the determination of heavy metals in sewage sludge. Digestion is performed by preparing a suspension of the sample in 1.5 mol/l HNO(3) and making it flow through a PTFE capillary tube placed inside a conventional microwave oven. The effects of the length and inner diameter of the capillary tube, as well as that of the pumping rate, have been studied in order to find the experimental conditions that allow a quantitative elemental recovery in the shortest period of time possible. The optimization study was carried out on a certified sample (BCR No. 146), and the elements determined were Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr. The experimental data (percent recovery vs. digestion time) have been fitted to a mathematical model in order to quantify the influence of each of the variables studied. The optimized procedure (MW-ICP/AES) has been applied to one ordinary and one certified sewage sludge sample. In comparison with the conventional methods of sewage sludge analysis, the one proposed is less time consuming, while being equally precise and accurate.     

Phase analysis and reduction behaviour of Ce dopant in zirconolite

Accurate measurement of natural and anthropogenic radionuclide concentrations is of critical importance to end users in the nuclear sector to ensure correct classification prior to storage, recycling, reprocessing or disposal. Uncertainties in the characterisation of solid matrices and materials could lead to safety, quality and financial implications. Robust sample preparation methods are vital, in particular effective sample digestion, as under-estimated chemical yield recovery results in a corresponding under-estimation of activity levels. Borate fusion has been proven to effectively digest a range of complex sample matrices in the geosciences but is not used routinely elsewhere. In this study, we describe an automated procedure for borate fusion of multiple matrices encountered in nuclear decommissioning, containing diverse radionuclides over a range of activity concentrations. The impact of digestion flux, sample mass and sample to flux ratios are described, as well as the subsequent separation and measurement techniques. The results contribute to accurate and precise measurement of radionuclides in various matrices, as well as to characterisation of reference materials, providing greater confidence in nuclear industry programmes worldwide.

     

用ICP-AES同时测定脑瘤中17种元索

本文用ICP-AES技术,同时测定了30例脑瘤中17种元素的含量。研究了脑瘤试样的化学处理方法,并对共存元索干扰和回收率等项作了探讨     

Microfluidics with MALDI analysis for proteomics—A review

Various microfluidic devices have been developed for proteomic analyses and many of these have been designed specifically for mass spectrometry detection. In this review, we present an overview of chip fabrication, microfluidic components, and the interfacing of these devices to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. These devices can be directly coupled to the mass spectrometer for on-line analysis in real-time, or samples can be analyzed on-chip or deposited onto targets for off-line readout. Several approaches for combining microfluidic devices with analytical functions such as sample cleanup, digestion, and separations with MALDI mass spectrometry are discussed.