Advance in Microwave-assisted Digestion Techniques

Since 1975 when Abu-samra first reported the use of microwave as a heat source for wet digestion methods, sample preparation techniques have ushered in a new era. Using this technique, not only has the sample matrix been decomposed completely, but also digestion times have been dramatically reduced with other benefits such as little contamination, less reagent and sample usage, reduction in loss of volatile species and low blank values. In this paper, some developments in microwave-assisted digestion (MAD) are presented.