Determination of Ca, Cu, Fe and Mg in fresh and processed meat treated with tetramethylammonium hydroxide by atomic absorption spectrometry

TLDR: In this paper, a simple method for treating fresh and processed meat with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is proposed for the determination of Ca, Fe and Mg by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and Cu by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrumetry (GFAAS).

Abstract: Um metodo simples para o tratamento de amostras de carne fresca e processada com hidroxido de tetrametilamonio (TMAH) e proposto para a determinacao de Ca, Fe e Mg por espectrometria de absorcao atomica com chama (FAAS) e Cu por espectrometria de absorcao atomica com forno de grafite (GFAAS). A exatidao foi avaliada por comparacao dos resultados usando outros dois procedimentos de preparo de amostra e por analise de materiais de referencia certificados. Nao houve diferenca significativa entre os resultados obtidos, em um nivel de confianca de 95%. Os limites de deteccao para Ca, Cu, Fe e Mg foram 45,0, 0,2, 16,0 e 0,3 µg g -1 , respectivamente. A espectrometria de absorcao atomica de alta resolucao com fonte continua em forno de grafite (HR-CS GFAAS) foi empregada para avaliar as interferencias espectrais na determinacao de Cu. Entretanto, nenhuma interferencia foi encontrada. O metodo proposto e simples, rapido e confiavel para analise de produtos carneos e nao requer o uso de equipamentos especiais nem de acidos fortes no preparo das amostras. A simple method for treating fresh and processed meat with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is proposed for the determination of Ca, Fe and Mg by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and Cu by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The accuracy was evaluated by comparison of the results by using two other sample preparation procedures and by the analysis of certified reference materials. No significant differences between the results were found at the 95% confidence level. Limits of detection for Ca, Cu, Fe and Mg were 45.0, 0.2, 16.0 and 0.3 µg g -1 , respectively. High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS GFAAS) was employed to evaluate the spectral interference in the determination of Cu. However, no interference was found. The proposed method is simple, fast and reliable for meat products analysis and does not require especial equipment, neither strong acid for sample preparation.