Technology of the Microwave Digestion for Determination of Multi elements in Plants

The use of microwave digestion in the determination of sample preparation of tea leaves and traditional Chinese medicine samples for Ba、Ca、Cu、Fe、K、Mg、Mn、Na、Sr、Ti and Zn by AAS (flame atomic absorption Spectrometers) and DCP AES (direct current plasma-atomic emission spectrometry) is described.Depending on the plant tissue and the element to be determined, samples are digested either with HNO₃ and HCL or with HNO₃, HF and H₂O₂ in closed Teflon (PTFE) vessels in a microwave oven. The compostion of reagents and the analytical were optimized for the determination of multi elements. The method was tested using four different reference samples. The microwave digestion is a rapid and reliable technique for the decomposition of plant samples using FAAS and DCP AES. It was found that the method is strongly dependent on the type of plant tissue and elements to be determined.