Development of a method for the direct determination of arsenate in honey by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

This paper describes the development of a fast method for determination of arsenate in samples of honey. The variables studied in the optimization of the method were NaBH4 concentration, pre-reducing agent, HCl concentration, the diluent type and contact time with the sample. The optimized conditions were 50 g L−1 of sample prepared in 1.3 mol L−1 HCl and 10 g L−1 SC(NH2)2. The hydride generation solutions were 8.5 g L−1 NaBH4 and 2.5 mol L−1 HCl. The limit of detection (LOD) was 20 ng g−1. The validated method was used to quantify arsenate in 27 samples of honey collected from different cities of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. All samples showed arsenate concentrations below the LOD.