Low-Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure Sample Digestion Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Abstract

A new sample digestion method using a double layer and coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) digestion reactor was developed for the sensitive determination of trace elements in rice samples. All the operation parameters of the DBD microplasma and other digestion conditions were carefully optimized. Three DBD-digestion modes were investigated for real matrix samples, including HO-DBD-digestion, HO-DBD-digestion, and HNO-DBD-digestion systems. Among the three modes, the HO-DBD-digestion system provides a suitable digestion of sample without any additional chemicals, achieving environmental friendly sample treatment and eliminating the potential interferences. Under the optimized conditions, limits of detection for Mg, Mn, Zn, Cd, Cr, Co, and As were in the range of 0.01-0.35 ng g by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). The accuracy of the proposed method was checked by analysis of a certified reference material (GBW10043) and spiked samples with satisfactory results (83-113% recoveries).

Integration of Flow Injection Capillary Liquid Electrode Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry and Microplasma-Induced Vapor Generation: A System for Detection of Ultratrace Hg and Cd in a Single Drop of Human Whole Blood

“…Trace elemental analysis of biological fluids is a key of signaling pathways to monitor exposure of toxic elements to humans. − In general, routine determination of elements in samples can be accomplished by using atomic spectrometry. − However, it is still a continuing challenge to develop a suitable atomic spectrometric strategy for the accurate determination of toxic elements in complex matrices because the conventional atomic spectrometric techniques not only have their advantages but also remain insurmountable shortcomings. For examples, flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) have a simple structure and low running cost, whereas they provide relatively low sensitivities and/or narrow linear ranges.…”

Removal of Pharmaceutical Residues from Water and Wastewater Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Methods—A Review

“…Indeed, the accumulation of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) in water and wastewater treatment plants has rendered the treated effluents non-reusable since the sludge produced is toxic and highly contaminated with PhCs. The contaminants present in treated effluents show that they could not be removed by conventional treatment methods and are often discharged into the environments without being treated [2,4,5]. The world's consumption of pharmaceuticals could be estimated in hundreds of tonnes (t).…”

“…The availability of clean water is fundamental to the socio-economic development and maintenance of human health. Surface water has become a source of considerable environmental concern due to growing discharge and detection of chemicals of emerging concern at nanogram or microgram per litre levels [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Chemicals of emerging concern (CEC) have been explicitly defined by the United States Geological Survey [7] as any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical or microbial constituent previously not detected or historically known or considered to be a contaminant, but which interferes with hormonal functions in the body.…”

“…that mineralize water contaminants into simpler by-products. Various AOPs have been employed to oxidize and mineralise organic pollutants such as dyes, pharmaceuticals, and personal care product into CO 2 , water, and harmless organic and inorganic species [4,11,25,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. In most AOPs, series of gaseous, liquid chemicals including O 3 , H 2 O 2 , catalysts, and external UV sources have been used and the total decomposition of pollutants often requires extended treatment time.…”

“…[20]. The mixture of these oxidants represents a powerful chemical cocktail that induces complete removal of water contaminants [4,50]. The decomposition of organic toxins from water using different DBD configurations with total degradation achieved in reduced plasma exposure times has recently been reported [51][52][53][54].…”