Digestion of plant tissue for analysis by ICP emission spectroscopy

Abstract
A method of digesting plant tissue samples for multi‐element analysis by inductively‐coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectroscopy was developed which does not require the use of HclO4. A substitute oxidant, H2O2, eliminated the hazards associated with hot, concentrated HClO4. Optimal conditions for pre‐digestion and digestion were investigated. The procedure adopted consists of a pre‐digestion in concentrated HNO3 from room temperature to 60°C in 30 min followed by digestion at 90°C for 90 min with the addition of 30% H2O2 Analysis of NBS standard tissue samples by the proposed method gave results in good agreement with analysis following digestion in HNO3,‐HClO4 and with certified values, except for Fe.