Determination of cadmium in flour by atom trapping flame atomic absorption spectrometry using derivative signal processing

A method is described for the determination of cadmium by atom trapping flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AT-FAAS) using derivative signal processing. The detection limit and sensitivity of the proposed method were improved by two and three orders of magnitude over those of conventional FAAS with 1-3 min collection time, respectively. The characteristic concentration (gives a derivative absorbance of 0.0044) and detection limit (3 sigma) of cadmium were 0.027 and 0.019 mu g l(-1) respectively, for a 1 min collection time and a 10 mV min(-1) sensitivity range. The proposed method was applied to the determination of cadmium in flour samples with a recovery range of 94.7-119%. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.