Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 25 No 2 (2021): 268 - 285

 

 

 

 

VOLTAMMETRIC TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINATION OF ARSENIC RESIDUES IN CALCIUM CARBIDE RIPENED CLIMACTERIC FRUITS

 

(Teknik Voltammetrik bagi Penentuan Sisa Arsenik dalam Pematangan Buah Klimakterik Menggunakan Kalsium Karbida)

 

Nurasmat Mohd Shukri¹, Noor Zuhartini Md Muslim¹*,  Nur Fazeera Kamal¹, Faizuan Abdullah²

 

¹School of Health Sciences,

Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: zuhartini@usm.my

 

 

Received: 13 December 2020; Accepted: 9 February 2021; Published:  25 April 2021

 

 

Abstract

Calcium carbide (CaC₂) often being used as one of the fruit ripening agents due to cheaper cost and readily available in the market. However, it is not recommended to use CaC₂ in Malaysia, because the arsenic (As) residues which present as impurities in this fruit ripening agents can cause serious adverse effect to human consumption. Voltammetric measurement using a gold electrode in acidic medium (2 M HCl) was developed to determine the As residues in the fruit samples. This technique observed the electrochemical behaviour and quantitative analysis of the As(V) species at the gold electrode. It was found that As(V) undergone irreversible oxidation process at the gold electrode. The working parameters validated for differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) were E_i = -0.20 V, E_f = +0.30 V, v = 0.02 V/s, E_acc1 = -1.10 V, t_acc1 = 120 s, E_acc2 = +0.04V, t_acc2 = 10 s and pulse amplitude = 0.05 V which produced peak potential at +0.10 V. The LOD and LOQ using statistical method were 1.3 ppb and 4 ppb, respectively. While by visual observation were 0.7 ppb and 2 ppb, respectively. The method successfully applied for the estimation of As residue in fruit ripening that was used CaC₂ as a ripening agent and also As(V) in fruits bought from local market. Therefore, the developed voltammetry method can be a great potential instrument to measure As(V) in fruit sample.

 

Keywords:   differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, gold electrode, arsenic, calcium carbide, climacteric fruits

 

Abstrak

Kalsium karbida (CaC₂) sering digunakan sebagai salah satu agen pematangan buah kerana harganya yang lebih murah dan mudah didapati di pasaran. Walau bagaimanapun, tidak digalakkan menggunakan CaC₂ di Malaysia, kerana sisa arsenik (As) yang hadir sebagai kekotoran pada agen pematangan buah ini boleh menyebabkan kesan buruk yang serius terhadap penggunaan manusia. Pengukuran voltammetrik menggunakan elektrod emas dalam medium berasid (2 M HCl) dikembangkan untuk menentukan sisa As dalam sampel buah. Teknik ini memerhatikan tingkah laku elektrokimia analisis kuantitatif spesies As(V) pada elektrod emas. Didapati bahawa As(V) menjalani proses pengoksidaan yang tidak berbalik pada elektrod emas. Parameter kerja yang disahkan untuk voltammetri denyut pembeza pelucutan anodik (DPASV) adalah E_i = -0.20 V, E_f = +0.30 V, v = 0.02 V/s, E_acc1 = -1.10 V, t_acc1 = 120 s, E_acc2 = +0.04V, t_acc2 = 10 s dan nadi amplitud = 0.05 V yang menghasilkan potensi puncak pada +0.10 V. LOD dan LOQ menggunakan kaedah statistik masing-masing adalah 1.3 ppb dan 4 ppb, sementara dengan pemerhatian visual masing-masing 0.7 ppb dan 2 ppb. Kaedah ini berjaya digunakan untuk perkiraan sisa As dalam pematangan buah yang mengunakan CaC₂ sebagai agen pematangan dan As(V) pada buah-buahan yang dibeli di pasar tempatan. Oleh itu, kaedah voltammetri yang dikembangkan dapat menjadi instrumen berpotensi besar untuk mengukur As(V) dalam sampel buah.

 

Kata kunci:     voltammetri denyut pembeza pelucutan anodik, elektrod emas, arsenik, kalsium karbida, buah klimaterik

 

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