Optimization of the extraction, clean-up and determination of arsenobetaine in manufactured seafood products by coupling liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract

A study was carried out to develop and optimize a method for determining arsenobetaine (AB) in seafood products by coupling high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Extraction, clean-up and instrumental determination of AB were established in real samples representative of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The analytical features of the method are: detection limit, 0.51 µg g^–1 As dry mass (dm) or 0.13 µg g^–1 As fresh mass (fm); relative standard deviation (n= 6), 8% for cockles, 5% for prawns, 4% for sole and 2% for the Canada National Research Council Reference Material, DORM-1 (Dogfish Muscle)(n= 3). The percentage recovery for AB is: 87 ± 6 (cockles), 86 ± 2 (sole), 86 ± 9 (prawns). The analysis of DORM-1 provided an AB value of 16.5 ± 0.9 µg g^–1 As dm, agreeing with results obtained by other authors using HPLC–ICP-mass spectrometry.