Inorganic Elements in Kernel of Amygdalus communis L. Measured Using ICP-OES Method

[Objective] The aim was to study on distribution of inorganic elements in kernel of Amygdalus communis L., providing reference for quality evaluation of A. communis L. species. [Method] Totally 26 species of inorganic elements in kernel, including Al, B, Be, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, Zn, Cd, As, Se, V, Hg, Cr and K were measured with inductively coupled plasma emission spectrum （ICP-OES） and principal components analysis （PCA）. [Result] A. communis L. of different species and in different factories showed a similar curve in content of inorganic elements; absolute contents of the elements differed significantly. In addition, the accumulated variance contribution of five principle factors achieved as high as 84.371% and the variance contribution made by the first three factors accounted for 67.546%, proving that Fe, Ti, Pb, Na, Se, Cu, Mo, K, Zn, Ni, Ca and Sr were characteristic elements. [Conclusion] The method, which is brief, rapid and accurate, can be used for determination of inorganic elements in kernel of A. communis L., providing theoretical references for further development and utilization of A. communis L.

Improved Measurement Performance of Inorganic Elements in Coal by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Coupled with Internal Standardization

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was employed to determine the inorganic elements in coal. To improve the measurement＇s accuracy and precision, a new internal standardization scheme, which we named changed internal standardization, was compared with the traditional internal standardization and no internal standardization for the analysis of inorganic elements. The new internal standardization scheme used the atomic line of carbon at 247.86 nm and the molecular band of CN at 388.34 nm and C2 at 516.32 nm to normalize the lines of inorganic elements that were distributed in the same spectral channel. The performance of the utilization of the new internal standardization scheme was evaluated using a set of coal samples, including twenty calibration samples and five validation samples. The results show that the coefficients of determination R2 and the slope of calibration models coupled with changed internal standard- ization are better than that of the calibration models coupled with fixed internal standardization and no internal standardization. Moreover, the measurement accuracy and reproducibility of changed internal standardization for the analysis of five validation samples also yielded further improvement. The results that we obtained suggest that changed internal standardization could compensate for the matrix effects, as well as the influence of the difference in the spectral response of the light collection system.

Determination of 10 Kinds of Inorganic Elements in Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis(Franch.) Hand.-Mazz.(and Polygerm Varieties)

[Objectives] To determine the content of 10 kinds of inorganic elements(Pb,Cu,As,Cd,Hg,Zn,Fe,Mn,Sr and Cr) in samples of Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( Franch.) Hand.-Mazz.( and polygerm varieties) produced in different areas. [Methods] The wet digestion and technique of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry( ICP-OES) were used. [Results] Under the experimental conditions,elements were not related to each other,and several kinds of elements could be measured at the same time. The content of Pb exceeding the standard only in sample S4 of P. polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( and polygerm varieties),Hg was not detected in all samples,and the rest heavy metals did not exceed the limit. [Conclusions] This study was expected to provide a certain reference for the development and utilization of P. polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( and polygerm varieties).

Inorganic Elements in Tuber of Chinese Herbal Medicine Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province

By analyzing the contents of inorganic elements in Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province, the aim was to assess the present quality of Radix Pseu- dostellariae, set limited standards of heavy metals, establish element fingerprints, and find out the characteristic elements. ICP-MS was used to measure the content of inorganic elements and map the element fingerprints. Additionally, WM/T2-2004 was applied to evaluate the quality of heavy metal elements, and the characteristic elements were determined by principal component analysis. The results showed that the contents of inorganic elements in Radix Pseudostellariae were between 0.057 and 959 mg/kg with the coefficients of variation ranging from 0.134 to 1.478, and the contents of Cd, As, Pb, and Hg were below the Standard of WM/T2-2004 in 90% of Radix Pseudostellariae. The standard limits of heavy metals in Radix Pseu- dostellariae were Cr≤6.5 mg/kg, Cu≤10 mg/kg, As≤2.0 mg /kg, Cd≤0.3 mg/kg, Hg≤0.15 mg/kg, and Pb≤4.0 mg/kg. The features of the inorganic eJements finger- prints could provide theoretical basis of identifying the quality of Radix Pseudostel- lariae and distinguishing Radix Pseudostellariae from other Chinese herbal medicines. The characteristic inorganic elements of Radix Pseudostellariae were found to be Cd, Cu, Co, Zn, Fe, Ca, Mg, and AI. Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province contained abundant inorganic elements, and the contents of heavy metals were below the evaluation criterion. The study provided a reference for the future development of the limiting values of heaw metals in Radix Pseudostellariae.

Determination of Inorganic Elements Content and Distribution in Bamboo Shoots by Microwave Digestion and ICP-MS

Microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method was used to determine the contents of 25 inorganic elements in basal part, meat and shell of bamboo shoots. It could be concluded that the method could be applied to determine 25 inorganic elements in bamboo shoots. The elements with a dry basis content higher than 10 mg/kg were listed in the order of content decrease as follows, basal part of bamboo shoots: K > Ca > Mg > Mn > P > Al > Fe > Zn > Na;bamboo shoots meat: K > P > Ca > Mg > Mn > Fe > Al > Zn > Na > Ba > Sr;bamboo shoots shell: K > P > Mg > Ca > Mn > Al > Fe > Na > Zn;B, Pb, Cu, Cr ranged from 1.0 - 10 mg/kg;Ga, As, Se, Cd, Sn, Sb, V, Co, Ni were lower than 0.80 mg/kg. The harmful elements Cd, As, Cr, Hg, Pb were commonly monitored in feeds. The wet basis content (mg/kg) of Cd, As, Cr was lower than: 0.028, 0.022 and 0.42 respectively;no Hg was found;the content of Pb(mg/kg) in basal part, meat and shell of bamboo shoots was 0.82, 0.35 and 0.41 respectively. The results provide basic data for the development of bamboo shoots and its byproduct.

Determination and Multidimensional Analysis of 29 Inorganic Elements in Cardamine tangutorum O.E.Schulz of Different Origins

[Objectives]This study aimed to determine the contents of inorganic elements in Cardamine tangutorum O.E.Schulz samples from different origins to provide a scientific reference for the quality control,safety evaluation and clinical medicinal use of C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz.[Methods]The contents of Al,As,B,Ba,Ca,Cd,Co,Cr,Cu,Fe,Hg,K,Mg,Mn,Mo,Na,Ni,P,Pb,Pd,Rb,Se,Si,Sn,Sr,Ti,Tl,V and Zn in the C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz samples were determined simultaneously by wet digestion and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy(ICP-OES),and the determination results were analyzed by principal component analysis.[Results]A total of 28 inorganic elements were detected in the samples of C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz from different origins.The contents of heavy metals did not exceed the limits.Among the elements,the determined values of Hg in all samples were below the detection limit,so it was not detected.The contents of Ca,Al,P and Fe were relatively high,and they were essential nutrients in the human body.There were significant differences among different elements.Samples from different origins show similar patterns in the distribution of main elements.Correlation analysis shows that 15 pairs of inorganic elements out of 24 elements had extremely significant positive correlations,and 26 pairs of elements had significant positive correlations.The principal component analysis determined Al,As,Ba,Ca,Cd,Fe,Mn,Ni,P,Pb,Pd,Se,V and Zn were the characteristic inorganic elements in the samples of C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz.[Conclusions]The contents of toxic heavy metals in C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz samples from different origins met the edible requirements.The method was simple,rapid and accurate,and could be used to analyze and determine the inorganic elements in the samples of C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz,providing a theoretical basis for the better development and utilization of C.tangutorum O.E.Schulz.

Construction of Inorganic Elemental Fingerprint and Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Marine Traditional Chinese Medicine Meretricis concha from Rushan Bay

Meretricis concha is a kind of marine traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), and has been commonly used for the treatment of asthma and scald burns. In order to investigate the relationship between the inorganic elemental fingerprint and the geographical origin identification of Meretricis concha, the elemental contents of M. concha from five sampling points in Rushan Bay have been determined by means of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry(ICP-OES). Based on the contents of 14 inorganic elements(Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn), the inorganic elemental fingerprint which well reflects the elemental characteristics was constructed. All the data from the five sampling points were discriminated with accuracy through hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA) and principle component analysis(PCA), indicating that a four-factor model which could explain approximately 80% of the detection data was established, and the elements Al, As, Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb could be viewed as the characteristic elements. This investigation suggests that the inorganic elemental fingerprint combined with multivariate statistical analysis is a promising method for verifying the geographical origin of M. concha, and this strategy should be valuable for the authenticity discrimination of some marine TCM.

Inorganic Elemental Determinations of Marine Traditional Chinese Medicine Meretricis concha from Jiaozhou Bay:The construction of Inorganic Elemental Fingerprint Based on Chemometric Analysis

The goal of this paper is to explore the relationship between the inorganic elemental fingerprint and the geographical origin identification ofMeretricis concha, which is a commonly used marine traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） for the treatment of asthma and scald bums. For that, the inorganic elemental contents ofMeretricis concha from five sampling points in Jiaozhou Bay have been determined by means of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and the comparative investigations based on the contents of 14 inorganic elements （A1, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn） of the samples from Jiaozhou Bay and the previous reported Rushan Bay were performed. It has been found that the samples from the two bays are ap- proximately classified into two kinds using hierarchical cluster analysis, and a four-factor model based on principle component analysis could explain approximately 75% of the detection data, also linear discriminant analysis can be used to develop a prediction model to distinguish the samples from Jiaozhou Bay and Rushan Bay with accuracy of about 93%. The results of the present investi- gation suggested that the inorganic elemental fingerprint based on the combination of the measured elemental content and chemom- etric analysis is a promising approach for verifying the geographical origin ofMeretricis concha, and this strategy should be valuable for the authenticity discrimination of some marine TCM.

Advances in osseointegration of biomimetic mineralized collagen and inorganic metal elements of natural bone for bone repair

At this stage,bone defects caused by trauma,infection,tumor,or congenital diseases are generally filled with autologous bone or allogeneic bone transplantation,but this treatment method has limited sources,potential disease transmission and other problems.Ideal bone-graft materials remain continuously explored,and bone defect reconstruction remains a significant challenge.Mineralized collagen prepared by bionic mineralization combining organic polymer collagen with inorganic mineral calcium phosphate can effectively imitate the composition and hierarchical structure of natural bone and has good application value in bone repair materials.Magnesium,strontium,zinc and other inorganic components not only can activate relevant signaling pathways to induce differentiation of osteogenic precursor cells but also stimulate other core biological processes of bone tissue growth and play an important role in natural bone growth,and bone repair and reconstruction.This study reviewed the advances in hydroxyapatite/collagen composite scaffolds and osseointegration with natural bone inorganic components,such as magnesium,strontium and zinc.

Chemical characteristics of PM_(2.5) during haze episodes in the urban of Fuzhou,China

Atmospheric fine particles （PM2.5） were collected in this study with middle volume samplers in Fuzhou, China, during both normal days and haze days in summer （September 2007） and winter （january 2008）. The concentrations, distributions, and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, organic carbon （OC）, elemental carbon （EC）, and water soluble inorganic ions （WSIls） were determinated. The results showed that the concentrations of PM2.s, PAHs, OC, EC, and WSIIs were in the orders of haze 〉 normal and winter〉 summer. The dominant PAHs of PM2.s in Fuzhou were Fluo, Pyr, Chr, BbF, BkF, BaP, BghiP, and IcdP, which represented about 80.0% of the total PAHs during different sampling periods. The BaPeq concentrations of ^-~PAHs were 0.78, 0.99, 1.22, and 2.43 ng/m3 in summer normal, summer haze, winter normal, and winter haze, respectively. Secondary pollutants （SO42 , NO3 , NH4＊, and OC） were the major chemical compositions of PM2.5, accounting for 69.0%, 55.1%, 63.4%, and 64.9% of PM2.s mass in summer normal, summer haze, winter normal, and winter haze, respectively. Correspondingly, secondary organic carbon （SOC） in Fuzhou accounted for 20.1%, 48.6%, 24.5%, and 50.5% of OC. The average values of nitrogen oxidation ratio （NOR） and sulfur oxidation ratio （SOR） were higher in haze days （0.08 and 0.27） than in normal days （0.05 and 0.22）. Higher OC/EC ratios were also found in haze days （5.0） than in normal days （3.3）. Correlation analysis demonstrated that visibility had positive correlations with wind speed, and neg- ative correlations with relative humidity and major air pollutants. Overall, the enrichments of PM2.5, OC, EC, SO42 ,andNO3 promoted haze formation. Furthermore, the diagnostic ratios of IcdP/（IcdP ＋ BghiP）, lcdP/BghiP, OC/EC, and NO3 /SO42 indicated that vehicle exhaust and coal consumption were the main sources of pollutants in Fuzhou.