Abstract:

A fast and effective method was developed for the determination of Fe in leisure food samples by incomplete
digestion-microemulsion sampling-high resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (HRCS
FAAS). Microemulsions were prepared with digestive liquor using n-butyl alcohol as an auxiliary emulsifier after
incomplete digestion treatment. The conditions of microemulsion formation and the effects of the fuel flow, the burner
height and KCl mass concentration on the absorbance were investigated. Single factor experiments were initially carried
out. The appropriate fuel flow, 60 L/h; the optimum burner height, 4 mm; and the suitable KCl mass concentration, 1.5 g/L
were obtained by orthogonal experiment. Under the optimum conditions, Fe contents in three leisure food sample were
determined by the proposed method. F-test and t-test at a significance level of 0.05 indicated that the Fe contents obtained
by the proposed method and the national standard method were not significantly different. The recoveries for spiked samples
were from 92.5% to 96.7%. Therefore, the proposed method was rapid, accurate and stable with a high practical value. It
provided a scientific basis for the determination of metal elements in leisure food samples.

Key words: incomplete digestion, microemulsion, flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), leisure food, iron