摘要

A nontraditional, portable flame atomic emission spectrometry (FAES) device has been constructed using a welding industry metal cutting torch as the flame source with a tungsten coil electrothermal vaporization device for sample introduction. Twenty-microliter sample aliquots were pipetted onto a commercially available tungsten filament, and a home-written Visual Basic program was used to automatically dry and atomize the sample. The sample was then transported into the heart of the air-acetylene flame, where it was excited, and the resulting emission signal was focused onto the entrance of a miniature charge coupled device spectrometer. Figures of merit were determined for five alkaline and alkali earth metals of biological and environmental significance. Limits of detection were, on average, 100 times lower than those for traditional flame emission spectrometers. The capabilities of this portable device make it an ideal tool for biological field analysis, particularly in areas where traditional laboratories are inaccessible.

  • 出版日期2011