Determination of metal traces in wine by argon stabilized d.c. arc

A spetroscopic method for the determination of metal traces (Mn, Cu, Fe) in wine has been developed based on argon stabilized d.c. arc plasma at atmospheric pressure. The experimental conditions were optimized using lateral distributions of spectral line intensities of the trace elements in aqueous and ethanol-aqueous solutions. The method was applied to the analysis of 6 wines from 3 Serbian wine-growing regions. Direct and standard addition methods were tested. The precision of the method is characterized by a relative standard deviation of 0.50– 3.00%. The accuracy of the method was assessed by flame AAS. Received: 8 October 1998 / Revised: 17 March 1999 / Accepted: 20 March 1999