There have been few studies published on low-level arsenic analysis in rice and even fewer on arsenic speciation. We developed an efficient, high-throughput arsenic speciation method based on HPLC-ICP-DRC-MS, using commercially available instruments and instrument components. We screened approximately 25 different rice samples, produced in a variety of countries, for total arsenic by ICP-DRC-MS, with a quantitation limit of 10 parts-per-billion. We then further evaluated these samples using our arsenic speciation method. We analyzed both rinsed and un-rinsed samples, as some studies have shown rinsing to significantly lower the level of arsenic in rice. We validated our results against rice flour certified reference materials NIST 1568a and NMIJ 7503a, as well as with multiple species-specific matrix spikes. This research demonstrates that commercial analytical laboratories such as ours are capable of performing the sensitive total arsenic and speciated arsenic analyses required to ensure a safe food supply.

Total arsenic and arsenic speciation analysis in rice

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.