Micellar Enhanced Analytical Application of Bismuthiol-II for the Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Copper in Nutritional Matrices

 A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of copper is described herewith, based on the formation of colored species of Cu (II) with 5-mercapto-3-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thione (Bismuthiol II) in the presence of a neutral surfactant, Triton X-114. The yellow colored complex of Cu (II)–Bismuthiol-II–Triton X-114 shows maximum absorbance at 395 nm in water. The detection limit of the method is 0.03 mg/l while the Beer’s law is obeyed up to 1.2 mg/l of the analyte in an aqueous medium. The validity of the method has been examined for the determination of copper in wines, food supplements and raisins. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The method thus constitutes a handy alternative for the determination of copper (II) in nutritional samples. Received May 16, 2001; accepted December 10, 2001; published online June 24, 2002