A facile digestion protocol for metal analysis in ambient aerosols: Implications to mineral dust characteristics and human health impac

Abstract

See, stats, and : https : / / www. researchgate. net / publication / 314086343 A ambient : Implications characteristics . . . Article CITATIONS 0 READS 2 2 , including : Some : Atmospheric Source Prashant Indian 29 SEE All . The . A B S T R A C T Assessment of atmospheric metals produced from natural or anthropogenic sources is a major concern of many researchers worldwide for their source characterization and hazardous health impacts . Currently , many high tier labs , equipped with chemical (microwave digestion system) , optical (X - ray fluorescence spectroscopy) or nuclear techniques (instrumental neutron activation analysis) can lead to or produce accurate data of metals rapidly . Owing to low concentration of several metals , large heterogeneity and matrix effect in atmospheric aerosol samples , many a times the chemical digestion followed by quantification approach is widely preferred . However , in South and South - east Asia , the major data set of atmospheric metals is relatively lacking , due to unavailability of rapid digestion technique in many labs . Towards this we report a new and facile analytical protocol for complete digestion of metals in atmospheric aerosols . Finalized protocol for metal digestion in ~ 12 h involves sample treatment with a mixture of HF+HNO 3 +H 2 O 2 +H 2 O in 1 : 4 : 1 : 6 (v / v) at 150 ºC . This protocol has been successfully applied for complete digestion and quantification of several metals (Al , As , Ca , Cd , Co , Cr , Cu , Fe , Mg , Mn , Ni , Pb , V and Zn) in high - loading ambient PM 2 . 5 (particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter ≤2 . 5 µm ; 95†240 µg m - 3) . Mineral dust composition over IGP (Northern India) looks distinctly different than that over western India (reported previously) . Several toxic metals (As , Cd , Cu , Pb , V and Zn) show enrichment factor more than 10 , suggesting their significant inputs from anthropogenic sources . Thus , our analytical protocol could facilitate for accurate and rapid analysis of metals pertaining to environmental and toxicological research .