Optimization of selenium determination in chicken's meat and eggs by the hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry method

Effect of selenium-enriched feed on the selenium content of chicken meat and eggs was investigated. Selenium was determined by hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). The effect of digestion procedures on the determination was also studied. Optimum values of the variables applied for the HG-AAS method, such as HCl and NaBH(4) concentration, and the flow rate of carrier gas were determined experimentally. Analytical parameters such as the selectivity, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, limit of detection and limit of quantification were also determined. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were 0.78 microg/l and 2.35 microg/l, respectively. The effect of interfering elements that are possibly present in the samples analyzed on the recovery of selenium was also investigated. The measurements were validated using diverse types of certified reference materials (IRMM IMEP 19, LGC 7160 and GBW 08572) and by a method of yield measurement of calibration solution addition in mineralized samples. The accuracy and precision of the method are satisfactory and the relative standard deviation is less than 4%, and the relative error is less than 10% for a 500 microl sample containing 10 microg/l selenium. It was observed that the selenium content of chicken meat and eggs obtained from the chickens nourished with fortified feed was higher than those without fortified feed.