Determination of Arsenic in Fruit Juices Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Tandem Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS)

• Published in: Food analytical methods 2017-04, Vol.10 (4), p.992-998
• Main Authors: Pinheiro, Fernanda C., Amaral, Clarice D. B., Schiavo, Daniela, Nóbrega, Joaquim A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acid digestion; Analytical Chemistry; Arsenic; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Commercialization; Emission spectroscopy; Food contamination; Food safety; Food Science; Hydrogen peroxide; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Juices; Mass spectrometry; Microbiology; Oranges
• ISSN: 1936-9751; 1936-976X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12161-016-0663-7

Reports from the US media have raised the attention towards a possible contamination of apple juices by As. The study here described presents the development of an analytical procedure using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) for determination of As in apple and orange juices commercialized in the Tetra Pack ® package. The microwave-assisted acid digestion of juice was carried out using closed vessels and 2 mol/L HNO 3 plus H 2 O 2 . These conditions are favorable for a better analytical blank control. Suitable recoveries were reached when promoting reaction with O 2 inside the octopole reaction system (ORS 3 ), and the monitoring of 75 As 16 O + significantly improved the accuracy of the analysis reaching a limit of detection of 0.013 μg/L. Recoveries varied from 88 to 109 % in the MS/MS mass-shift mode. The As concentrations determined in fruit juices ranged from 0.126 to 1.45 μg/L, and they were significantly lower than the maximum tolerable limits imposed by the US and Brazilian legislations. Thus, ICP-MS/MS operated in the reaction mode was an effective instrumental strategy for overcoming spectral interferences, such as 40 Ar 35 Cl + , in As determination as 75 As 16 O + and allowed the accurate determination of As at trace levels.