Use of two different coating temperatures for a cold fiber headspace solid-phase microextraction system to determine the volatile profile of Brazilian medicinal herbs.

In this study, the experimental extraction conditions on applying headspace solid-phase microextraction and cold fiber headspace solid-phase microextraction (CF-HS-SPME) procedures to samples of six medicinal herbs commonly found in southern Brazil were optimized. The optimized conditions for headspace solid-phase microextraction were found to be an extraction temperature of 60°C and extraction time of 40 min. For CF-HS-SPME, the corresponding values were 60°C and 15 min. In the case of the coating temperature for the CF-HS-SPME system, two approaches were investigated: (i) Temperature of 5°C applied during the whole extraction procedure; and (ii) the use of two fiber temperatures in the same extraction procedure with the aim of extracting the volatile and semivolatile compounds, the ideal condition being 60°C for the first 7.5 min and 5°C for the final 7.5 min. The three extraction procedures were compared. The CF-HS-SPME procedure had good performance only for the more volatile compounds whereas the strategy using two coating temperatures in the same procedure showed good performance for all compounds studied. It was also possible to determine the profile for the volatile fraction of each herb studied applying this technique followed by GC-MS.

Determination of fluorine in tea using high-resolution molecular absorption spectrometry with electrothermal vaporization of the calcium mono-fluoride CaF.

High-resolution continuum source molecular absorption of the calcium mono-fluoride molecule CaF in a graphite furnace has been used to determine fluorine in tea after acid digestion, alkaline solubilization and preparation of a conventional aqueous infusion. The strongest absorption 'line' of the CaF molecule is at 606.440 nm, which is part of the rotational fine structure of the X(2)Σ(+)-A(2)Π electronic transition; it has a bond dissociation energy of 529 kJ mol(-1), which is comparable with other molecules used for fluorine determination. One advantage of using Ca as the molecule-forming reagent is that spectral interferences are extremely unlikely in the spectral range of its strongest absorption. Another advantage is that Ca acts both as molecule forming reagent and chemical modifier, so that no other reagent has to be added, making the method very simple. The only disadvantage is that Ca has a somewhat negative influence on the graphite tube lifetime. The limit of detection was found to be 0.16 mg L(-1) F, corresponding to 1.6 ng F absolute, and the calibration curve was linear in the range between 0.5 and 25 mg L(-1) with a correlation coefficient of R=0.9994. The results obtained for a certified tea reference material were in agreement with the certified value on a 95% confidence level. There was also no difference between the results obtained after an acid digestion and an alkaline solubilization for 10 tea samples, based on a paired t-test. The values found in the 10 samples ranged between 42 µg g(-1) and 87 µg g(-1) F; the tea infusions contained between 21 µg g(-1) and 56 µg g(-1) F, with an extraction rate between 48% and 74%.

Method development and optimization for the determination of selenium in bean and soil samples using hydride generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.

The present investigation is the first part of an initiative to prepare a regional map of the natural abundance of selenium in various areas of Brazil, based on the analysis of bean and soil samples. Continuous-flow hydride generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-ET AAS) with in situ trapping on an iridium-coated graphite tube has been chosen because of the high sensitivity and relative simplicity. The microwave-assisted acid digestion for bean and soil samples was tested for complete recovery of inorganic and organic selenium compounds (selenomethionine). The reduction of Se(VI) to Se(IV) was optimized in order to guarantee that there is no back-oxidation, which is of importance when digested samples are not analyzed immediately after the reduction step. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were 30 ng L(-1) Se and 101 ng L(-1) Se, respectively, corresponding to about 3 ng g(-1) and 10 ng g(-1), respectively, in the solid samples, considering a typical dilution factor of 100 for the digestion process. The results obtained for two certified food reference materials (CRM), soybean and rice, and for a soil and sediment CRM confirmed the validity of the investigated method. The selenium content found in a number of selected bean samples varied between 5.5±0.4 ng g(-1) and 1726±55 ng g(-1), and that in soil samples varied between 113±6.5 ng g(-1) and 1692±21 ng g(-1).

Use of different sample temperatures in a single extraction procedure for the screening of the aroma profile of plant matrices by headspace solid-phase microextraction.

This study proposes a new approach to the optimization of the extraction of the volatile fraction of plant matrices using the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique. The optimization focused on the extraction time and temperature using a CAR/DVB/PDMS 50/30 µm SPME fiber and 100mg of a mixture of plants as the sample in a 15-mL vial. The extraction time (10-60 min) and temperature (5-60 °C) were optimized by means of a central composite design. The chromatogram was divided into four groups of peaks based on the elution temperature to provide a better understanding of the influence of the extraction parameters on the extraction efficiency considering compounds with different volatilities/polarities. In view of the different optimum extraction time and temperature conditions obtained for each group, a new approach based on the use of two extraction temperatures in the same procedure is proposed. The optimum conditions were achieved by extracting for 30 min with a sample temperature of 60 °C followed by a further 15 min at 5 °C. The proposed method was compared with the optimized conventional method based on a single extraction temperature (45 min of extraction at 50 °C) by submitting five samples to both procedures. The proposed method led to better results in all cases, considering as the response both peak area and the number of identified peaks. The newly proposed optimization approach provided an excellent alternative procedure to extract analytes with quite different volatilities in the same procedure.

Application of poly(dimethylsiloxane) fiber sol-gel coated onto NiTi alloy electrodeposited with zirconium oxide for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in herbal infusions.

A PDMS fiber sol-gel coated onto an NiTi alloy previously electrodeposited with zirconium oxide (named NiTi-ZrO(2)-PDMS) was applied to the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in infusions of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf), chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), and anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum L.). Salting-out effect, extraction time, and extraction temperature were optimized firstly by means of a full-factorial design and then using a Doehlert matrix. No salt addition and 50 min of extraction at 70 degrees C were the optimum conditions. Satisfactory LODs in the range of 2-17 ng/L, as well as good correlation coefficients (at least 0.9981) in the linear range studied, were obtained. Calibration was successfully applied using an infusion of M. recutita L. and recovery tests were performed to ensure the accuracy of the method, with values in the range of 77-120%. Comparison of the NiTi-ZrO(2)-PDMS with commercially available PDMS fibers showed that the proposed fiber has an extraction efficiency comparable to that of PDMS 30 microm for the compounds evaluated, demonstrating its potential applicability.

Use of Al2O3 in an automated on-line pre-concentration system for determination of cadmium(II) by FAAS.

This paper presents the development of an on-line pre-concentration system to determine cadmium(II) in aqueous samples. The analyte was trapped in a mini-column filled with Al(2)O(3) in the form of macro-spheres obtained by the mixture of Al(NO(3))(3).9H(2)O(aq) and chitosan dissolved in acetic acid. The mixture was dropped into an NH(4)OH aqueous solution under rigorous agitation using a peristaltic pump, the macro-spheres were separated from alkaline solution and dried, and finally were submitted to thermal treatment. The pre-concentration system was linear between 1.0 and 100 microg L(-1), with a linearity of 0.999, sensitivity of 3.58 x 10(-3)L microg(-1) and enrichment factor of 21.9. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.08 microg L(-1) and 0.28 microg L(-1), respectively. The repeatability was between 2.6 and 5.9%. Recovery tests were carried out with a real aqueous sample.