Cadmium and Lead Determination in Freshwater and Hemodialysis Solutions by Thermospray Flame Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Following Cloud Point Extraction

Cloud point extraction was employed for the separation and preconcentration of cadmium and lead prior to the determination by thermospray flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Di-2- pyridyl ketone salicyloylhydrazone (DPKSH) was used as complexing agent and the cadmium and lead complexes were extracted from the aqueous phase by the Triton X-114 surfactant. The variables associated with the preconcentration (pH as well as DPKSH, surfactant and electrolyte concentration) were optimized by using a full factorial design with two levels, four variables and a central composite. Under the optimized conditions, a sample volume of 100 µL was introduced into a hot Ti tube at a flow rate of 0.6 mL min-1 and the integrated absorbance was measured. Calibration curves were obtained with linear ranges of 0.075-2.0 µg L−1 (Cd) and 2.5-100 µg L−1 (Pb). The detection limits of 0.04 µg L−1 (Cd) and 1.3 µg L−1 (Pb) (99.7% confidence level) were obtained. The proposed method was applied to hemodialysis solutions and water samples. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by analyzing a certified reference material (NIST CRM 1643e) and the results were in agreement with the certified values at a 95% confidence level according to t-test.