Quantitative analysis of plant leaf elements using the LA-ICP-MS technique

The use of Laser Ablation coupled to Mass Spectrometry is a promising technique for analysis of plant tissue elements because it has advantages over conventional digestion techniques such as reduced levels of contamination and sample preparation time, possibility of spatial distribution analysis of elements, high number of repetitions, among others. This technique still has some limitations, especially with regard to calibration, which may result in inaccurate chemical analyses. The present study aims to compare two types of analyzers (quadrupole and magnetic sector field) regarding precision and accuracy. Certified material was examined, and also plant material analyzed by both solution in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) and by laser ablation methods. It was observed that the magnetic sector field analyzer gave better results in relation to precision (relative standard deviation - RSD) and accuracy (recovery). An elemental composition pattern similar to that of the sample to be analyzed is relevant to validate the methodology for the analysis of leaves collected under different environmental conditions. Thus, pulverized Eremanthus erytropappus leaves were suggested as a second type of validation standard to be used in analyzes of plants belonging to the Atlantic and Cerrado Forest biomes.