Application of acetylacetone chelation solid-phase extraction to GFAAS measurements of trace amounts of beryllium in livers and muscles of poultry and livestock

Trace amounts (0.004–0.55 ng) of beryllium (Be) in a dried bovine liver sample (20 mg) can be accurately determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GFAAS) after treating with microwave digestion (HNO3/H2O2) at 85 °C for 10 min and using acetylacetone as a chelating agent in the presence of an acetate buffer (pH 6.0). The method detection limit (MDL, 3σ) for Be was found to be 0.18 ng g−1 and the limit of quantification (LOQ, 10σ) was found to be 0.60 ng g−1; the calibration graph was linear up to 27 ng g−1. The Be contents measured in four liver and four muscle samples (BCR CRM-185R bovine liver, BCR CRM-384 pork muscle, and six samples collected in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC) were between 2.3 and 4.7 ng g−1. Good spiked recoveries (96.0–103.0%) were obtained for these eight samples with a relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 3) ⩽3.0%. The method could be applied to measurements of Be in livers and muscles of poultry and livestock.