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An Instrumental Electroanalytical Experiment: Determination of Pb and Cd in Cigarettes Using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

An Instrumental Electroanalytical Experiment: Determination of Pb and Cd in Cigarettes Using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

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Page ID: 59697

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Analytical Sciences Digital Library

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Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats in the world, killing nearly six million people annually.^1,2 Despite the increasing awareness of the toxicity of a series of organic compounds found in cigarette smoke over the past few decades, the presence of heavy metals in cigarettes has not been as widely recognized.³ An instrumental analysis laboratory experiment has been developed to determine the levels of cadmium and lead in cigarette tobacco using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) and piloted by upper-division chemistry major students at Portland State University. In the experiment, cadmium and lead are extracted from the tobacco and quantified using a commercially available complete ASV instrument via a standard addition procedure. The students obtain the raw current data and subject it to standard statistical analysis.⁴ This experiment exposes students to the challenge of dealing with real-world samples that connect with real-life problems while developing their knowledge of analytical chemistry and their laboratory skills. Although the experiment is presented as a relatively “canned” procedure, there are clear opportunities for a more active role of the students in the experimental design if that is desirable.

Contributors and Attributions

Xijing Zhu, D. Brooks Royall, Timothy Krytenberg, Dean B. Atkinson (Portland State University)