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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Preparation of Food Samples Using Homogenization and Microwave-Assisted Wet Acid Digestion for Multi-Element Determination with ICP-MS
Published on: December 22, 2023
[Determination of eight elements in grain and vegetable by microwave digestion-ICP-MS]
Bo Ying1, Liping Liu, Jianrong Liu
1Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
Objective:
To set up a method for simultaneous determination of eight elements in grain and vegetable by microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Methods:
Food samples were digested in a microwave digestion system with nitric acid solution, and contents of Al, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe and Ca in the digestion solutions were determined simultaneously by ICP-MS.
Results:
The national standard reference materials such as mussel (GBW08571) and wheat powder (GBW08503B) were applied in the process of sample analysis, and the determination values of the standard reference materials were within the certified values. The accuracy of the method was 79.4%-111.5%, and the RSD was less 1.1%-6.6%. The recoveries of the spiked samples were 93.5%-110%. In order to reduce the matrix interference, the calibration of internal standard and the sample dilution were introduced for ICP-MS.
Conclusion:
This method has simple operation, rapid analysis, high accuracy, and reliable, and can be applied in simultaneous determination of multiple elements in food samples.
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