Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of cadmium and lead with stabilized phosphate deposited on permanently modified platforms.

Some drawbacks of the phosphate modifier such as reagent blank contribution and background absorption in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of cadmium and lead are substantially alleviated by application of small amounts of phosphate, approximately 0.2 mumol (25 mug of NH(4)H(2)PO(4) or (NH(4))(2)HPO(4)), on the integrated platform of transversely heated graphite atomizer pre-treated with 2.7 mumol of Zr (250 mug) or W (500 mug) and 0.1 mumol of Ir (20 mug). Pyrolysis temperatures for Cd and Pb are up to 900 and 1100 degrees C for aqueous solutions and within 400-600 degrees C (Cd) and 750-850 degrees C (Pb) for biological fluids (urine, blood) and tissues (hair, liver, muscle) solubilized with tetraethylammonium hydroxide. The thermally stabilized phosphate on Zr-Ir or W-Ir treated platforms serves as a permanent modifier in analyses of environmental waters by multiple hot injections of large sample aliquots. Applications to water and biological certified reference materials are tabulated and show good agreement with certified values. Characteristic masses are 0.7-1.0 pg for Cd and 26-31 pg for Pb.