Enrichment with air-sandwiched method of on-line collection/concentration using chelating resin and simultaneous determination of trace elements by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

The application of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to the forensic sample was studied. On-line collection/concentration method of the sample with chelating resin column (TE-05) and air-sandwiched method to isolate the analyte zone at the highest concentration of an eluent was coupled with ICP-AES. The limits of detection (LODs) were much improved to 35 fold (Co): from Sc, 0.15 ng ml−1 to Ni, 1.99 ng ml−1, and the concentration efficiency was 7–14 times. This method was applied to the concrete with about 10 mg of samples. Major elements (Al, Fe, Mg) measured by conventional/ICP-AES and trace elements measured by this method, such as Cd, Co, Ni, and Pb were determined without matrices interference. Four concrete samples can be discriminated by comparing the content profiles of the trace elements and the major elements.