Abstract

A simple and rapid method is described for the determination of As, Cu, and Pb in different sugar samples by conventional wet acid digestion [CAD]. A Plackett-Burman experimental design was used as a multivariate strategy for the evaluation of the effects of several variables simultaneously. The variables, hot plate time [HPT], temperature of hot plate (T), Nitric acid [A] and Acid mixture [AM] have been investigated. From these studies, certain variables showed up as significant, and they were optimized by a Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and 23+star central composite design. Optimum values of the variables were selected to determine the contents of As, Cu and Pb in sugar samples, to know whether consumption of sugar is beneficial for human health or not. The accuracy of the optimized procedure was evaluated by analysis of certified reference materials and standard addition technique. The result obtained by optimized method showed a good agreement with the certified values and sufficiently high recovery > 97%

Key words: As, Cu, Conventional wet acid digestion, Multivariate Study, sugar mill samples.