Ion chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry as a powerful technique for halogens and sulfur determination in egg powder and its fractions.

Rationale: To increase the consumption of egg powder and its fractions a suitable quality control method is required to obtain more information on its nutritional composition. The proposed method enables the quantification of important elements for the functioning of the human organism, such as halogens and sulfur, in egg powder and its fractions.

Methods: Up to 350 mg of egg powder or its fractions (egg white powder and egg yolk powder) were digested by microwave-induced combustion using 20 bar pressure of oxygen.

Toxic and potentially toxic elements determination in cosmetics used for make-up: A critical review.

The daily use of cosmetics may expose consumers to localized skin problems and systemic effects caused by absorption of chemical elements. The requirements for suitable quality control and maximum limits for toxic and potentially toxic elements in cosmetics have attracted the attention of the scientific community and of the official institutions around the world. Maximum limits for chemical elements in some cosmetics have been set, but there are disagreements between them.

Are there feasible strategies for determining bromine and iodine in human hair using interference-free plasma based-techniques?

An effective analytical method for bromine and iodine determination in human hair using interference-free inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed. Human hair was digested based on combustion reaction to obtain compatible solutions with ICP-MS analysis. Using microwave-induced combustion (MIC), masses of human hair ranging from 50 to 300 mg were efficiently digested.

A feasible method for indirect quantification of L-T in drugs by iodine determination.

In this work, a method combining microwave-induced combustion (MIC) for sample preparation of commercial levothyroxine sodium (L-T) drugs (L-T: 25-200µg/tablet), and potentiometry with ion selective electrode (ISE) for iodine determination and subsequent indirect quantification of L-T was proposed. The type and concentration of the absorbing solution were evaluated to select the most suitable conditions for this study. Using the MIC method, it was possible to use solutions as diluted as 150mmolL (NH)CO (for samples containing 25-200µg of L-T/tablet) for I absorption.