Microwave-assisted acid decomposition of animal- and plant-derived samples for element analysis

A single microwave-assisted acid-decomposition procedure is proposed for sample preparation of plant- and bovine-derived materials prior to multielement determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The procedure involved sample grinding in a cryogenic mill to reduce particle sizes and increase the surface area for acid attack, followed by decomposition under high pressure and temperature. A single heating program was employed and efficiently destroyed most of the organic matrix by using small volumes of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Accuracy of the elemental analysis was indicated by the good agreement between certified and found values of elements in plant and animal samples at 95% confidence level. The sample preparation procedure was fast and reproducible, and proved to be efficient for elemental analysis in agricultural and food-related samples by a sensitive multielement technique such as ICP-OES.