Multielemental determination in breast cancerous and non-cancerous biopsies by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry following small volume microwave-assisted digestion

A microwave-assisted digestion method amenable to analysis of small size biological samples (<30 mg dry mass) has been optimized for determining twelve elements (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn) by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in breast cancerous and non-cancerous biopsies. The use of three small volume PTFE closed vials (6-mL capacity) placed inside a conventional microwave vessel allows to drastically diminishing the volume of acid needed for digestion. A Plackett-Burman experimental design was used to evaluate the robustness of the digestion procedure. Effects of nitric acid volume, need for predigestion step, microwave power and digestion time were assessed. No significant effects were found, the digestion method being robust enough to be recommended for a routine practice. The method was successfully validated against CRM BCR 185 (bovine liver), CRM NRCC TORT-2 (lobster hepatopancreas), CRM NRCC DORM-2 (dogfish muscle) and CRM NRCC DOLT-2 (dogfish liver). Procedural detection limits ranged from 0.54 to 40 ng g(-1). Within-batch precision values were less than 3%, whereas between-batch precision values were in the range 2-11%. Forty-seven biopsies from thirty-nine women were analyzed: 20 samples corresponding to mammoplasties from healthy women and 27 samples from patients suffering from cancer pathology, 19 of which corresponded to tumour and 8 to adjacent normal tissue. After applying parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, a significant accumulation of Cu, Mn, Zn and Se in cancerous tissues was demonstrated.     

微波消解-等离子体原子发射光谱法测定石榴皮和石榴籽中微量元素

采用微波消解样品,电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定了石榴皮和石榴籽中K、Ca、Mg、Fe、Al、Cu、Zn、Mn、Na、Li、P、S 12种微量元素的含量。在最佳仪器工作条件下,各元素的加标回收率为91.8%～103.1%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.70%～2.68%。实验结果可为石榴皮和石榴籽中微量元素与其药效的相关性提供科学依据。     

Determination of mineral and trace element concentrations in pine needles by ICP-OES: evaluation of different sample pre-treatment methods

In the present study, the determination of mineral and trace elements (Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P and Zn) from pine needles using three sample pre-treatment methods followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, was examined. Sample pre-treatment methods tested were microwave digestion, ultrasound-assisted digestion and dry ashing. The new ultrasound-assisted digestion method was optimised by the analysis of the standard reference material (SRM) 1575a (pine needles) sample. The speed of dry ashing method was significantly increased by ultrasound dissolution after ashing. All the ICP-OES measurements were performed in robust plasma conditions which were tested by measuring the Mg II 280.270 nm/Mg I 285.213 nm line intensity ratios. The microwave digestion resulted generally in slightly higher element concentrations than ultrasound-assisted digestion. B, Cu and Na resulted in such low concentrations that they could not be accurately determined by using the microwave digestion method. The t-tests found no significant differences between the certified and the determined element concentrations of the SRM 1575a using the dry ashing method followed with ultrasound dissolution.     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定铜磁铁矿中铜、锰、铝、钙、镁、钛和磷的含量

通过样品处理、干扰实验、方法检出限、准确度和精密度实验,确定了最佳实验条件,建立了电感耦合等离子体-原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定铜磁铁矿中铜、锰、铝、钙、镁、钛和磷含量的方法。试料经盐酸、硝酸、氢氟酸、高氯酸分解,用盐酸溶解盐类,过滤,采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法同时测定滤液中铜、锰、铝、钙、镁、钛和磷的含量。方法检出限为锰、钛和磷小于0.00085%,其它元素小于0.0054%,分析结果与分光光度法、X射线荧光光谱法(XRF)和原子吸收光谱法(AAS)分析结果一致,8个实验室对5个水平样品进行协同实验给出了方法的精密度。     

用ICP研究鹿科动物骨质疏松症的微量元素特征

鹿科动物的骨质疏松症是近几年出现的一种疾病，它影响鹿的生长发育和繁殖，病重者死亡。我们采集梅花鹿和白唇鹿的毛，血样，用低温灰化方法和温法消解处理样品，用ＩＣＰ分析了毛，血清中微量元素的含量。病梅花鹿毛样中Ｍｇ，Ａｌ，Ｃａ，Ｔｉ，Ｆｅ，Ｃｕ，Ｚｎ的含量比正常组高，Ｔｉ，Ｃｕ，Ｚｎ的偏差率大于１５％，而Ｓｉ，Ｍｎ，Ｐ，Ｐ，Ａｇ，Ｂａ，Ｌａ，Ｃｅ，Ｐｂ比正常组低，Ｖ，Ａｇ，Ｂａ，Ｌａ，Ｃｅ，Ｐｂ存在...     

ICP-OES测定醋酸酯淀粉中10种元素含量

醋酸酯淀粉样品经微波消解后,采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱（ICP-OES）法测定其中钾、钙、钠、镁、铜、铁、锌、锰、磷、镍等10种元素含量.方法线性范围宽,线性相关系数r大于0.999 4,回收率为90.0%~106.7%,RSD小于3.9%.方法具有操作简单、快速、准确、可靠等优点,在醋酸酯淀粉分析中,取得了令人满意的结果.检测结果表明：醋酸酯淀粉中含有丰富的钙元素,磷、钾、钠元素含量较丰富,含有微量的镁、铜、铁、锰、镍等元素.     

Multi-element analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry of airborne particulate matter collected with a low-pressure cascade impactor

A method was developed for the elemental analysis of size segregated particles ranging from 0.03 to 10 microns. Sampling and analysis problems are discussed in this paper. Particles were collected with a Dekati low-pressure cascade impactor. PTFE filters coated with oleic acid were used as substrate. Particles were microwave digested in closed vessels. The optimum digestion mixture was composed of HNO3 (1 mL), HF (50 microL) and H2O (1 mL). The optimal power setting and digestion time were studied in order to achieve an efficient digestion. A ca. 35 min microwave digestion cycle at a 650 W maximum power allowed complete digestion of the samples. Special emphasis was placed on the pressure in the closed vessels to avoid sample losses. Solution samples were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry using an ultrasonic nebuliser for 18 elements (Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, S, Sr, Ti, V, Zn). This procedure was tested with NIST Standard Reference Material 1648 Urban Particulate. Recoveries for certified elements ranged from 95 to 105% except for Al (90%). The influence of cascade impactor materials was investigated with 44 field samples. Strong artefacts due to contamination were shown for analysis at environmental concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn and Ni.     

微波消解-FAAS法测定大别山区三种中药中的微量元素

采用微波消解-火焰原子吸收光谱(FAAS)法对大别山区3种中药(何首乌、黄精和拐枣)中的微量元素进行测定。用微波消解仪处理样品,对消解条件及消解程序进行优化,在最佳微波消解条件下,结合FAAS法测定上述3种中药中Ca、Mg、Cu、Zn、Fe、Mn 6种元素的含量。结果表明,微波消解的最佳条件为:何首乌和拐枣采用HNO3-H2O2混酸体系,配比分别为5∶2和5∶3,固液比1∶20,最高功率(700W)时的保温时间分别为8min和6 min;黄精采用HNO3-HCl,混酸体系,配比5∶2,固液比1∶28,保温时间为8 min。所建立的定量分析方法回收率为95.63%～101.36%,相对标准偏差小于3.0%,线性相关系数大于0.999,方法检出限为0.18～2.20 ng/mL。3种中药中均含有丰富的微量元素,尤其是黄精中Fe、Ca和Mn的含量较高;何首乌中Mg、Zn和Fe含量相对较高;拐枣中Fe和Ca含量相对较高。研究结果可为上述3种中药中微量元素的含量与其药效的相关性提供科学依据。     

Determination of thirteen common elements in food samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry: comparison of five digestion methods

Five sample digestion procedures were evaluated for the determination of Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Sr, and Zn in food samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The 5 procedures include dry ashing at 500 degrees C, wet digestion with HNO3-HClO4, microwave digestion with HNO3, microwave digestion with HNO3-H2O2, and microwave digestion with HNO3-H2O2-HF. For microwave digestion with HNO3-H2O2-HF, silicon (IV) oxide was used to eliminate the excess HF, making it possible to determine total Al, B, and other common elements accurately and simultaneously. Seven National Institute of Standards and Technology standard reference materials (SRMs) were analyzed to compare the recovery of 13 elements with above digestion procedures. The results demonstrated that the microwave digestion procedure with HNO3-H2O2-HF yielded the best recoveries for all 13 elements in the selected SRMs. The determined concentrations of most elements were close for all 3 microwave digestion procedures with the exception of Al in oyster tissue, bovine liver, and spinach. Notably, the wet digestion with HNO3-HClO4 is the simplest and the most effective procedure for the selected elements except Al and B. Although there are several concerns with the dry ashing procedure, it might be a preferable procedure for those analyses where only nonvolatile elements are to be determined and the concentrations of the elements are low.     

Development of a modified medium pressure microwave vapor-phase digestion method for difficult to digest organic samples

A previously developed microwave heated vapor-phase digestion method for biological samples was modified to enable digestion of difficult to digest organic samples. Organic samples containing ca. 100 mg of organic carbon were digested using volume calibrated quartz inserts inside second generation type medium pressure microwave vessels. As digestion reagents, 98% sulfuric acid, 70% nitric acid and 30% hydrogen peroxide were used. The accuracy of the method was tested with six certified reference materials. Elements Ca, Fe, K, Na, Mg, P and Zn were determined from NIST-SRM 8433 corn bran. Elements Al, Fe, Cd, Cu, and Zn were determined from NRCC DOLT-2 dogfish liver. The element Cd was determined from IRMM-VDA Cd in polyethylene No. 001-004 reference materials. These elements were determined from digested samples by ICP-OES. The results were close or within certified limits. The modified method could digest nearly all the materials tested, including the above mentioned reference materials, 2-nitrobenzoic acid (2-NBA), 4-NBA and copper(II) phthalosyanine-3, 4',4',4'-tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (CPS). The method could not digest 3-NBA.     

Characterisation of biological RMs for potential use in human brain analysis

Summary In order to investigate the precision and accuracy obtainable with instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), five different biological reference materials were analyzed. Four of them originated from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (Bovine Liver (SRM 1577; 1577/a; 185/A), Orchard Leaves (SRM 1571)) and one of them came from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (Animal muscle (H-4)). The decomposition efficiency of microwave acid digestion was examined in comparison to digestions carried out in a Parrbomb. Five to ten subsamples of each material were subjected to the two digestion procedures and the solutions were analyzed by ICP-AES. The dried samples were analyzed by INAA. Up to 16 elements (Al, B, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Zn) were determined in various materials.     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定不同品种山药中矿物质元素与对比研究

采用微波消解样品,运用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法同时测定山药中K,Na,Ca,Mg,Zn,Fe,Cu,Mn,Se,Pb,Cd和Cr 12种元素。结果表明:方法简便、快速、准确;山药富含对人体有益的K,Ca,Fe,Mg,Zn,Mn,Se等矿物质元素,其肉质中重金属元素Pb,Cd,Cr含量均未超过国家食品卫生标准。     

微波消解样品-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定镍精矿中10种金属元素

采用微波消解样品-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法同时测定镍精矿样品中铝、钙、钴、铬、铜、锰、镁、镍、铅、锌等10种金属元素的含量。0.200 0g试样置于消解罐中,先后加入盐酸2mL、硝酸6mL及氢氟酸1mL,密闭罐盖按设定的微波消解程序进行消解。试验选择铝、钙、钴、铬、铜、镁、锰、铅、锌和镍的分析线分别为308.215,317.933,228.616,267.716,324.745,279.079,257.610,220.353,206.200,231.604nm,配制工作曲线时采用基体匹配的方法消除基体干扰。方法用于镍钴矿标准样品(GBW 07283)和镍精矿实际样品的分析,此方法的测定值与认定值及国标方法的测定值相一致。方法的回收率在95.8%～103.1%之间,相对标准偏差(n=6)均小于4.5%。     

微波消解-ICP-AES法测定蒙药通拉嘎-5中的多元素

采用微波消解-ICP-AES法测定了蒙药通拉嘎-5中的Fe、Cu、Cd、Ca、Mg、Mn、Zn、Sr、Co、Ni、Cr 11种金属元素的含量。结果表明,微波消解法具有快速、高效、节约试剂的优点,由于样品在高压密封系统中进行消解,避免了污染,过程易于控制,消解效率高。测定方法的回收率为98.0%~105.5%,RSD为0.6%~2.4%。蒙药通拉嘎-5中含多种金属元素,尤其Ca、Mg、Sr、Fe、Zn的含量较高。     

非育珠背角无齿蚌软组织微量元素含量的分析

采用高频电感耦合等离子体发射光谱(ICP—AES)法测定了非育珠背角无齿蚌软组织中锰(Mn)、铁(Fe)、锌(Zn)、铬(Cr)、铝(Aj)、铜(Cu)六种微量元素及钙(Ca)、镁(Mg)的含量，分析了各种元素在不同软组织中的分布特征。结果表明：(1)在软组织中，各元素平均含量由高到低依次为：Ca，Mn，Mg，Fe，Zn，Al，Cr，Cu；(2)背角无齿蚌不同软组织中微量元素的含量不同，其中瓣鳃和外套膜中所测元素含量高于其他器官，特别是Mn，Fe的含量最高；Mn的含量甚至超过了宏量元素Mg；Al是闭壳肌中含量最丰富的微量元素。     

Comparison of partial digestion procedures for determination of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, and Zn in milk by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

A fast procedure was developed for determination of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, and Zn in milk samples. This procedure consisted of a partial digestion with hydrochloric acid on a hot plate. The results obtained were compared with 3 other digestion procedures (dry ashing and 2 microwave digestions). All the procedures showed similar precision levels, with coefficients of variation <10% for most analyzed elements. Accuracy was evaluated by using certified reference materials, and the values obtained were within the confidence intervals for these products. The results obtained were not considered statistically different. The partial digestion on a hot plate with HCl can be very practical for laboratories with relatively large numbers of sample analyses.     

Determination of metals in marine species by microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis

A microwave digestion method suitable for determination of multiple elements in marine species was developed, with the use of cold vapor atomic spectrometry for the detection of Hg, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for all of the other elements. An optimized reagent mixture composed of 2 ml of HNO₃, 2 ml of H₂O₂ and 0.3 ml of HF used in microwave digestion of about 0.15 g (dry weight) of sample was found to give the best overall recoveries of metals in two standard reference materials. In the oyster tissue standard reference material (SRM 1566b), recoveries of Na, Al, K, V, Co, Zn, Se, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ni, and Pb were between 90% and 110%; Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, As, and Ba recoveries were between 85% and 90%; Hg recovery was 81%; and Ca recovery was 64%. In a dogfish certified reference material (DORM-2), the recoveries of Al, Cr, Mn, Se, and Hg were between 90% and 110%; Ni, Cu, Zn, and As recoveries were about 85%; and Fe recovery was 112%. Method detection limits of the elements were established. Metal concentrations in flounder, scup, and blue crab samples collected from coastal locations around Long Island and in the Hudson River estuary were determined.     

Determination of metal concentrations in lichen samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy technique after applying different digestion procedures

Three digestion procedures have been tested on lichen samples for application in the determination of major, minor and trace elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, V and Zn) in lichen samples collected in Aegean Region of Turkey by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). The acid mixture of concentrated HNO₃, H₂O₂ and HF were used. The instrument was optimized using lichen matrix considering RF power, nebulizer pressure, auxiliary flow rate and pump rate. The accuracy of the overall analyses was first estimated by analysis of two certified reference materials. Good agreement between measured and reference values were found for almost all elements. As the second way of determining the accuracy, results obtained from independent analytical techniques (ICP-AES and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA)) were compared for all elements by analyzing real samples. Correlation coefficients of two techniques for the elements ranged between 0.70 (Mg) and 0.96 (Fe). Among the three digestion systems, namely microwave, open vessel and acid bomb, microwave digestion system gave the best recovery results. The method detection limit (MDL) was computed using reagent blanks of microwave digestion system since it provides cleaner sample preparation. Detection limit is adequate for all elements to determine the elements in lichen samples. The precision was assessed from the replicate analyses of reagent blanks of microwave digestion system and was found to be less than 1.5% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.).     

Trace elemental characterization of edible oils by ICP-AES and GFAAS

A method for the determination of the inorganic profile in edible oils is proposed. The quantification of selected metals in various oils (olive, pumpkin seed, sunflower, sesame seed, hazelnut, grape, soya, rice oil) was carried out using microwave assisted digestion followed by ICP-AES and GFAAS. The detection power of the ICP-AES technique was sufficient for the determination of Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, and Zn. Since the samples contained very low amounts of Al, Cu, Co, Cr, K, Ni, Mn, and Pb, these elements were measured by GFAAS. Differences of metal concentrations for edible oils obtained in this preliminary study represent a starting basis for the development of an additional analytical procedure applicable for oil characterization.     

New application of microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for multi-element analysis in komatiites

A new method using microwave digestion combined with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was studied to analyze the elemental composition of a variety of komatiites samples. Microwave digestion consisted in two-stage heating and pressurizing acid treatments for maximum dissolution of the samples. We report here different quality control measurements (external and internal calibration, monitoring of reference materials) which involve standard deviation calculations and recovery examinations in order to test the precision and accuracy of the analytical procedure. Data for 17 elements (Na, P, K, T, V Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Zr, Pb, Al, F, Ca and Mg) in eight komatiite samples and two USGS basalt reference samples (BCR-2 and BHVO-2) are presented. We evaluate our new digestion and instrumental procedure. The element concentration obtained for BCR-2 and BHVO-2 agreed well with the certified values, the relative standard deviations were lower than 5% and recoveries were good. Our analytical results demonstrate that it reproduces accurately the concentrations of minor and trace elements in komatiites. The ease of digestion of the samples and the speed (less than 12 h) to digest the komatiite material makes this technique an efficient method to be used easily and routinely for preparing and analyzing komatiites samples for multiple elements determination.