Microwave-assisted wet digestion with H2O2 at high temperature and pressure using single reaction chamber for elemental determination in milk powder by ICP-OES and ICP-MS.

In this work a green digestion method which only used H2O2 as an oxidant and high temperature and pressure in the single reaction chamber system (SRC-UltraWave™) was applied for subsequent elemental determination by inductively coupled plasma-based techniques. Milk powder was chosen to demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of the proposed method. Samples masses up to 500mg were efficiently digested, and the determination of Ca, Fe, K, Mg and Na was performed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), while trace elements (B, Ba, Cd, Cu, Mn, Mo, Pb, Sr and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Residual carbon (RC) lower than 918mgL(-1) of C was obtained for digests which contributed to minimizing interferences in determination by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Accuracy was evaluated using certified reference materials NIST 1549 (non-fat milk powder certified reference material) and NIST 8435 (whole milk powder reference material). The results obtained by the proposed method were in agreement with the certified reference values (t-test, 95% confidence level). In addition, no significant difference was observed between results obtained by the proposed method and conventional wet digestion using concentrated HNO3. As digestion was performed without using any kind of acid, the characteristics of final digests were in agreement with green chemistry principles when compared to digests obtained using conventional wet digestion method with concentrated HNO3. Additionally, H2O2 digests were more suitable for subsequent analysis by ICP-based techniques due to of water being the main product of organic matrix oxidation. The proposed method was suitable for quality control of major components and trace elements present in milk powder in consonance with green sample preparation.

Bromine and Iodine Contents in Raw and Cooked Shrimp and Its Parts.

The concentration of bromine and iodine was determined in shrimp and its parts (tissue and shells), and changes in the analyte concentration were evaluated after the cooking procedure. Bromine and iodine concentrations were determined by a method recently developed by our research group based on microwave-induced combustion for sample preparation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for analyte determination. The accuracy was evaluated using a reference material (NIST 8414) that was digested using the proposed method. No statistical difference was observed between certified and determined values (Student's t test, 95% confidence level). Suitable limits of detection (Br, 0.02 µg g(-1) and I, 0.01 µg g(-1)) were obtained for both analytes. Higher concentrations of both analytes were observed in shrimp shells in comparison to shrimp tissue for raw and cooked samples. Moreover, losses of Br and I (between 24 and 43%) were observed after cooking.

Study and determination of elemental impurities by ICP-MS in active pharmaceutical ingredients using single reaction chamber digestion in compliance with USP requirements.

In this work a method for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) digestion using the single reaction chamber (SRC-UltraWave™) system was proposed following the new recommendations of United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Levodope (LEVO), primaquine diphosphate (PRIM), propranolol hydrochloride (PROP) and sulfamethoxazole (SULF) were used to evaluate the digestion efficiency of the proposed method. A comparison of digestion efficiency was performed by measuring the carbon content and residual acidity in digests obtained using SRC and in digests obtained using conventional microwave-assisted digestion system (Multiwave(TM)). Three digestion solutions (concentrated HNO3, aqua regia or inverse aqua regia) were evaluated for digestion of APIs. The determination of Cd, Ir, Mn, Mo, Ni, Os, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in standard mode. Dynamic reaction cell (DRC) mode was used for the determination of (51)V, (52)Cr, (53)Cr, (63)Cu and (65)Cu in order to solve polyatomic ion interferences. Arsenic and Hg were determined using chemical vapor generation coupled to ICP-MS (FI-CVG-ICP-MS). Masses of 500mg of APIs were efficiently digested in a SRC-UltraWave™ system using only HNO3 and allowing a carbon content lower than 250mg L(-1) in final digests. Inverse aqua regia was suitable for digestion of sample masses up to 250mg allowing the determination of Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ru. By using HNO3 or inverse aqua regia, suitable recoveries were obtained (between 91 and 109%) for all analytes (exception for Os). Limits of quantification were in agreement with USP requirements and they ranged from 0.001 to 0.015µg g(-1) for all elemental impurities (exception for Os). The proposed method was suitable for elemental impurities determination in APIs and it can be used in routine analysis for quality control in pharmaceutical industries.