A microextraction method based on ultrasound-assisted surfactant-enhanced emulsification using solidification of a floating organic droplet (UASEME-SFO) was evaluated for simultaneous determination of Cd and Ni in water and tea samples followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. In the UASEME-SFO technique, Triton X-100 was used as an emulsifier to accelerate the emulsification of the extraction solvent into a sample solution and hasten the mass transfer of the analytes. Analytes form a complex and are extracted into 1-dodecanol which was used as an extraction solvent. Some parameters such as type and volume of the extraction solvent, the type and concentration of the surfactant, ultrasound extraction time, reagent concentration, centrifuge conditions and salt concentration were investigated. Under optimum conditions, calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.3-100 and 0.6-180 microg L(-1) with detection limits of 0.11 and 0.20 microg L(-1) for Cd and Ni, respectively. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by parallel analyses using the certified reference material of water and tea samples. The recoveries of the analytes in tea leaves, tea infusions and water samples were in the range of 96.5-105.1%.
