Extraction and analysis of lead in sweeteners by flow-injection Donnan dialysis with flame atomic absorption spectroscopy

Flow-injection Donnan dialysis is demonstrated for the extraction of lead in sweeteners using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). For spiked concentrations in the low microgram per gram range, recoveries were greater than 90%, and the relative standard deviation was typically less than 10% for a 15-min dialysis procedure. The method detection limit is 350 ng/g. Donnan dialysis is shown to be successful for the extraction of lead in sucrose, corn syrup, and honey but limited in performance for molasses and artificial syrup. This paper also includes a comparison to other procedures for the determination of lead in sweeteners and presents options for realizing improved method performance with Donnan dialysis.