The present work aims the determination of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb in seawater samples using coprecipitation extraction procedure before standard mode inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (no collision/reaction cell). The coprecipitation procedure is based on the precipitation of Mg(OH)2 from the reaction of the Mg2+ ions (present into the seawater) with ammonia added to the sample. Central composite design, desirability function, and response surface methodology were used to optimize the coprecipitation procedure. The optimum values obtained were 1200 µL of aqueous ammonia, 30 min of centrifugation time and 400 µL of nitric acid. The procedure obtained showed low limits of detection since good preconcentration factors were obtained. Good accuracy was also obtained when the reference material Trace Metals 1 in seawater was evaluated. Thus, the proposed procedure can be considered a good strategy for the determination of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb in seawater by ICP-MS, due to its simplicity, low cost, high analytical frequency, besides the good sensitivity and accuracy achieved.

Determining inorganic constituents in illicit drugs can indicate its purity and presence of adulterants. In this study, we analyzed 52 street cocaine samples, seized in three different regions of Espírito Santo, state of Brazil. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was used to determine Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mg, Zn concentrations and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine Mo, Co, Pb and P concentrations. From analyte recovery tests, the accuracy was considered acceptable and the proposed method satisfactory. Most of the samples exhibited a relatively homogeneous inorganic profile with similar concentrations of investigated elements, however some samples had very discrepant concentrations. High concentrations of Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, and P were found, indicating that adulterants such as gypsum, marble powder, limestone, cement, and others must be used to increase the profitability of the illicit drug market.

Antarctic Continent is one of the few places that has not been explored at all, but studies show that this place is suffering interference by human activities. Therefore, monitoring of this region becomes very important. After optimization and verification of the methodology, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Sn, Co, Hg, Mo and As in soil samples collected in the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, were determined by ICP-MS. The ranges found (µg kg-1) were: for Pb 525.2-2314.1, for Cd 54.8-193.8, for Sn 54.8-193.8, for Co 2095.0-11094.1, for Hg < 2.4-54.6, for Mo 5.3-38.7 and for As 120.3-1297.1. In general, the presence of these elements can be attributed to different factors, such as natural composition of soil, melting process and transport of chemical elements caused by physical phenomena as sea and air currents, besides anthropic contamination. Using enrichment factor was possible suggest contribution by anthropic activities mainly for Co and As. Thus, it is important monitoring the elements levels constantly assisting in environmental protection.