Avaliação de procedimentos para preparo de amostras agronômicas visando determinação multielementar por espectrometria de emissão ótica com plasma induzido.

Abstract

Sample preparation was always considered a limiting factor for sample throughput in the analytical sequence due to its high time consumption and great probability for error insertion in the results. Therefore, purposes to generate lower analysis time and, mainly, to make sample handling a feasible process are readily wished. Two procedures for preparation of agricultural samples (bovine milk and fruit juices) for multielemental determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry have been investigated. A procedure for bovine milk treatment based on use of proteolytic enzymes (pepsin) and protein precipitator agent (trichloroacetic acid) for extraction of Ca, Fe, Mg, and Zn was investigated. Application of these reagents allowed to check the complex interaction between Fe and milk proteins. Quantitative determinations from simple protein precipitation in solution showed good results for Ca, Mg, and Zn. Results obtained for Fe, using protein precipitation, confirmed the strong bound of this element with the casein micelle. In general, the recovery of Fe on protein precipitate was around 100 %. Taking into account the procedure for fruit juices treatment, a flow system operating at high temperature and high pressure was developed. This system presented decomposition efficiency around 99 % for different carbon sources when 300 oC and 60 bar was applied. As result, it can be suggested that the use of diluted nitric acid (HNO3 1.4 mol L-1) associated to hydrogen peroxide as auxiliary oxidant agent (H2O2 3.0 % v v-1), does not compromise the decomposition efficiency if high temperature is applied. Recoveries of Ca, K, Mg, and Na in the digestates obtained by the flow system were in agreement with those found in the closed vessel-MW assisted acid decomposition. The flow system behavior for vegetal tissues slurries decomposition was also evaluated. At the same time the spectrometers performance was evaluated. Figures of merit, warm up time, long and short term stability, spectral resolution, and limit of detection were compared for axially- and radially-viewed configurations. The performed experiments showed similar performance for both configurations, differing only on the warm up time and limit of detection. Taking into account the obtained results it is possible to infer that most of the applications performed with the radially-viewed configuration could be carried out in axially-viewed ICP OES s with no analytical performance degradation.