DIRECT DETERMINATION OF COPPER AT TRACE LEVELS IN SOLID SAMPLES OF ANIMAL FEED USING ELECTROTHERMAL ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

The determination of copper at trace levels in samples of animal feed can be carried out easily and rapidly by means of direct analysis of the solid using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The analytical conditions used enabled the determination of copper at a concentration of 0.001% (10 mug g-1) in feeding stuffs, using aqueous calibration standards. It was not necessary to use any special sample introduction system, platform, background noise correction or matrix modification. The relative standard deviation of the results was typically around 8%.