Df. Lambert et Nj. Turoczy, Comparison of digestion methods for the determination of selenium in fish tissue by cathodic stripping voltammetry, ANALYT CHIM, 408(1-2), 2000, pp. 97-102
A certified reference material (NIST-RM-50 Albacore Tuna) was analysed for
selenium by cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV), after digestion of the ma
terial by a number of methods that avoid the use of perchloric acid. The di
gestion techniques tested included wet and dry ashing methods, oxygen bomb
digestion, ultraviolet (UV) digestion, and methods involving elevated press
ure.
The only method that reliably produced results that agreed with the certifi
ed value for selenium in the reference material was the combination wet/dry
ashing method incorporating elevated pressure recommended by the Associati
on of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) for determination using hydride g
eneration atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Recoveries using the other
methods were low and variable, apparently because of incomplete destruction
of organic matter and losses caused by volatilisation of selenium. (C) 200
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