Simultaneous determination of ultra trace amounts of lead and cadmium in food samples by adsorptive stripping voltammetry

► 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) has functional groups, so can be coordinated to Pb and Cd. ► The procedure is based on reduction of complexes of ions with MBT after accumulation at the surface of a HMDE. ► The adsorbed complexes produce two strong peaks at about −0.539 V and −0.709 V, respectively. ► These peaks can be used for simultaneous determination of Pb (II) and Cd (II) in real samples.