Combination of multi-energy calibration (MEC) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for dietary supplements analysis and determination of Ca, Mg and K

Abstract

This study describes the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for the direct determination of Ca, K and Mg in powdered dietary supplements. Multi-energy calibration (MEC) method was applied to obtain a calibration curve. With MEC, it was possible to observe spectral interferences and select adequate emission lines from LIBS. For Ca and Mg, five lines were selected and for K just two lines among four could be selected (compromising the results). The trueness for dietary supplements ranged from 81 to 103% for Ca and 74 to 106% for Mg. For K, just the samples S3 (95%) and S5 (109%) showed acceptable trueness values. In the case of Ca and K, besides the MEC, the normalization using C as internal standard also improved the figure of merit results. The MEC and normalization processes showed that possible matrix effect and spectral interferences could be avoided, and the results of trueness and precision were satisfactory.