Atomic / Ezine
Arsenic, selenium and mercury in foods by ICP-OES
Date: Dec 1, 2006
Author:
The levels of arsenic, selenium and mercury were determined in natural and selenium-enriched rice by ICP multichannel-based emission spectrometry using chemical vapour generation as the sample introduction system. Detection limits down to ng/g levels were achieved.
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Gruelling problem of the death zone
Date: Nov 13, 2006
Author: David Bradley
Atomic absorption spectroscopy was key to research that really gets to the heart of the problem of arterial plaques. Xi-Ming Yuan of Linköping University, Sweden, and colleagues there and at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, have identified the toxic components of arterial plaques seen in atherosclerosis, that kill the white blood cells that would otherwise help the body break down the plaques.
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Sensitivity differences for organic and inorganic arsenic in ICP-MS and ICP-AES
Date: Nov 1, 2006
Author:
The sensitivity and behaviour of arsenobetaine in ICP-MS and ICP-AES were investigated using a BCR certified reference material, a commercially available synthetic arsenobetaine and an inorganic arsenic standard solution. The results were used to determine the differences in sensitivity for organic and inorganic arsenic.
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Moss side heavy metal
Date: Oct 16, 2006
Author: David Bradley
A bag of moss lying in an irrigation ditch in North East Italy does not conjure up an image of high-tech analytical science but the special characteristics of the moss Rhynchostegium riparioides make it the ideal environmental monitor according to researchers at the University of Trieste and their colleagues.
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Atomic spectroscopy samples the goodness in seeds
Date: Oct 3, 2006
Author:
The yield of wheat has greatly improved through breeding, but it is not known how this has affected seed micronutrient content. In this study, the iron, zinc, copper and selenium content of seed of 14 US hard red winter wheat varieties from production eras spanning more than a century was measured. by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICPES) and hydride-generated atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS).
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Salt of the earth
Date: Sep 15, 2006
Author: David Bradley
A novel cheminformatics approach to assessing heavy metal content in European agricultural soils along the Mediterranean based on atomic absorption spectroscopy could provide essential information in the development of soil quality standards.
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Ingestion of Hijiki seaweed and risk of arsenic poisoning
Date: Sep 1, 2006
Author:
Seafoods contain large amounts of various arsenic compounds. Recently, people have been advised not to eat Hijiki seaweed in the UK because of its high content of inorganic arsenic. To clarify the risks of Hijiki ingestion, a volunteer ingested the seaweed and the distribution of arsenic species in his urine was determined by HPLC-ICP-MS.
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Elephantine analytical tasks
Date: Aug 14, 2006
Author: David Bradley
The ivory trade was banned by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 1989. However, illegal trade continues and as such researchers in India suggest that there is a continued need to characterize Asian elephant ivory and to be able to compare it with African ivory so that national and international laws can be implemented more effectively.
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Mass spectrometry in grape and wine chemistry: consumer protection
Date: Aug 2, 2006
Author:
Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is used to control heavy metals contamination in wine, and to verify the wine origin and authenticity.
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Plastics recycling sorted
Date: Jul 13, 2006
Author: David Bradley
Plastic waste is a mess. Disposal in landfill is the worst option but recycling post-consumer plastic waste presents a technological nightmare given the huge range of polymers used in packaging and products. A rapid, online method of identifying the different plastics in a recycling stream would provide a way to sort them and allow recycling plants to operate far more efficiently and perhaps make plastic recycling commercially viable.
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