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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #377778
Research Project: Development, Evaluation, and Validation of Technologies for the Detection and Characterization of Chemical Contaminants in Foods

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: On-line microplasma decomposition of gaseous phase interference for solid sampling mercury analysis in aquatic food samples

Author
item LIU, TENGPENG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LIU, MEITONG - Jilin University
item LIU, JIXIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item MAO, XUEFEI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, SHANSHAN - Beijing University Of Technology
item SHAO, YUNBIN - Beijing University Of Agriculture
item NA, XING - Beijing University Of Agriculture
item Chen, Guoying
item QIAN, YONGZHONG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Analytica Chimica Acta
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2020
Publication Date: 7/18/2020
Citation: Liu, T., Liu, M., Liu, J., Mao, X., Zhang, S., Shao, Y., Na, X., Chen, G., Qian, Y. 2020. On-line microplasma decomposition of gaseous phase interference for solid sampling mercury analysis in aquatic food samples. Analytica Chimica Acta. 1121/42-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.04.057.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.04.057

Interpretive Summary: An atomic fluorescence spectrometric analyzer was developed for mercury determination in seafood. This analyzer implemented direct sampling, gas-phase digestion, and gold-coil trapping. Adequate analytical sensitivity (0.58 ug/kg limit of detection) and precision (10% RSD) were achieved. Overall analysis including sample pretreatment could be completed within 5 minutes.

Technical Abstract: An atomic fluorescence spectrometric (AFS) Hg analyzer was designed using a coaxial DBD reactor to replace catalytic pyrolysis furnace for mercury determination in seafood. This analyzer mainly comprised an electrothermal vaporizer (ETV), a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor to decompose interfering substances, and a gold-coil Hg trap to eliminate matrix interference. These units were connected by a manifold integrating air and Ar/H2 (v/v = 9 : 1). The LOD of the Hg analyzer was 0.58 ug/kg, and the RSDs were within 10%, indicating adequate analytical sensitivity and precision. Overall analysis including sample pretreatment could be completed within 5 min. The novel DBD reactor replaced the original catalytic pyrolysis furnace at much lower power consumption.