Application of pressurized fluid extraction to determine cadmium and zinc in plants Original Research Article

A procedure for the determination of Cd and Zn in plants is proposed. The metals are extracted by pressurized fluid extraction (PFE). Operational conditions are: pressure 1500 psi, temperature 75 °C, static time 5 min, flush volume 35%, purge time 60 s, cycles 1 and 1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (CDTA) 0.01 M at pH 4.5 as extracting solution. Determination of Zn is carried out by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and depending on the concentration level, Cd content is determined by flame or electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy. Certified samples of Virginia tobacco leaves, tea leaves, spinach leaves, poplar leaves, a commercial spinach sample (Spinacea oleracea) and genetically modified Arabidopsis thaliana were analysed by the proposed procedure and also by microwave acid digestion and extraction with HCl–Triton X-100. Confidence intervals for Cd and Zn content obtained by the proposed procedure overlap with the certified values. The other procedures, however, provide inaccurate results for Cd. Recoveries obtained for a confidence level of 95% are 96 ± 6% and 95 ± 5% for Zn and Cd, respectively. Reproducibility of Zn by the proposed procedure is 7% (n = 8), similar to the other tests and the detection limit is 2.6 μg. For Cd reproducibility is 8.5% (n = 8), better than with HCl–Triton X-100 and similar to acid digestion, the detection limit is 3.5 ng of Cd.