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Determination of twenty‐five elements in lichens by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and microwave‐assisted acid digestion
Author(s) -
Pino Anna,
Alimonti Alessandro,
Botrè Francesco,
Minoia Claudio,
Bocca Beatrice,
Conti Marcelo E.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.3039
Subject(s) - chemistry , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , microwave digestion , digestion (alchemy) , chromatography , sample preparation , lichen , certified reference materials , mass spectrometry , environmental chemistry , inductively coupled plasma , contamination , analytical chemistry (journal) , detection limit , plasma , botany , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
A simple and efficient digestion method for rapid sample preparation and quantification of 25 chemical elements in lichens by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is described. A microwave (MW)‐assisted acid digestion was carried out at atmospheric pressure simultaneously handling up to 80 samples in screw‐capped disposable polystyrene tubes. This digestion procedure was compared with the established MW digestion in closed vessels in order to examine its potential applicability in routine analysis for environmental monitoring. Three certified reference materials, i.e. BCR 482 (lichens), BCR 62 (olive leaves) and BCR 100 (beech leaves), as well as a small set of real samples were analyzed. Limits of quantification, accuracy and precision of the method were assessed. The majority of the elements were totally recovered from the lichens and from the other vegetable matrices. Low contamination risk, simplicity, time‐saving, and applicability in routine analyses make this method very suitable for use in extensive screening campaigns. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.