Loss of zinc and cobalt during dry ashing of biological material

Drying Procedure for Analysis of Biological Samples by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

“…Methods for Drying Biological Tissue Samples method associated problems thermal oven high temperatures cause loss of volatile elements and alteration of sample matrix (10) 16-72 h needed to dry samples (10) microwave oven for effective drying samples must be minced (9), internal high temperature effects probable freeze-drying sample contamination from the metallic freezer housing (esp. Cr) is possible (11), cellular integrity destroyed dry ashing high temperatures result in a loss of elements such as As, Co, Cr, and Ni by volatilization (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17) wet ashing loss of Se, Te, and Po and matrix interferences due to incomplete destruction of the organic matrix when samples are treated with HN03/HC10" or H2S04/H202 (12,18), possible sample contamination from reagents used in the procedure (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27) elemental losses due to volatilization were held at an absolute minimum by keeping the drying chamber and its contents at ambient temperature and at atmospheric pressure. Losses, including those resulting from the alteration of the biological matrix upon heating, or the loss, via volatilization, of elements or compounds having high vapor pressures are therefore reduced or eliminated, By use of this drying scheme, the sample is protected from sample-container interactions such as those encountered during ashing and freeze-drying.…”

Determination of Fe, Cu, Ni, and Mn in fats and oils by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy

“…Flame spectroscopy, utilizing techniques such as cliarashing and wet ashing for aqueous matrices and solvent extraction and chelating agents for organic matrices, is useful in many applications but has certain limitations (relatively poor sensitivity, time-consuming sample preparations, large sample size, interferences) (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Black (4) compared dry ashing, solvent dilution with direct aspiration, and carbon rod flameless determinations and discussed advantages and disadvantages of each.…”

Carbonisation technique for pre-treatment of biological materials in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

“…Dry ashing may lead to losses of elements such as selenium, arsenic, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead, tin and strontium by volatilisation and by retention on the surfaces of reaction vessels used at high temperatures, and the use of chemical aids may cause contamination. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The wet digestion of biological material using various reagents has improved recently, especially with regard to the quality of reagents and, therefore, the risk of contamination from the reagents has decreased; however, this technique is not always suitable for the analysis of biological samples using XRF, it is time consuming and there is a risk of contamination or loss of elements during the complicated treatment.…”