Comparison of dry, wet and microwave digestion procedures for the determination of chemical elements in wool samples in Turkey using ICP-OES technique

The aim of this study is to quantify the content of elements (Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd, Pb Cr, Fe, Na. K, Ca, Mg) present in wool samples (n:87) from Turkey because similar studies have not been published earlier. A fast and simple method for quantification of the metal content of wool samples was standardized for the three sample digestion procedures using dry ashing, wet ashing and microwave digestion and compared by the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The proposed method indicated satisfactory recovery, detection limits and standard deviation for trace metal determination in wool samples. The results in the samples (minimum-maximum in mu g g(-1)) were: Co 1.22-1.54, Cu 2.45-3.64, Min 0.44-0.65, Cd 0.08-0.30, Pb 1.33-1.74, Cr 0.33-1.25, Zn 73.94-87.08 and Fe 119.04-182.52. The lowest and highest levels of Na 0.31-0.37, K 0.05-0.06, Ca 0.50-0.66, Mg 0.11-0.12 were found as %. The concentration of Ni was below detection limit. The Certified Reference Material, CRM 397. Human Hair and Tomato Leaves-1573a were used in order to verify the accuracy of the microwave digestion method, and whether the results were in good agreement with the certified values. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.