Determination of chromium and molybdenum in medical foods by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry.

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to determine chromium and molybdenum in 7 medical foods from 5 manufacturers. Linear standard curves were obtained for both elements for concentrations between 5 and 25 ng/mL. Detection limits were 0.24 ng/mL for Cr and 0.67 ng/mL for Mo. Characteristic masses were 3.1 and 14.7 pg for Cr and Mo, respectively. No difference was detected between wet and dry ashing methods, and dry ashing was used to complete the study. The method was validated by assaying various National Institute of Standards and Technology standard reference materials. Analysis of these products for Cr and Mo were within certified values. One product was evaluated by this method for reproducibility (n = 5). Relative standard deviations were 6.8 and 4.8% for Cr and Mo, respectively. This product contained 0.31 +/= 0.02 micrograms Cr/g and 0.63 +/- 0.03 micrograms Mo/g. The remaining products contained 0.09-1.28 micrograms Cr/g and 0.07-2.3 micrograms Mo/g. Mean recovery values were 98 +/- 14% (n = 14) for Cr at spike levels of 0.20-1.89 micrograms/g and 102 +/- 24% (n = 10) for Mo at spike levels of 0.30-1.89 micrograms/g.