ELECTROTHERMAL ATOMIZATION ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY OF CADMIUM WITH A PLATINUM TUBE ATOMIZER

The determination of cadmium by electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry with a platinum tube atomizer in the presence of air has been investigated. The detection limit of cadmium was 0.09 pg (9 pg/ml for a 10-mu-l volume). The relative standard deviation of the measurement was 2.9%. For 2.5 pg of cadmium, Cu, Pb, Zn, Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg and Na (10(4)-10(5)-fold) did not interfere with the absorption signal. The method has been applied to the determination of cadmium in some biological materials. The average analytical value found for the standards lay within the limits of the certified values. The remarkable merits of the platinum atomizer are its stability in air and long life-time (able to withstand more than 1000 heating cycles in air).