Iron species determination by high performance liquid chromatography with plasma based optical emission detectors: HPLC-MIP OES and HPLC-ICP OES

The paper presents an independent application of two hyphenated techniques, wherein an identical chromatographic system i.e. high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was coupled to microwave induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP OES) or inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). A cation-exchange column and a mobile phase based on pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (PDCA) were employed to separate Fe(II) and Fe(III) within 300 s. Additionally, two methods of sample preparation were employed. Optimization and validation of both methods were conducted parallel. The applicability was presented with different sample matrix types: post-glacial sediments, archaeological pottery, soils located in the proximity of industry wastes disposal site, river sediments and yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis). Obtained results were compared in terms of the excitation source (microwave induced or inductively coupled) and supplied gas (nitrogen or argon). The research introduces HPLC-MIP OES for iron speciation analysis and its applicability were critically evaluated with HPLC-ICP OES.

Automated summary

This study presented the independent application of two hyphenated techniques, HPLC-MIP OES and HPLC-ICP OES, for iron speciation analysis. By optimizing and validating both methods, it was concluded that HPLC-MIP OES has significant potential for the analysis of iron speciation.