Determination of Lead in Urine by Slotted Quartz Tube (SQT) – Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS) Following Preconcentration by Dispersive Liquid Phase Microextraction (DLLME)

Abstract

This study was aimed to develop a sensitive and accurate method for the determination of lead in urine. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was applied prior to slotted quartz tube – flame atomic absorption spectrometry (SQT-FAAS). Dithizone was employed in generating water-insoluble forms of lead to isolate the analyte in the microextraction. All variables having a direct effect on extraction and instrumental outputs were systematically optimized. The detection limit was 0.5 µg L⁻¹ which indicates a 305-fold enhancement compared to conventional FAAS. The wide linear range is between 2.0 and 250 µg L⁻¹ with a high regression coefficient (0.9998). Urine samples were used in order to examine the practical application of the developed method. The recovery values were between 98.2 and 107.0%.

Keywords:

• Dispersive liquid phase microextraction (DLLME)
• flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS)
• lead
• slotted quartz tube (SQT)
• urine

Additional information

Funding

This study was not supported any specific grant from the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector.