Homogeneity study of a corn flour laboratory reference material candidate for inorganic analysis. (1st July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: dos Santos, Ana Maria Pinto; dos Santos, Liz Oliveira; Brandao, Geovani Cardoso; Leao, Danilo Junqueira; Bernedo, Alfredo Victor Bellido; Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu; Lemos, Valfredo Azevedo
• Is Part Of: Food chemistry. Volume 178(2015)
• Page Start: 287
• Page End: 291
• Publication Date: 2015-07-01
• Subjects: Corn flour -- Reference material candidate -- Homogeneity study -- Analysis of variance -- Principal component analysis; Food -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food -- Composition -- Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.024
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-8146

Abstract

Highlights: A homogeneity study was performed for a corn flour candidate reference material. The homogeneity was evaluated for the elements Ca, K, Mg, P, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Mo. The results were evaluated by analysis of variance and principal component analysis. The homogeneity of the material was confirmed by both statistical methods. Abstract: In this work, a homogeneity study of a corn flour reference material candidate for inorganic analysis is presented. Seven kilograms of corn flour were used to prepare the material, which was distributed among 100 bottles. The elements Ca, K, Mg, P, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Mo were quantified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) after acid digestion procedure. The method accuracy was confirmed by analyzing the rice flour certified reference material, NIST 1568a. All results were evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principal component analysis (PCA). In the study, a sample mass of 400 mg was established as the minimum mass required for analysis, according to the PCA. The between-bottle test was performed by analyzing 9 bottles of the material. Subsamples of a single bottle were analyzed for the within-bottle test. No significant differences were observed for the results obtained through the application of both statistical methods. This fact demonstrates that the material is homogeneous for use as a laboratory reference material.