EDXRF Analysis of Arsenic and Lead in Dietary Supplement

In recent years dietary supplements, food products that promote and maintain health and are used to improve disease prevention and enhance immunity, have become widely available in convenience stores and supermarkets. Analysis of toxic heavy metals in dietary supplements such as Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) is typically conducted using an emission spectrophotometer (ICP) or atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA). These approaches however, require time consuming preparation procedures. In this application note from Shimadzu an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, which permits very easy sample preparation, was used for the rapid quantitative analysis of As and Pb in a dietary supplement.