Fast and simple selenium speciation by solid phase extraction and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

The chemical properties including toxicity of selenium depend on the concentration and chemical structure present in the natural environment. Inorganic selenium is more toxic than organic selenium; thus, the accurate determination of inorganic selenium in various sample has been needed. HG-AAS, HPLC-ICP-MS, and GC-MS are the current methods for the determination of inorganic selenium. However, these methods have the disadvantage of expensive equipment, complicated sample preparation, and long analysis time. LIBS coupled with ion exchange membrane was used for the determination of inorganic selenium. The detection limit of inorganic selenium by the analytical method was 11.21 mg/kg, and the recoveries of 50 and 100 mg/kg Se(VI) were 98.5 % and 101.80 %, respectively. The speciation method is cost-effective, simple, and not labor intensive for the quantitation of inorganic selenium.