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Assessment of matrix-dependent analyte stability and volatility during open-vessel sample dissolution for arsenic, cadmium, mercury and selenium

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Abstract

The effects of calcium and magnesium (as nitrates) and phosphorous (as hydrogen phosphate) were investigated on the stability of As, Cd, Hg, and Se during open-vessel dissolution in Teflon vessels. Samples of mainly inorganic and biological matrices were dissolved in screw-capped Teflon tubes in HNO3 only or in a mixture of HNO3-HF. The caps were then removed and the solutions were simultaneously evaporated at 120 °C to near dryness without drying the contents (Method I) or to complete dryness with extended heating for 20 min at dryness (Method II). ICP-MS analysis indicated that the stabilities of Se and Hg were highly influenced by Ca, Mg and PO4 content in the sample. Arsenic (As) and Cd did not show any significant instability or volatility. Selenium was lost in Method II from biological samples containing trace levels of Ca, Mg and PO4. Mercury was unstable during heating in all samples, except bone ash for which no significant loss was detected in Method I. Losses observed for Hg and Se were consistent with Ca, Mg and PO4 deficiency in the samples and hence indicated that nitrate and hydrogen phosphate salts of these matrix elements do improve stability of the relatively volatile elements during open-vessel dissolution in teflon vessels. While Se was effectively stabilized with sub-per cent levels of Ca, Mg and PO4, Hg due its high volatility required significantly higher levels of Ca and PO4 in the bone ash.

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Acknowledgements

This work is funded in part by grants from NIH-RCMI Program (Grant No G12RR013459) and NIH-ERDA Program (Grant No 5 G11 HD046519-05) to Jackson State University. The views expressed herein are those of authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH and any of its sub-agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science Ph.D. Program, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, 39217, USA

    Domingos D. Afonso

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, 39217, USA

    Zikri Arslan

  3. US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA

    Anthony J. Bednar

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  1. Domingos D. Afonso
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  2. Zikri Arslan
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  3. Anthony J. Bednar
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Correspondence to Zikri Arslan.

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Afonso, D.D., Arslan, Z. & Bednar, A.J. Assessment of matrix-dependent analyte stability and volatility during open-vessel sample dissolution for arsenic, cadmium, mercury and selenium. Microchim Acta 167, 53 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-009-0218-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-009-0218-3

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