Indirect detection of VB₁₂ in vitamin B complex tablets with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

  Objective  To establish an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for indirect detection of vitamin B₁₂ content in vitamin B complex tablets.

  Methods  The sample was pretreated with microwave digestion and the matrix effect was corrected with the in-line addition of internal standards. Vitamin B₁₂ was determined indirectly with the detection of cobalt ions in the sample.

  Results  The linearity range of the established method was satisfying for the concentration of 1.0 – 100 .0 g/L, with the the correlation coefficients of greater than 0.999. The average recoveries were 95.0% – 104.0%, with a relative standard deviation of 1.17% – 3.03%. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.014 mg/kg and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.041 mg/kg.

  Conclusion  The method is simple, sensitive, accurate, and applicable for the detection of vitamin B₁₂ content in vitamin B complex tablets.