ABSTRACT:Introduction -Although medicinal plants are widely used throughout the world, few studies have been carried out concerning the levels of heavy metal contaminants present. Such metals are highly toxic to living organisms even in low concentrations owing to their cumulative eff ect. The present paper describes the the development of a pre-concentration fl ow injection analysis-fl ame atomic absorption spectrometric system to determine the lead content in medicinal plants at the ppb level. Objective -To develop a pre-concentration fl ow injection analysis-fl ame atomic absorption spectrometric system to determine the lead content in medicinal plants at the ppb level. Methodology -A pre-concentration fl ow system was coupled to a fl ame atomic absorption spectrometer. The plant samples were analysed after nitroperchloric digestion. The proposed system was optimised by evaluating the following parameters: nature, concentration and volume of the eluent solution, elution fl ow rate, elution effi ciency, pre-concentration fl ow rate and pre-concentration time. Results -The proposed system exhibited good performance with high precision and repeatability (RSD £ 2.36%), excellent linearity (r = 0.9999), low sample consumption (10.5 mL per determination) and an analytical throughput of 55 samples/h. Lead concentrations ranged from 3.37 ± 0.25 to 7.03 ± 0.51 mg/g in dry material. This concentration interval is greater than that previously published in the literature. Conclusion -The inclusion of a pre-concentration column in the fl ow manifold improved the sensitivity of the spectrometer. Thus, it was possible to determine the analyte at the ng/mL level in sample solutions of medicinal plants. This is a very important accomplishment, especially when the cumulative eff ect of heavy metals in living organisms is considered.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.