Dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction of cadmium and lead from plants prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction step is proposed for the quantitative extraction of Cd and Pb from plant leaves prior to determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Beech leaves (a certified reference material—CRM 100—where the target analytes were not certified) were used for optimizing the extraction step by a multivariate approach. The samples (0.25 g) were subjected to dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction with dilute nitric acid as extractant. The method was validated with a certified reference material BCR-062 (olive leaves) where both Cd and Pb are certified. The good agreement between the certified values and those found using the proposed method demonstrates its usefulness. The repeatability was 2.0 and 0.9% and the within-laboratory reproducibility was 7.1 and 2.8% for Cd and Pb, respectively. The precision of the method, together with its efficiency, rapidity, low cost and environmental acceptability makes it a good alternative for the determination of trace metals from plant material.