[Determination of toxic element concentrations in flour and cereal products by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma].

Systemic control and monitoring in the sphere of providing sanitary epidemiological welfare of population require routine procedures for determining toxic elements in variable foodstuffs. Their development is a pressing issue. Our research goal was to develop a procedure for determining concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, aluminum and strontium in flour and cereal products by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. Material and methods. The most relevant calibration parameters for an Agilent 7900 mass spectrometer with octopole collision/ reaction cell and conditions for sample preparation by microwave digestion have been established; calibration characteristics and a range of determined concentrations have been identified. The limits of detections (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) for 6 analyzed elements have been calculated. Results. Our procedure for determining mass concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, aluminum and strontium in flour and cereal products by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma has yielded the following results: when analyzing a sample weighing 0.5 g, we determine cadmium concentration within a range from 0.0008 to 70.0 mg/kg with inaccuracy from 14 to 25%; arsenic concentration within a range from 0.002 to 70 mg/kg with inaccuracy varying from 11 to 26%; mercury concentration from 0.003 to 7.0 mg/kg with inaccuracy from 15 to 25%; lead concentration from 0.01 to 70.0 mg/kg with inaccuracy from 12 to 26%; aluminum concentration from 0.2 to 70.0 mg/kg with inaccuracy from 13 to 20%; strontium concentration from 0.02 to 70 mg/kg with inaccuracy from 12 to 20%. The procedure was tested on samples of rice groats with the focus on the most popular brands. Thus, arsenic was detected in a concentration equal to 0.163 mg/kg in round-grain rice and 0.098 mg/kg in parboiled rice, which does not exceed the permissible level fixed for the element at 0.2 mg/kg. In all the analyzed samples, content of cadmium, lead and mercury did not exceed maximum permissible levels established by the Technical regulation of the Customs Union TR CU 021/2011 for flour and cereal products. These levels are 0.1 mg/kg for cadmium, 0.5 mg/kg for lead and 0.03 mg/kg for mercury. Conclusion. The developed procedure for determining toxic elements in flour, cereals and bakery products by using mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma gives an opportunity to determine such elements in quantities lower than permissible levels fixed for them in technical regulations and sanitary rules. The procedure expands the existing methodical instruments for control of food quality in the Russian Federation.

[Determination of strontium content in whole blood and urine by icp-ms].

Parameters of strontium determination in the whole blood and urine of children living near ore deposits containing up to 20% strontium sulfate have been determined. The average strontium content in the whole blood of two children groups of 109.52 ± 11.07 mg/L and 131.62 ± 12.95 mg/L, significantly exceeded the level in the comparison group 44.2 ± 4.24 mg/L. The average strontium contents of two groups of children in urine were 1252.3 ± 332.2 mg/L and 1341.5 ± 241.8 mg/L, these values were 4.2 and 4.5 times higher than in the comparison group 296.4 ± 61.5 mg/L. The conditions for blood and urine sample preparation were optimized to reduce measure errors and to determine strontium at the reference concentration level. The accuracy of the results has been confirmed by analysis of the standard samples Seronorm™ Whole Blood L1, L2, L3 and Seronorm™ Urine.

[Peculiarities of vanadium determinaion in whole blood by ICP-MS].

The parameters of vanadium determination by ICP-MS in whole blood are presented. Conditions for blood sample preparation to reduce measure errors and to determine vanadium at the reference concentration level were optimized. The accuracy of the results is confirmed by analysis of standard blood samples Seronorm L1, L2 and L3. Vanadium mean in whole blood for the group of children from the town of Chusovoy (n = 80) was 1.29 +/- 0.45 microg/L, and vanadium mean for grown-ups from the town of Chusovoy was 1.63 +/- 0.25 microg/L.