Automatic simultaneous determination of copper and lead in biological samples by flow injection/stripping voltammetric analysis

An automatic-continuous method for the simultaneous determination of copper and lead based on flow injection analysis (FIA) and stripping voltammetry (SV) is proposed. The method affords the determination of the analytes at the ng/ml level (linear ranges 0.64 to 64.0 ng/ml and 2.1 to 62.2 ng/ml for copper and lead, respectively) with good precision (r.s.d. values smaller than 4%). The selectivity of SV allows the method to be applied to the determination of these analytes in bovine liver fresh samples and certified reference materials from the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the Community Bureau of Reference. The performance of the method was assessed by repeatability and validation statistical studies.