Determination of selenium using atomically imprinted polymer (AIP) and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

This paper describes selenium determination based on Se0 preconcentration in the imprinted polymer (synthesized with 2.25 mmol SeO2, 4-vinylpyridine and 1-vinylimidazole) with subsequent detection on-line in HG-FAAS. During the synthesis, SeO2 is reduced to Se (0). Therefore, there are no MIP neither IIP in the present work, thus we denominated: AIP, i.e., atomically imprinted polymers. For the optimization of analytical parameters Doehlert design was used. The method presented limit of detection and limit of quantification of 53 and 177 ng L−1, respectively, and linear range from 0.17 up to 6 μg L−1 (r = 0.9936). The preconcentration factor (PF), consumptive index (CI) and concentration efficiency (CE) were 232; 0.06 mL and 58 min−1 respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine Se in Brazil nuts (0.33 ± 0.03 mg kg−1), apricot (0.46 ± 0.02 mg kg−1), white bean (0.47 ± 0.03 mg kg−1), rice flour (0.47 ± 0.02 mg kg−1) and milk powder (0.22 ± 0.01 mg kg−1) samples. It was possible to do 12 analyzes per hour. Accuracy was checked and confirmed by analyzing certified reference material (DORM-2, dogfish muscle), and samples precision was satisfactory with RSD lower than 10%.

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► Atomically imprinted polymers (AIP) was synthesized for the first time.
► The material exhibited adequate sensitivity expressed by high preconcentration factor.
► A method for on-line selenium determination by HG-AAS in food samples was developed.