a b s t r a c t
In the present study a selective method is presented for the simultaneous determination of copper and
cadmium in food samples by adsorptive stripping voltammetry. In preliminary studies, it has been proven
that the copper and cadmium react with 3-aminophthalhydrazide (luminol), giving rise to the formation
of these complexes. These complexes have adsorptive characteristics on hanging mercury drop
electrode (HMDE) and can be reduced in a reduction step. In this study the optimum reaction parameters
and conditions studies are investigated. The calibration graphs were linear in the concentration range of
0.5–105.0 and 0.8–70.0 ng/ml for copper and cadmium, respectively. The limit of detection of the method
was 0.04 ng/ml for Cu2+ and 0.02 ng/ml for Cd2+. The interference of some common ions was studied and
it was concluded that application of this method for the determination of copper (II) and cadmium in food
and water samples led to satisfactory results.