A simple microwave-assisted synthesis of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles and its application for the determination of lead ions in rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) tea.

In this study, a magnetic sorbent assisted dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE) method was used to preconcentrate lead ions from rooibos tea samples for determination by slotted quartz tube-flame atomic absorption spectrometry (SQT-FAAS). Cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (CoFe2O4 MNPs) were synthesized by microwave assisted digestion. Limits of detection and quantification were calculated as 5.3 and 17.6 µg/L, respectively, in a linear dynamic range of 20-800 µg/L. The enhancement factor of the developed method was found to be 80-folds when compared to the detection limit of the regular FAAS system. The percent recoveries obtained for rooibos tea samples spiked at different concentrations were in the range of 77 - 125%, with high repeatability as indicated by low standard deviations. The findings of the study demonstrated that the CoFe2O4 MNPs-based extraction method is a straightforward, fast, affordable, safe, and eco-friendly approach to qualifying/quantifying lead with high precision in the selected beverage sample.

Determination of copper in traditional coffee pot water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry and matrix matching calibration strategy after switchable solvent based liquid-phase microextraction.

Traditional copper coffee pots are widely used in these modern times and daily consumption of coffee brewed in overused/old pots increases the risk of copper ingestion. This study employed a green switchable solvent-based liquid-phase microextraction (SS-LPME) method to isolate and preconcentrate copper from water boiled in coffee pots. Copper was determined by a flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) system coupled with a slotted quartz tube (SQT). 1,5-Diphenylcarbazone was added to aqueous samples to form a complex with copper before the extraction step. Box-Behnken experimental design was applied to select optimum conditions of the extraction method that were used to validate the analytical method. The limits of quantification and detection of the optimized SS-LPME-SQT-FAAS method were determined as 9.1 and 2.7 µg/L, respectively. Water samples boiled in traditional coffee pots were spiked at different concentrations and analyzed to ascertain the method's accuracy and applicability to real samples. Satisfactory recovery results obtained in the range of 92-107% established good accuracy, and percent relative standard deviations lower than 8.0% also proved high precision.