Mustafa S. Dundar

Determination of gold, palladium and copper by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after preconcentration on silica gel modified with 3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyl group

A preconcentration method of gold, palladium and copper based on the sorption of Au (III), Pd (II) and Cu (II) ions on a column packed with 3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyl bonded silica gel is described. The modified silica gel was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR and C, H, N elemental analysis. At column preconcentration, the effects of parameters such as pH, volume, flow rate, matrix constituents of solutions and type of eluent on preconcentration of gold, palladium and copper were studied. The recoveries of Au (III), Pd (II) and Cu (II) were 98.93±0.51, 98.81±0.36 and 99.21±0.42 % at 95 % confidence level, respectively. The detection limits (δ) of the elements were 0.032, 0.016 and 0.012 μg ml−1, respectively. The preconcentration method was applied for determination of gold and palladium in certified reference material SARM 7B and copper in river and synthetic seawater by FAAS. Gold, palladium and copper were determined with relative error lower than 10 %.

Investigation of the Influence of Selected Soil and Plant Properties from Sakarya, Turkey, on the Bioavailability of Trace Elements by Applying an In Vitro Digestion Model.

The main aim of this study was an investigation of the influence of selected soil and plant properties on the bioaccessibility of trace elements and hence their potential impacts on human health in urban environments. Two artificial digestion models were used to determine trace element levels passing from soil and plants to man for bioavailability study. Soil and plant samples were collected from various regions of the province of Sakarya, Turkey. Digestive process is started by addition of soil and plant samples to an artificial digestion model based on human physiology. Bioavailability % values are obtained from the ratio of the amount of element passing to human digestion to element content of soil and plants. According to bioavailability % results, element levels passing from soil samples to human digestion were B = Cr = Cu = Fe = Pb = Li < Al < Ni < Co < Ba < Mn < Sr < Cd < Na < Zn < Tl, while element levels passing from plant samples to human digestion were Cu = Fe = Ni = Pb = Tl = Na = Li < Co < Al < Sr < Ba < Mn < Cd < Cr < Zn < B. It was checked whether the results obtained reached harmful levels to human health by examining the literature.

Lead and zinc content of cows' milk affected by varying traffic density

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of vehicle emissions on zinc and lead content of cows milk, grazing at 15 different locations near to roadsides in Sakarya, Turkey. The results obtained for zinc were between 1262 μg kg−1 and 6566 μg kg−1. An acceptable range of zinc content from various sides confirmed the absence of possible toxicological risks in this region. The lead levels ranged from 3.24 μg kg−1 to 80.69 μg kg−1. The levels of lead in milk samples collected from roadside pastures were higher than the regulatory limits and pose a health risk.