Determination of elements in biological materials by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with sampling of a carbonaceous slurry

Abstract

Sequential inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry was used to determine Mg, Ca, K, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn in five different National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Materials, by nebulising their carbonaceous slurries obtained by simply warming these matrices with concentrated sulphuric acid using a temperature programme up to 350 °C and gently boiling them for a short period of time. The method has been tested on similar matrices in previous studies, utilising flame atomic absorption spectrometry and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The results show good precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, s,%(often less than 5%) and accuracy, expressed as relative error, e,%(1–6%). The detection limits for each element are also reported.