Sensitive and stable monitoring of lead and cadmium in seawater using screen-printed electrode and electrochemical stripping analysis.

Sensitive and stable monitoring of heavy metals in seawater using screen-printed electrodes (SPE) is presented. The analytical performance of SPE coupled with square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) for the simultaneous determination of Pb and Cd in seawater samples, in the low microgL(-1) range, is evaluated. The stripping response for the heavy metals following 2min deposition was linear over the concentration range examined (10-2000microgL(-1)) with detection limits of 1.8 and 2.9microgL(-1) for Pb and Cd, respectively. The accuracy of the method was validated by analyzing metal contents in different spiked seawater samples and comparing these results to those obtained with the well-established anodic stripping voltammetry using the hanging mercury drop electrode. Moreover, a certified reference material was also used and the results obtained were satisfactory.