[Determination of trace arsenic in Chinese traditional medicine by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry].

A hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry method was developed for the determination of trace arsenic in CTM. A digestion system using HNO3-H2O2 under high pressure was applied for the pretreatment of the samples. The experimental conditions were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, there was a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and arsenic concentration in the range of 0-80 microg x L(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999, while the detection limit was 0.069 microg x L(-1). Trace arsenic in the standard reference substance (GBW08501) was determined incording this way and the results for six times of analysis were in good agreement with certified value. The authors also studied the arsenic contents in three kinds of CTM by the working curve method and the results were satisfactory.