Ultrasonic-assisted Dissolution of Vegetable Oils With Tetrabuthylammonium Hydroxide for Multielemental Analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A novel, simple, and rapid method is presented for vegetable oil sample analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after sample solubilization with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) in an ultrasonic bath. Sample introduction was accomplished after dilution in water with a high-performance microconcentric nebulizer and a cooled spray chamber. The sample was mixed with TBAH, kept in an ultrasonic bath with heat for half an hour, and then diluted with nitric acid to form an aqueous solution. External calibration against aqueous standard solutions, without TBAH, could be used for quantification of a reduced number of elements. However, external calibration with TBAH allowed the determination of all analytes with good accuracy. Comparison of obtained results with a microwave-assisted digestion was performed by linear regressions.