Determination of total Sb, Se, Te, and Bi and evaluation of their inorganic species in garlic by hydride-generation-atomic-fluorescence spectrometry

A sensitive and simple analytical method has been developed for determination of Sb(III), Sb(V), Se(IV), Se(VI), Te(IV), Te(VI), and Bi(III) in garlic samples by using hydride-generation-atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). The method is based on a single extraction of the inorganic species by sonication at room temperature with 1 mol L-1 H2SO4 and washing of the solid phase with 0.1% (w/v) EDTA, followed by measurement of the corresponding hydrides generated under two different experimental conditions directly and after a pre-reduction step. The limit of detection of the method was 0.7 ng g(-1) for Sb(III), 1.0 ng g(-1) for Sb(V), 1.3 ng g(-1) for Se(IV), 1.0 ng g(-1) for Se(VI), 1.1 ng g(-1) for Te(IV), 0.5 ng g(-1) for Te(VI), and 0.9 ng g(-1) for Bi(III), in all cases expressed in terms of sample dry weight.