A MICROSAMPLING SYSTEM FOR FLAME ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY USINGHYDRODYNAMIC INJECTION

A flow injection microsample introduction system for flame atomic abso rption spectrometry is developed based on air-transported sample loadi ng and hydrodynamic injection. An augmenting water stream was used bet ween sample loop and nebulizer to prevent disturbances from nebulizer suction during sample loading. A total of 0.8 mi of sample was suffici ent for triplicate measurements, including washout between samples, an d achieving the sensitivity of conventional steady-state measurements. The system was applied to the determination of copper in serum sample s at a sampling frequency of 100/h and with a precision of about 2% rs d. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.