Simultaneous Determination of Multi-elements in Apples by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry with Pressurized Acid Digestion

A method for simultaneous determination of 43 elements in apples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was proposed. The apple samples were digested in closed vessels with HNO₃-HF-H₂O₂ mixed solvent. The fresh and dry samples from the same apple were used to evaluate the quality of analytical data. The ratios of determined values in fresh and dry samples were 0.9~1.1, which indicated that the analytical results were well consistent. The detection limits and the precision of the method were in the range of 0.0009~2.8620 μg/L and 1.13%~3.45% RSD, respectively. The proposed method has been used in the investigation of elemental distribution in apples and the results showed that the concentration of elements in apple skin was significantly higher than that in apple pulp, especially for rare earth elements.