Spectrophotometric Determination of Cu(2+) and Monitoring of Hg(2+) and Ni(2+) in some Iranian Vegetables Using 6-(2-Naphthyl)-2, 3-Dihydro-as-triazine-3-thione

Recently, 6-(2-naphthyl)-2, 3-dihydro-as-triazine-3-thione (NDTT) was synthesized in laboratory and used successfully for the spectrophotometric determination of nanogram levels of Cu(2+) in aqueous solution. This reagent forms a specific red complex with Cu(2+) ions after the extraction by chloroform at alkaline pH. The absorption of the complex in the UV region (313 nm) is about 8 times as strong as in the visible one (510 nm). Mercury and nickel ions form yellow complexes with NDTT under the same conditions which interfere in the UV region and without effect on Cu (II) absorbance in the visible region. The studied vegetables include Mentha pipereta L., Anethum graveolens L., Beta vulgaris L., Coriandrum sativum, Petroselinum hortense H., Ocimum basilicum L., Spinacia oleracea L., Lactuca sativa L., and Brassica oleracea L.