Abstract:

A method for the analysis of polydimethylsiloxane in vegetable oils using a continuum source atomic absorption
spectrometer (CS-AAS) with a nitrous oxide-acetylene flame has been devised. Under the optimal experimental conditions,
the absorbances had a good linear relationship with polydimethylsiloxane concentrations in the range of 4 to 500 mg/L (r =
0.999 3). Recoveries of the proposed method were 95.6%–103.7% for spiked samples with relative standard deviation (RSD)
of 2.3%–3.1% (n = 6). The limit of detection of this method was 2.05 mg/kg for polydimethylsiloxane. The proposed method
was applied in the analysis of polydimethylsiloxane in vegetable oils with satisfactory results.

Key words: polydimethylsiloxane, vegetable oil, nitrous oxide-acetylene flame, continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry