Determinação de cádmio e manganês com pré-concentração por FI-FAAS e aplicação em aditivo alimentar à base de fosfatos

Abstract

Cadmium is a toxic element even at low concentration and is no essential for human metabolism, while Mn is essential and no toxic at low concentration. For that reason, it is important to have sensitive and accurate methods for determining these elements, mainly in feeds and foodstuffs used in human nutrition. These elements may usually be found as contaminants in phosphate-base-chemicals (mainly in Tripoli phosphates), whose Cd and Mn concentrations depend on the source where the chemical is from. However, serious matrix interference is found in the determination of Cd and Mn by means of atomic spectrometry techniques. Several techniques are nowadays available for the determination of Mn and Cd, including flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), which is widespread used and usually available in laboratories, due to its relative low cost, simplicity, good sample throughput, robustness, precision and accuracy. Nevertheless, in some cases sensitivity and matrix interference may hinder FAAS employment for the determination of trace elements like Mn and Cd, being matrix separation/analyte pre concentration mandatory. Due to these facts, in this work a flow injection system (FI) coupled with solid phase extraction (SPE) was developed for Cd and Mn pre concentration/phosphate-base- matrix separation and analyte detection by means of FAAS. In order to carry out Mn and Cd pre concentration and detection with the developed FI-SPE-FAAS system a small column filled with circa 30 mg de 8-hidroxyquinoline immobilized on controlled pore glass (CPG-8-HQ) was used. Parameters like sample solution pH, solution flow rate, time of analyte pre concentration, sample volume and eluate concentration were evaluated for method development. Using the selected conditions for the FI-SPE-FAAS system operation it was possible to achieve detection limits of 7,6 ng g-1 Cd and 76 ng g-1 Mn, respectively, while the quantification limits were 25 ng g-1 Cd and 255 ng g-1 Mn, respectively. The enhancing factor was 17 for Cd and 21 for Mn when 5 mL of sample solution was processed, while the sample throughput was 24 h-1. Even doing matrix separation, the use of standard addition calibration was necessary for accurate determination of both elements. It was concluded that the proposed method could be used for the determination of Cd and Mn in phosphate-basefoodstuff used in human nutrition, which matrix interference is severe in FAAS.