Application of multiwalled carbon nanotubes treated by potassium permanganate for determination of trace cadmium prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry

In this study we investigated the enrichment ability of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs） and established a new method for the determination of trace cadmium in environment with flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The MWCNTs were oxidized by potassium permanganate under appropriate conditions before use as preconcentration packing. Parameters influencing the recoveries of target analytes were optimized. Under optimal conditions, the target analyte exhibited a good linearity （R^2=0.9992） over the concentration range 0.5-50 ng/ml. The detection limit and precision of the proposed method were 0.15 ng/ml and 2.06%, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of cadmium in real-world environmental samples and the recoveries were in the range of 91.3%-108.0%. All these experimental results indicated that this new procedure could be applied to the determination of trace cadmium in environmental waters.

Flow Injection Semi-online Preconcentration Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry for Determination of Cadmium,Copper and Manganese

A micro-flow injection sorbent extraction preconcentration system was combined with a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry that formed an integrated system for the determination of trace amounts of elements. The analytical performances of the prospsed method for determining Cd, Cu and Mn were studied. The analytes were preconcentrated with a thiol resin(Type 190, produced by Nankai University, China) whose active group is -SH. The elements to be determined were preconcentrated onto the column for 60 s and then rinsed with deionized water and eluted with 30 μL of 1 mol/L HCl. The graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry(GFAAS) determination of the concentrated analyte was carried out in parallel with the next preconcentration cycle. Enrichment factors 41, 22 and 20 and detection limits(3 σ , n =10) 0.36, 3.8 and 7.0 ng/L for Cd, Cu and Mn, respectively, along with a sampling frequency of 20 h -1 , were obtained with a 60 s loading time at a sample flow rate of 3.5 mL/min. The analytical results for a number of water samples show that the flow-injection semi-online column preconcentration can not only eliminate the effect of some concomitant elements, such as Li, Na, K, Ca and Mg, on the determination of the analyte, but also enhance the sensitivity.

Investigation of Distribution for Trace Lead and Cadmium in Chinese Herbal Medicines and Their Decoctions by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Lead and cadmium in herbal medicines are highly toxic to living organisms even in low concentrations. An effective method is developed for analysis of trace lead and cadmium in Chinese herbal medicines and their decoctions by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The effects of analytical conditions on absorbance were investigated and optimized. A water-dissolving capability for Pb and Cd was investigated, and the contents of different species in five Chinese herbal medicines and their decoctions were analyzed. The content ratios (kow) of n-octanol-soluble Pb or Cd to water-soluble Pb or Cd were evaluated, and the distribution of Pb and Cd in water decoction at stomach and intestine acidities was developed, in the first time. The contents of water-soluble Pb and Cd, n-octanol-soluble Pb and Cd, and their content ratios were related with the kind of medicine and the acidity of the decoction. The proposed method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity and high speed, with 3 σ detection limits of 4.2 pg for Pb and 0.1 pg for Cd.

Determination of Chromium and Zinc in Soil by Microwave Digestion and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

[Objective] The aim was to develop a rapid, simple method for determination of chromium and zinc in soil samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.[Method] The method for determination of Cr and Zn in soil by combined flame atomic absorption spectrometry and microwave digestion was used. [Result] The concentration curve was linear within the range of 0-0.8 mg/L for Cr and 0-0.8 mg/L for Zn, the detection limits of Cr and Zn was 0.0025 mg/L and 0.002 3 mg/L, respectively. Recoveries of 102.4%-103.2% for Cr and 97.7%-98.3% for Zn were obtained for there soil samples. [Conclusion] The proposed method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, and high efficiency; it was successfully used for determination of Cr and Zn in soil samples.

Preconcentration of Cadmium in Environmental Samples by Cloud Point Extraction and Determination by FAAS

Cloud point extraction (CPE) has been used for the preconcentration of cadmium, after the formation of a complex with 1, 5-bis(di-2-pyridylmethylene) thiocarbonohydrazide (DPTH), and further determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) using Triton X-114 as surfactant. The main factors affecting the CPE, such as concentration of Triton X-114 and DPTH, pH, equilibration temperature and incubation time, were optimized for the best extract efficiency. Under the optimum conditions i.e., pH 5.4, [DPTH] = 6x10-3%, [Triton X-114] = 0.25% (v/v), an enhancement factor of 10.5 fold was reached. The lower limit of detection (LOD) obtained under the optimal conditions was 0.95 μg L?1. The precision for 8 replicate deter- minations at 20 and 100 μgL?1 Cd were 2.4 % and 2 % relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). The calibration graph using the preconcentration method was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0,998 at levels close to the detection limit up to at least 200 μgL?1. The method was successfully applied to the determination of cadmium in water, environmental and food samples and in a BCR-176 standard reference material.

Application of Back-propagation Artificial Neural Network in Speciation of Cadmium

A method for predicting the five species contents of cadmium was developed by combining the back-propagation artificial neural network with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry（BP-ANN-GF-AAS）.Based on the strong learning function and the features of the information distributed storage of artificial neural network（ANN）,a single ANN was constituted in which only one determination point of every sample was required.The exchangeable,carbonated,Fe-Mn oxidable,organic and residual species of cadmium for 20 kinds of soil samples from the two sections of Changchun（China） were determined by BP-ANN-GF-AAS.The detection limit of the method is 0.024 μg/L and the limit of quantification is 0.080 μg/L.t-Test indicates that there is not any systemic error of the results obtained by the Tessier sequential extraction graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry method（Tessier-GF-AAS） and BP-ANN-GF-AAS.Compared with those of the Tessier-GF-AAS,the prediction errors of BP-ANN-GF-AAS are less than 10%.The proposed method is fast,convenient,sensitive,and can eliminate the interference among various species.

Determination of Trace Elements in Potatoes by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

[Objective] This study aimed to analyze the contents of trace elements in potatoes from different production areas in Qinghai Province. [Method] By flame atomic absorption spectrometry （FAAS）, the contents of various trace elements in potatoes were determined. [Result] Potatoes contain abundant trace elements such as Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ca, K and Mg. To be specific, the contents of Ca, K and Mg were relatively high. [Conclusion] By using FAAS, the relative standard deviation was 1.17%-2.75% and the recovery rate was 97%-99.5%, indicating accurate and reli-able results with high precision.

Content of Cadmium in Poppy Seeds and Poppy Seeds Containing Products Marketed in Czech Republic

Concentration of cadmium in poppy seeds, semi-finished products and baked goods with poppy seeds was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry （GF-AAS）. Homogenous samples of poppy seeds and products containing poppy seeds were digested by means of microwave digestion system by using of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide as reagents. The measurements were carried out using an atomic absorption spectrometer with Zeeman background correction. Detection limit was 0.003 mg/kg. A total of 208 samples of poppy seeds （from years 2004-2009） and 17 samples of semi-finished and baked goods were analysed. The average content was 0.64 mg/kg （median 0.64 mg/kg） for poppy seeds and 0.079 mg/kg （median 0.069 mg/kg） for semi-finished and baked goods. The relative standard deviation was lower than 5% for all measurements.

Preconcentration of copper with multi-walled carbon nanotubes pretreated by potassium permanganate cartridge for solid phase extraction prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure for the preconcentration of copper was described in this paper using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) oxidized by potassium permanganate as the adsorbent for the enrichment of trace copper in water samples. Important parameters, such as the sample pH, the concentration and volume of eluent, sample flow rate and volume, and interference of coexisting ions, were investigated. The obtained results indicated that proposed method possessed an excellent analytical performance. The linear range, the detection limit, and precison (RSD) were 1–100 ng/mL (R(2) = 0.9993), 0.32 ng/mL and 2.88%, respectively. The results showed that copper could be adsorbed quantitatively on the pretreated MWCNTs with potassium permanganate, and proposed method was very useful in the monitoring of copper in the environment.

Determination of Iron in Layered Crystal Sodium Disilicate and Sodium Silicate by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with Boric Acid as a Matrix Modifier

The effects of matrix silicate and experimental conditions on the determination of iron in flame atomic absorption spectrometry （FAAS） were investigated. It was found that boric acid as a matrix modifier obviously eliminated silicate interference. Under the optimum operating conditions, the determination results of iron in layered crystal sodium disilicate and sodium silicate samples by FAAS were satisfactory. The linear range of calibration curve is 0-10.5 μg.mL^-1, the relative standard deviation of method is 1.2%-2.2%, the recovery of added iron is 96.0%- 101%, the sensitivity is 0.19 μg.mL^-l and the detection limit is 77 ng.mL^-1. The effect of the determination of iron of the standard curve method, standard addition calibration and colorimetry method was the same, but the first has the merits of rapid sample preparation, reduced contamination risks and fast analysis.

Speciation of Dissolved Trace Nickel in Environmental Waters by On-Line Sonodigestion-Flow Injection Solid Phase Extraction Coupled to Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A simple on-line sonodigestion system was successfully used for breakdown organic nickel complexes in environmental waters acidified with diluted nitric acid prior to flow injection total dissolved nickel preconcentration in a microcolumn containing a chelating resin (Chelite Che with iminodiacetic acid groups) and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. For the determination of the dissolved labile nickel fraction, microcolumns packed with the chelating resin were loaded in-situ with the sample without sample pH modification, and once in the laboratory were inserted in the flow injection device where nickel elution-detection was carried out. The performance of the chelating resin was investigated in order to elucidate its behavior in the presence of dissolved nickel species. The results obtained reveal that the resin, at the experimental employed conditions, retained only dissolved free nickel ions and nickel bound to weak complexes (labile fraction). The figures of merit for determinations in both nickel fractions are given and the obtained values are discussed. The speciation scheme is applied to the analysis of nickel in river and seawater samples collected in Galicia (Northwest, Spain). The results of fractionation showed that Ni are mainly in the dissolved labile fraction in river water, while in seawater samples analyzed was mainly present in the organic fraction.

Determination of Copper and Lead Contents in Soil of the Yellow River Wetland in Shaanxi Province by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

[Objectives] The contents of copper and lead in the soil of the Yellow River Wetland were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, which provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of soil pollution. [Methods] The soil was digested with a concentrated nitric acid-hydrofluoric acid-perchloric acid system, and the contents of heavy metals such as copper and lead in the Yellow River Wetland of Shaanxi Province were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. [Results] The correlation coefficients reached 0.999 5 in the range of 0.00-1.00 mg/L, indicating good linearity. [Conclusions] The method is simple in operation, good in reproducibility, high in sensitivity to most elements, and can be widely used.

Determination of Manganese in Tri Calcium Phosphate (TCP) by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Tricalcium phosphate Anhydrous Powder typically contains less than 10 ppm (mg/Kg) (w/w) manganese. This level can be determined utilizing Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and standard based on known standards. A number of analytical methods are presently used for the analysis of metals in the biochemical. The instrumental techniques available are Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP/MS), X-Ray Fluorescence, UV-VIS Spectrophotometry, and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Flame AA has gained widespread acceptance as an analytical technique and is used for many applications. In this study, we have determined the amount of manganese metal present in Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The method has high precision and accuracy. The percent recovery was found to be 99.8% for spiked sample. The results meet the requirement.

FLAME ATOMIC ABSORPTION DETERMINATION OF COPPER IN CEREALS FOOD SAMPLES WITH THE PRECONCENTRATION OF POTASSIUM TETRATITANATE WHISKER

A simple and reliable method has been developed for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of copper ions in cereals food for subsequent measurement by flame atomic absorption spectrometry （FAAS）. The Cu^2＋ ions are adsorbed selectively and quantitatively during the passage. The retained copper ions were desorbed from the potassium tetratitanate whisker with 10.0mL of 2mol/L sulphuric acid solutions as eluent and were determined by FAAS. The linear range was 0.05μg/mL-0.20μg/mL in the original solution with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The detection limit of the proposed method is 2. lng/mL in the original solution （3σ, n=9）. Determination of copper in standard ions showed that the proposed method has good accuracy （recovery was more than 95%）. The method was successfully applied for recovery and determination of copper in cereals food samples

Flow-Injection Flame Atomic Absorption Determination of Hexavalent Chromium with On-Line Preconcentration on an Anion Imprinted Polymer

A flow injection preconcentration system for the flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of hexavalent chromium has been developed. The method employs on-line preconcentration of Cr(VI) on a minicolumn packed with Cr(VI)-imprinted poly(4-vinyl pyridineco-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) placed into a flow injection system. Hexava-lent chromium was eluted with a small volume of diluted hydrochloric acid into the nebulizer-burner system of a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. An enrichment factor of 550 and a 3σ detection limit of 0.04 μg·L-1 along a sampling frequency of 4 h-1 at a sample flow rate of 3.5 mL·min-1. The relative standard deviation is 2.9% for 1 μg·L-1 Cr(VI) (n = 11). The flow injection system proposed has the advantage of being simpler because the use of expensive and sophisticated instruments is avoided. Ease of use, continuous process and selectivity make this method suitable for Cr(VI) determination in different environmental samples such as sea and river waters, soils and sediments.

Oxidation state specific analysis of arsenic species in tissues of wild-type and arsenic(+3 oxidation state)methyltransferase-knockout mice

Arsenic methyltransferase（As3mt） catalyzes the conversion of inorganic arsenic（i As） to its methylated metabolites, including toxic methylarsonite（MAs~Ⅲ） and dimethylarsinite（DMAs~Ⅲ）. Knockout（KO） of As3 mt was shown to reduce the capacity to methylate i As in mice. However, no data are available on the oxidation states of As species in tissues of these mice. Here, we compare the oxidation states of As species in tissues of male C57BL/6 As3mt-KO and wild-type（WT） mice exposed to arsenite（iA s~Ⅲ） in drinking water. WT mice were exposed to50 mg/L As and As3mt-KO mice that cannot tolerate 50 mg/L As were exposed to 0, 15, 20, 25 or30 mg/L As. iA s~Ⅲaccounted for 53% to 74% of total As in liver, pancreas, adipose, lung, heart, and kidney of As3mt-KO mice; tri- and pentavalent methylated arsenicals did not exceed 10% of total As. Tissues of WT mice retained iA s and methylated arsenicals： iA s~Ⅲ, MAs~Ⅲand DMAs~Ⅲ represented 55%‐68% of the total As in the liver, pancreas, and brain. High levels of methylated species, particularly MAs~Ⅲ, were found in the intestine of WT, but not As3mt-KO mice,suggesting that intestinal bacteria are not a major source of methylated As. Blood of WT mice contained significantly higher levels of As than blood of As3mt-KO mice. This study is the first to determine oxidation states of As species in tissues of As3mt-KO mice. Results will help to design studies using WT and As3mt-KO mice to examine the role of iA s methylation in adverse effects of iA s exposure.

A novel method for the determination of trace copper in cereals by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A novel,simple,rapid,efficient and environment-friendly method for the determination of trace copper in cereal samples was developed by using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop（DLLME-SFO） followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.In the DLLME-SFO,copper was complexed with 8-hydroxy quinoline and extracted into a small volume of 1-dodecanol,which is of low density,low toxicity and proper melting point near room temperature. The experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized.Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graph exhibited linearity over the range of 0.5—500 ng/mL with the correlation coefficient（r） of 0.9996.The enrichment factor was 122 and the limit of detection was 0.1 ng/mL.The method was applied to the determination of copper in the complex matrix samples such as rice and millet with the recoveries for the spiked samples at 5.0 and 10.0 u,g/g falling in the range of 92.0-98.0%and the relative standard deviation of 3.9-5.7%.

Determination of Copper by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry after Preconcentration with Activated Carbon Impregnated with a New Schiff Base

A simple and reliable method for the extraction and determination of trace amounts of copper（Ⅱ） ions using activated carbon （AC） impregnated by a new Schiff base 5-[（4-heptyloxyphenyl）azo]-N-（4-propyloxyphenyl）-salicylaldimine （HPPS） and atomic absorption spectrometry is presented. Recovery efficiency and the influence of pH value, volume of sample solution, effect of different eluents, and interfering ions were evaluated. The limit of detection （3σ） was 2.62 ng.mL^-1 and the relative standard deviation （n=10） was 1.5%. Under optimum conditions, the copper ions were concentrated 25 fold using 250 mL of sample solution and 10 mL of eluent. This procedure has been successfully applied to the determination of copper in different water samples.

Preconcentration and Determination of Chromium Species Using Octadecyl Silica Membrane Disks and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A novel and selective method for the fast determination of trace amounts of chromium species in water samples has been developed. The procedure is based on the selective formation of chromium diethyldithiocarbamate complexes at different pH in the presence of Mn（Ⅱ） as an enhancement agent of chromium signals followed by elution with organic eluents and determination by atomic flame absorption spectrometry. The maximum capacity of the employed disks was found to be （396±3） pg and （376±2） pg for Cr（Ⅲ） and Cr（Ⅵ）, respectively. The detection limit of the proposed method is 49 and 43 ng·L^-1 for Cr（Ⅲ） and Cr（Ⅵ）, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for determination of chromium species Cr（Ⅲ） and Cr（Ⅵ） in different water samples.

石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测量干香菇镉含量的不确定度来源评定

依据国家计量技术规范《测量不确定评定与表示》(JJF 1059.1—2012),针对干香菇镉含量的原子吸收光谱法(石墨炉法)检测过程,分析测量不确定度的来源,不确定度主要来源于测量重复性、标准物质、样品制备、线性拟合标准曲线、石墨炉原子吸收光谱仪等5个方面,通过建立相应的数学模型,计算评定上述5个方面来源的相对标准不确定度分别为0.00743、0.00268、0.02275、0.00866和0.00005,合成标准不确定度为0.0151 mg∕kg,最终得出测量结果的扩展不确定度为0.03 mg∕kg。结果表明,在该试验中标准曲线线性拟合计算质量浓度是不确定度引入的最主要因素。