Selective Extraction and Determination of Chromium Concentration Using Luffa cylindrica Fibers as Sorbent and Detection by FAAS

Abstract EN

In this approach, a nonchromatographic method was developed for selective extraction and determination of Cr(III) concentration in isotonic and energy drinks by FAAS.

This new method uses Luffa cylindrica fibers as the solid phase extraction and an off-line flow injection system.

Cr(III) and Cr(VI) adsorption behavior onto Luffa fibers allowed the selective separation of Cr(III) in the pH range of 4 to 5.

The system variables were optimized through full factorial and Doehlert designs.

Under optimal conditions, the detection and quantification limit for Cr(III) was 19.2 µg·L−1 and 63.9 µg·L−1, respectively, with precision below 0.19%.

A high tolerance toward interfering ions was observed for the proposed method.

Recovery test results obtained for different isotonic and energy drinks samples were higher than 87.6%.

The method’s accuracy was confirmed through analysis of certified reference materials, water and sediment river samples (APS-1071 and APS-1066).