“…The limit of detection in AAS can be lowered if the flame atomizer (F-AAS) is replaced by a flameless atomizer (e.g., by an electrothermal atomizer [ET-AAS]), with a graphite cuvette that can be heated to temperatures as high as 3500 ∞C. 133,134,137,138 The principal advantages of AAS are (a) very good sensitivity, (b) low limit of detection (F-AAS from µg·cm −3 to ng·cm −3 , ET-AAS from ng·cm −3 to pg·cm −3 ), (c) excellent selectivity, (d) good precision, and (e) possible automation of the whole process. 138,162 Despite its many merits, AAS also has its defects, the most important ones being the interference caused by apparatus factors and the matrix effect.…”