Poly(styrene)-co-2-vinylpyridine copolymer as a novel solid-phase adsorbent for determination of manganese and zinc in foods and vegetables by FAAS

The aim of this study is to extract zinc and manganese from foods and vegetables using an amphiphilic copolymer adsorbent, poly(styrene)-co-2-vinylpyridine which was synthesized via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization from styrene and 2-vinyl pyridine in the presence of a trithiocarbonate and 2,2′-azo-bis isobutyro nitrile (AIBN) in toluene solution under argon at 80 °C. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy were used in the characterization of the obtained copolymer. Under the optimum conditions, several validation variables such as uncertainty measurement, selectivity, robustness, precisions, matrix effects and accuracy were investigated. Taking an adsorption time of 15 min, detection limits of 0.04 μg L ⁻¹ and 0.2 μg L ⁻¹ and 7.9 μg L⁻¹ and enrichment factors of 145 and 110 were obtained for Mn(II) and Zn(II), respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of Mn(II) and Zn(II) in foods and vegetables.