Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is an easy, high-throughput, and inexpensive technology used primarily to analyze elements in solution. AAS is used in food and beverage, water, clinical research, and pharmaceutical analysis. The technique makes use of the atomic absorption spectrum of a sample in order to assess the concentration of specific analytes within it. It requires standards with known analyte content to establish the relation between the measured absorbance and the analyte concentration and relies therefore on the Beer–Lambert law. AAS provides a high degree of accuracy, with results normally produced in a range of 0.5-5% accuracy. It is a highly sensitive test method and, depending on the material under test, can measure as low as parts per billion (µg/kg) .