Exploratory analysis and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) applied in the determination of metals in soft drinks

A 23 factorial design and a CCD (Central Composite Design) were employed to optimize the operational conditions for determining Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, K, Mg, Na, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn in soft drink samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). Satisfactory parameters of merit were obtained (Plasma stability, linearity, SBR, BEC, LOD and LOQ). The accuracy was evaluated by means of a recovery study. Thirty five soft drink samples were analyzed. The results obtained were used in an exploratory analysis, in which principal component analysis and cluster analysis were applied in order to differentiate the several soft drink classes. Adequate LOQ values were obtained for all elements (0.34 μg L− 1 for Ca to 88.7 μg L− 1 for Mg) and the recovery study results ranged between 80 and 100%. Cluster analysis revealed four sample classes characterized by flavor and other characteristics, such as being light, diet, low calorie or regular beverages. A model with 4 PCs was obtained by means of a principal component analysis, which explained 99.8% of the total variance.