Determination of ytterbium in animal faeces by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

• Published in: Talanta (Oxford) Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 613 - 623
• Main Authors: Lima, Éder C., Krug, Francisco J., Nóbrega, Joaquim A., Nogueira, Ana Rita A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.11.1998; Oxford Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal faeces; Biological and medical sciences; Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Tungsten coil atomizer; Vertebrates: digestive system; Ytterbium; Tungsten coil atomizer; Ytterbium; Animal faeces; Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry; Nutrition; Animal feeding; Animal; Thermoelectric atomization; Feces; Quantitative analysis; Atomic absorption spectrometry
• ISSN: 0039-9140; 1873-3573
• DOI: 10.1016/S0039-9140(98)00087-3

A method for ytterbium determination in animal faeces by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (TCAAS) was developed. Faeces were dry-ashed in a muffle furnace, the ashes were treated with hydrochloric acid, and 10 μl of sample solution were delivered into 150-W tungsten coil atomizer. A matrix-matching procedure employing a 66-s heating program proved to be efficient for obtaining accurate results. Characteristic mass and detection limit were 7.1 pg and 0.35 μg g −1 Yb, respectively. The tungsten coil atomizer lifetime exceeded 300 firings with digested solutions and R.S.D. of measurements was 1.9% after ten consecutive injections of 10.0 μg l −1 Yb. Accuracy of the proposed method was assessed by employing a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric procedure. Application of the paired t-test did not reveal any significant difference for ytterbium contents determined by both methods at 95% confidence level. It was demonstrated that the proposed procedure can successfully be used for evaluation of kinetic passage rate of feed through digestive tract of animals.