Heavy metals are endocrine disruptors which interfere with processes mediated by endogenous hormones of the organism, negatively affecting endocrine functions. Some studies have correlated heavy metal exposure with male infertility. However, the number of studies conducted on humans are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to summarize the current knowledge on how heavy metals influence human male fertility. Hence, three distinct databases were consulted—PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science—using single keywords and combinations of them. The total number of identified articles was 636. Nevertheless, by using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 144 articles were finally included in this work. Results display that the development of adequate instruments for heavy metal assessment may play an important function in human male fertility diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, clinical trials could be useful to confirm the role of heavy metals in human male fertility diagnosis. Overall, further research is required to fully understand the molecular and cellular basis of the influence of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals on human male infertility and reproductive outcomes.

The benefits of using a 350 °C heated single pass spray chamber following a segmented flow injection methodology were demonstrated for the analysis of petroleum products through inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The present work shows that a small sample volume (i.e., 5 μl or less) can be precisely injected into the system following a manual procedure. Two different sample introduction systems were employed: a Cyclonic spray chamber and a single pass spray chamber (a modified version of the Torch Integrated Sample Introduction System, TISIS) equipped with a heating brass hollow cylinder. First the effect of temperature on the peak shape and sensitivity has been studied for a set of nineteen different organic products (gasoline, superethanol, diesel and biodiesel diluted in xylene). The results have proved that the higher the chamber walls temperature, the higher the sensitivity. As a result limits of detection decreased below 7 μg l⁻¹ for elements such as manganese, vanadium and silicon. Furthermore, memory effects were less severe as the temperature raised. Another benefit of increasing the TISIS chamber walls temperature is that matrix effects became less pronounced as compared to a Cyclonic chamber. Thus, at 350 °C non-spectral interferences are eliminated likely because the analyte transport efficiency to the plasma is close to 100% irrespective of the sample analyzed. This has two important consequences: (i) it is possible to obtain a calibration line by merely modifying the injected solution volume and (ii) a single xylene based solution can be used as a universal standard. The developed procedure was applied to the analysis of nineteen spiked petroleum derivatives with recoveries for manganese, silicon, vanadium and copper in the range 95–106%.

The presence of nuts in diets has notably increased due to their composition, and the presence of antioxidants and their unsaturated fatty acid profile has led to a considerable increase in their consumption. The volatile profile of nuts is important from different points of view. It affects consumer’s selection, influences raw material selection for the production of composite foods, dictates variety selection in breeding programs, and, from a quality perspective, its changes can indicate food degradation or alteration. A review of the published bibliography concerning the determination of volatiles in nuts has been carried out. The information retrieved has been divided into four main sections. First, a discussion on the main volatiles present in nuts is performed; next, a revision of the methods used to determine the volatiles is presented; and, finally, two sections describing how harvesting conditions, healthy state and the thermal treatment of nuts modifies their volatile profile are added. Analysis of the published bibliography denoted the complexity of volatile determination and the different variables that can modify the compounds present in the volatile fraction of nuts.

Biofuel quality control involves the determination of metal and metalloid content. These species play a very important role because they may modify the efficiency of biofuel production as well as the stability of these products. Furthermore, some metals are toxic and generate environmental concerns whereas others are used as additives. Normally, products such as biodiesel and bioethanol are mixed with conventional fossil fuels (diesel and gasoline, respectively). Therefore, metals come from the raw product employed for biofuel production (seeds, sugars…) as well as from the production and storage process or even from the added fuels. The determination of the final metal and metalloid concentration in biofuels is a challenging subject because of several reasons. On the one hand, their content is usually low (i.e., from several μg L⁻¹ to mg L⁻¹) and, hence, sensitive techniques should be used. Besides all these, calibration with organic complex matrices becomes more difficult and degrades the accuracy of the determination. Several approaches have been evaluated to carry out this kind of analysis going from spectrochemical to electroanalytical techniques. Within the first group, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) are often employed together with atomic absorption methods. The different procedures applied will be discussed in the present review emphasizing the most widely employed ones. On this subject, fundamental as well as applied studies related to the biofuel analysis through ICP-OES and ICP-MS will be shown to illustrate the current difficulties associated with these determinations. Comments regarding the possible solutions proposed to overcome the drawbacks encountered will be made.