A Novel Biosorbent for Preconcentrations of Co(II) and Hg(II) in Real Samples

A new biosorbent, composed of Amberlite XAD-4 loaded with Anoxybacillus kestanboliensis, was developed and surface morphologies were investigated by SEM and FT-IR. It was used for solid phase column preconcentrations of Co(II) and Hg(II) before their measurements by ICP-OES. LODs were calculated as 0.04 and 0.06 ng mL(−1) for Co(II) and Hg(II) respectively. The maximum biosorption capacities were determined as 24.3 and 27.8 mg g(−1) for Co(II) and Hg(II) respectively. Preconcentration factors were achieved for Co(II) and Hg(II) as 80. The method validation was performed by analyzing certified reference materials. The new process was successfully utilized for the preconcentration of these metals in various food samples. It should be highlighted that the sensitivity of ICP-OES was critically improved by applying developed method. Hence, ICP-OES could be an effective alternative for ICP-MS and/or GF-AAS.