Simultaneous Determination of Trace Elements in River-water Samples by ICP-MS in Combination with a Discrete Microsampling Technique after Enrichment with a Chitosan-based Chelating Resin

A new technique for the preconcentration of trace elements and matrix elimination with a chitosan-based chelating resin was proposed as a useful pretreatment prior to a measurement by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A small volume of the sample solution (80 µl) was discretely introduced into a nebulizer of ICP-MS using a segmented flow injection (SFI) system; a maximum of fifteen elements were simultaneously measured by a single injection. A chitosan-based chelating resin containing iminodiacetate (IDA) functional groups was used for matrix elimination and enrichment of analyte metal ions. Several metal ions, such as Al, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Ag, Cd, Pb and U, were quantitatively retained on the IDA chelating resin in a micro-column (resin: 1 ml) at pH 6, whereas Na, K, Mg and Ca were completely eluted from the column by washing with an ammonium acetate solution. The concentrations of 24 and 26 elements in river water certified reference materials, JAC 0031 and JAC 0032, respectively, were determined by the proposed SFI/ICP-MS system after pretreating the samples with the proposed technique, as well as without any pretreatment. The thus-obtained analytical data were evaluated by comparing them with the reference values, as well as with those obtained in other studies.