Use of Ultrasonic Nebulization with ICP‐AES for Enhanced Detection of Regulated Elements in Toys - Application Note

Per the European Standard EN‐71 Part 3, regulated ele‐ ments in toy materials include 17 elements:  Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, and Zn.  These toy materials include coatings such as paint and a variety of component types: ceramic, glass, metal, polymer, wood, and textiles (natural or synthetic).  Inductively cou‐ pled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES) is one technique that can be used for rapid measurement of these elements at mg/kg levels. This application note will examine the use of an efficient ultrasonic nebulizer (USN) with axial‐viewing ICP‐AES for enhanced detection of the above listed elements in toys.   Experimental parameters include ultrasonic nebulizer in‐ stallation steps to the host ICP‐AES instrument, sample preparation in dilute hydrochloric acid, reagent addition for improved measurement of boron (D‐mannitol) and mercury (L‐cysteine), and optimization of ICP‐AES power and gas flows when using the USN.   Figures of merit will include instrument detection and quantitation limits and measured concentrations of regulated elements from a variety of toy samples.