Use of high-intensity sonication for pre-treatment of biological tissues prior to multielemental analysis by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

In this work, two ultrasound-based procedures are developed for sample preparation prior to determination of P, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se and Sr in biological tissues by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Ultrasound-assisted extraction by means of a cup-horn sonoreactor and ultrasonic-probe slurry sampling were compared with a well-established procedure such as magnetic agitation slurry sampling. For that purpose, seven certified reference materials and different real samples of animal tissue were used. Similar accuracy and precision is obtained with the three sample preparation approaches tried. Limits of detection were dependent on both the sample matrix and the sample pre-treatment used, best values being achieved with ultrasound-assisted extraction. Advantages of ultrasound-assisted extraction include reduced sample handling, decreased contamination risks (neither addition of surfactants nor use of foreign objects inside the extraction vial), simpler background (no solid particles onto the sample carrier) and improved recovery for some elements such as P. A mixture of 10% v/v HNO3 + 20–40% v/v HCl was suitable for extraction from biological tissues.

► We implement high-intensity sonication for pre-treatment of biological tissues.
► Multielemental analysis is performed by total reflection X-ray spectrometry.
► Ultrasound-based procedures are developed and compared to conventional slurry preparation.
► Features such as background, recovery and sample handling are favored by using ultrasonic extraction.