Determination of marker chromium in faeces using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry

Abstract

Chromium is determined in chromium(III) oxide-labelled faeces using an inductively coupled plasma source and emission spectrometry. A nitric acid-perchloric acid mixture is used to destroy organic matter in the faecal material and to dissolve the chromium(III) oxide. The concentration of chromium in the diluted digest is determined using the 358-nm line. The procedure is manipulatively simple, requires minimum supervision and is suitable for high-throughput applications. The precision for a single determination is ±5.4%.