Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Homogenization of food samples for gamma spectrometry using tetramethylammonium hydroxide and enzymatic digestion

  • Published:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have developed a method of food sample preparation for gamma spectrometry involving the use of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and/or enzymes such as α-amylase or cellulase for sample homogenization. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method using food matrices spiked with 60Co, 131I, 134,137Cs, and 241Am radionuclides, homogenized with TMAH (mixed salad, parmesan cheese, and ground beef); enzymes (α-amylase for bread, and cellulase for baked beans); or α-amylase followed by TMAH (cheeseburgers). Procedures were developed which are best compromises between the degree of homogenization, accuracy, speed, and minimizing laboratory equipment contamination. Based on calculated sample biases and z-scores, our results suggest that homogenization using TMAH and enzymes would be a useful method of sample preparation for gamma spectrometry samples during radiological emergencies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Baratta EJ (2003) Determination of radionuclides in foods from Minsk, Belarus, from Chernobyl to the present. Czech J Phys 53:A31–A37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Parache V, Pourcelot L, Roussel-Debet S, Orjollet D, Leblanc F, Soria C, Gurriaran R, Renaud P, Masson O (2011) Transfer of 131I from Fukushima to the vegetation and milk in France. Environ Sci Technol 45:9998–10003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Merz S, Steinhauser G, Hamada N (2013) Anthropogenic radionuclides in Japanese food: environmental and legal implications. Environ Sci Technol 47:1248–1256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Radiological Laboratory Sample Analysis Guide for Incidents of National Significance—Radionuclides in Water (2008) Report EPA402-R-07-007, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory, Montgomery, AL, USA

  5. Lin Z, Healey S, Wu Z (2016) Rapid and simultaneous detection of alpha/beta radioactivity in food by solid phase extraction liquid scintillation counting. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307:1987–1994

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bari A, Khan AJ, Semkow TM, Syed UF, Roselan A, Haines DK, Roth G, West L, Arndt M (2011) Rapid screening of radioactivity in food for emergency response. Appl Radiat Isot 69:834–843

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Nóbrega JA, Santos MC, de Sousa RA, Cadore S, Barnes RM, Tatro M (2006) Sample preparation in alkaline media. Spectrochim Acta B 61:465–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Becker S (2005) Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and laser ablation ICP-MS for isotope analysis of long-lived radionuclides. Int J Mass Spec 242:183–195

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Elston HJ, Caspary M, Khayyat A, Chu L-C (2013) Microwave assisted sample preparation of organic materials for gross alpha activity analysis. In: Proceedings of the 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, 7–11 April

  10. Maxwell SL, Culligan BK, Kelsey-Wall A, Shaw PJ (2012) Rapid determination of actinides in emergency food samples. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 292:339–347

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Khan AJ, Semkow TM, Beach SE, Haines DK, Bradt CJ, Bari A, Syed U-F, Torres M, Marrantino J, Kitto ME, Menia T, Fielman E (2014) Application of low-background gamma-ray spectrometry to monitor radioactivity in the environment and food. Appl Radiat Isot 90:251–257

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Biagini R, Dersch R, de Felice P, Jerome SM, Perkin EME, Pona C, de Sanoit J, Woods MJ (1995) Homogeneity testing of spiked reference materials. Sci Total Environ 173–174:267–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gharbi F (2011) Inhomogeneity effects on HPGe gamma spectrometry detection efficiency using Monte Carlo technique. Nucl Instrum Meth Phys Res A 654:266–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Food Emergency Response Network, (2017) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service. www.fernlab.org, Accessed July 2017

  15. Supporting Document for Guidance Levels for Radionuclides in Domestic and Imported Foods (2004) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA. www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/ChemicalContaminants/ucm078341.htm, Accessed Dec 2016

  16. National Nuclear Data Center (2016) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA, www.nndc.bnl.gov Accessed Dec 2016

  17. Zhou CY, Wong MK, Koh LL, Wee YC (1996) Microwave digestion of biological samples with tetramethylammonium hydroxide and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid for element determination. Talanta 43:1061–1068

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Fecher PA, Goldmann I, Nagengast A (1998) Determination of iodine in food samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after alkaline extraction. J Anal At Spectrom 13:977–982

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Uchida T, Isoyama H, Yamada K, Oguchi K, Nakagawa G, Sugie H, Chuzo I (1992) Determination of twelve elements in botanical samples with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry after leaching with tetramethylammonium hydroxide and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Anal Chim Acta 256:277–284

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Rodrigues JL, Nunes JA, Batista BL, de Souza SS, Barbosa F Jr (2008) A fast method for the determination of 16 elements in hair samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with tetramethylammonium hydroxide solubilization at room temperature. J Anal At Spectrom 23:992–996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lin CC, Yang CC, Ger J, Deng JF, Hung DZ (2010) Tetramethylammonium hydroxide poisoning. Clin Toxicol 48:213–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Bermejo P, Capelo JL, Mota A, Madrid Y, Cámara C (2004) Enzymatic digestion and ultrasonication: a powerful combination in analytical chemistry. Trends Anal Chem 23:654–663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Miguel ASM, Martins-Meyer TS, da Costa Figueiredo ÉV, Paulo Lobo BW, Dellamora-Ortiz, GM (2013) Enzymes in Bakery: Current and Future Trends. In: Muzzalupo I (ed) Food Industry, InTech, Rijeka, Croatia, www.intechopen.com/books/food-industry/enzymes-in-bakery-current-and-future-trends. Accessed Dec 2016

  24. Lima MA, Oliveira-Neto M, Kadowaki MA, Rosseto FR, Prates ET, Squina FM, Leme AF, Skaf MS, Polikarpov I (2013) Aspergillus niger β-glucosidase has a cellulase-like tadpole molecular shape: insights into glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) β-glucosidase structure and function. J Biol Chem 288:32991–33005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Bayer EA, Chanzy H, Lamed R, Shoham Y (1998) Cellulose, cellulases and cellulosomes. Curr Opin Struct Biol 8:548–557

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Rosenberg BL, Steinhauser G (2016) Preparedness for a nuclear accident: removal of radioiodine from soil by chemical processing. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307:1765–1769

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Dexter AH, Evans AG, Jones LR (1976) Iodine evaporation from irradiated aqueous solution containing thiosulfate additive. In: Proceedings of the 14th ERDA Air Cleaning Conference, Sun Valley, ID, USA, CONF-760822-26, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Oak Ridge, TN, USA. www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/7239037/. Accessed Dec 2016

  28. Howard BY (1976) Safe handling of radioiodinated solutions. J Nucl Med Technol 4:28–30

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Semkow TM, Bradt CJ, Beach SE, Haines DK, Khan AJ, Bari A, Torres MA, Marrantino JC, Syed U-F, Kitto ME, Hoffman TJ, Curtis P (2015) Calibration of Ge gamma-ray spectrometers for complex sample geometries and matrices. Nucl Instr Meth Phys Res A 799:105–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. ANSI/IEEE Standard (1978) IEEE Standard Techniques for Determination of Germanium Semiconductor Detector Gamma-Ray Efficiency Using a Standard Marinelli (Reentrant) Beaker Geometry. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  31. Parekh PP, Bari A, Semkow TM, Torres MA (2002) A new method for sealing containers with liquid samples for radioactivity measurements. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 253:321–325

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Sima O, Arnold D, Dovlete C (2001) GESPECOR: a versatile tool in gamma-ray spectrometry. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 248:359–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Currie LA (1968) Limits for qualitative detection and quantitative determination. Application to radiochemistry. Anal Chem 40:586–593

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Nisti MB, Santos AJG, Pecequilo BRS, Máduar MF, Alencar MM, Moreira SRD (2009) Fast methodology for time counting optimization in gamma-ray spectrometry based on preset minimum detectable amounts. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 281:283–286

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Shweikani R, Hasan M (2015) Determination of the optimal measurement counting time and detection limit for gamma-ray spectrometry analysis. Accred Qual Assur 20:501–504

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Menu2010—A Radiological Capability and Capacity Inter-Laboratory Comparison Exercise. After Action Report, FERN, WSDOH, NYSDOH, WSLOH, TDSHS, MDHMH, October 2010. (Available from the Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA)

  37. Kraft DJ, de Folter JWJ, Luigjes B, Castillo SIR, Sacanna S, Philipse AP, Kegel WK (2010) Conditions for equilibrium solid-stabilized emulsions. J Phys Chem B 114:10347–10356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Sacanna S, Rossi L, Philipse AP (2007) Oil-in-water emulsification induced by ellipsoidal hematite colloids: evidence for hydrolysis-mediated self-assembly. Langmuir 23:9974–9982

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Moreno R, Salomoni A, Mello Castanho S (1998) Colloidal filtration of silicon nitride aqueous slips. Part I: optimization of the slip parameters. J Eur Ceram Soc 18:405–416

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Boschini F, Rulmont A, Cloots R, Moreno R (2005) Colloidal stability of aqueous suspensions of barium zirconate. J Eur Ceram Soc 25:3195–3201

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Tetramethylammonium hydroxide. PubChem Open Chemistry Database, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/tetramethylammonium_hydroxide. Accessed Aug 2017

Download references

Acknowledgements

K. Nishikawa acknowledges support by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Food Emergency Response Network’s Cooperative Agreement Continuation Program 5U18FD003485-08. We highly benefited from the discussions with C. Palmer (Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health) on the use of TMAH to homogenize protein samples. We are grateful to E. Fielman for discussion on sample aliquot factors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, 12201-0509, USA

    Kimi Nishikawa, Abdul Bari, Abdul Jabbar Khan, Xin Li, Traci Menia & Thomas M. Semkow

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, 12144, USA

    Thomas M. Semkow

  3. Winchester Engineering and Analytical Center, Food and Drug Administration, 109 Holton Street, Winchester, MA, 01890, USA

    Zhichao Lin & Stephanie Healey

Authors
  1. Kimi Nishikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Abdul Bari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Abdul Jabbar Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Traci Menia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Thomas M. Semkow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Zhichao Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Stephanie Healey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kimi Nishikawa.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nishikawa, K., Bari, A., Khan, A.J. et al. Homogenization of food samples for gamma spectrometry using tetramethylammonium hydroxide and enzymatic digestion. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 314, 859–870 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5434-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5434-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation