Determination of Arsenic Species in Apple Juice by LC-ICP-MS Analysis

User Benefits

- Arsenic species can be analyzed using an LC-ICP-MS system.
- Enables the safety level of arsenic in food to be evaluated.
- Using a method package for analyzing arsenic species eliminates the need to register analytical conditions, etc.

Introduction

The natural environment contains many kinds of substances. These include hazardous substances such as arsenic. However, arsenic exists in a variety of forms, and the toxicity differs depending on the form. Generally, arsenite is more toxic than arsenate, and organic arsenic is less toxic than inorganic arsenic.
It is difficult to completely avoid arsenic in the natural environment since it is also contained in drinking water and agricultural/livestock products. The foods we eat also might contain various types of arsenic. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets action levels when a level of a contaminant is unavoidable, to inform industry on the level of contamination above which the FDA may regard certain foods as adulterated.1) For these reasons, various surveys and studies on arsenic in food products are being conducted around the world.
One method for analyzing trace quantities of arsenic with high sensitivity is ICP-MS. However, although ICP-MS can measure the total concentration of arsenic, it cannot discriminate between different forms of the element. While determining the total concentration of arsenic is important, it is also important to determine the concentrations of specific forms.
The arsenic species can be separated using a liquid chromatograph (LC). By connecting the LC unit to an ICP-MS on-line, the arsenic species can be analyzed with high sensitivity. This article describes an example of analyzing the arsenic species contained in apple juice using an LC-ICP-MS.

September 27, 2024 GMT