Application of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to determination and quantitation of metals in vegetal material

Determination of the chemical composition of vegetal matrices in the environmental and industrial fields has been increasing in the past few years. For analysis of vegetal specimens, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry provides the desired features, including multi-element capability, simple sample preparation, wide dynamic range, high throughput and low cost per determination.This article gives an overview of the state of the art of XRF spectrometry for elemental determination and quantitation in vegetal samples. We give a brief description of sample-preparation procedures and then discuss physical and chemical effects of matrices involved when dealing with vegetal materials. We give special attention to current instrumentation, and we highlight advantages and limitations of each configuration. We comment on trends and the future outlook for XRF spectrometry in this application.