Recent Advances in the Determination of Major and Trace Elements in Plants Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

Abstract

Interest in measuring major and trace elements in plants has increased in recent years because of growing concerns about the elements’ contribution to daily intakes or the health risks posed by ingesting vegetables contaminated by potentially toxic elements. The recent advances in using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to measure major and trace elements in plant samples are reviewed in the present work. The sample preparation before instrumental determination and the main advantages and limitations of ICP-OES are described. New trends in element extraction in liquid solutions using fewer toxic solvents and microextractions are observed in recently published literature. Even though ICP-OES is a well-established and routine technique, recent innovations to increase its performance have been found. Validated methods are needed to ensure the obtaining of reliable results. Much research has focused on assessing principal figures of merit, such as limits of detection, quantification, selectivity, working ranges, precision in terms of repeatability and reproducibility, and accuracy through spiked samples or certified reference materials analysis. According to the published literature, the ICP-OES technique, 50 years after the release of the first commercially available equipment, remains a powerful and highly recommended tool for element determination on a wide range of concentrations.