Multielement analysis of small plant samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) offers excellent possibilities for multielement trace analysis of biological material. In the present study, analytical method was developed for the determination of essential elements in small plant tissue samples. Sample preparation was performed with closed-vessel microwave digestion. Oriental Tobacco Leaves CTA-OTL-1 (ICHTJ, Poland) were used as the standard reference material (SRM) and rhodium was applied in ICP-MS as an internal standard element in the multielement aqueous solutions and sample solutions. For most analytes, recoveries from the SRM were 95% to 105%. The method developed was successfully applied for the trace element study of 30 barley tissue samples (8-30 mg). The detection limits ranged (except for Ca) from 0.02 mu g/g (Cs) to 1.1 mu g/g (K) from leaves and roots. The differences in element concentrations between individual plant samples were large compared to the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the results obtained. Small changes in the element composition, induced by modelling external effects on nutrient uptake by blocking the plants K-channels, were observed by ICP-MS mea (sic)