Evaluation of the stability of some elements during lyophilisation of rat liver using atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

The stability of ten elements (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, Cd, Hg, Pb, As and Se) in rat liver during lyophilisation was evaluated. Flame, cold vapour, hydride generation or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the elements after wet digestion of the sample matrix. Fe was confirmed to be extremely stable during the lyophilisation and was used as a reference element. The stabilities of the other elements were determined by the difference between the mean values of the element to Fe ratios for wet and lyophilised samples. At the probability level of 0.05, only Pb registered a loss during the lyophilisation. Even with the loss, 92% of the total amount of Pb was retained during the procedure.