Feasibility of qualitative identification of some metal elements in rice grains using laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry.

Rice is one of the popular foods in the world, and the identification and measurement of the concentration of metal elements in therein is necessary for food safety. To this end, this work investigated the feasibility of using laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF-MS) for the qualitative identification of metal elements present in rice. The effect of different sample preparation methods (solvation of rice powder in water, acid digestion, and rice tablet) and laser wavelength on the mass spectral pattern of rice was investigated.