Determinación de la concentración de hierro en harina de maíz utilizando la técnica fotoacústica

We report on the use of the photoacoustic technique for the determination of low concentrations of total iron in corn meal samples. This is of considerable interest because several foods are currently enriched with this element at proper levels in order to increase the resistance of people, after their consume, to several diseases such as anemia. The proposed technique is based in an open cell configuration in conjunction with a suitable colorimetric method. The results of the measurements agree very well with those obtained using a conventional spectrophotometric method, showing the possibilities of new photothermal experimental methodologies to perform this kind of studies.