Spectrophotometric determination of bromide (and iodide) in a flow system after oxidation by peroxodisulphate

The peroxodisulphate method for the determination of bromide has been modified. A flow-injection system for the spectrophotometric finish has been developed and the size of the ion-exchange column in the preconcentration step has been scaled down. The sum of bromate and iodate produced in the oxidation is determined by treating the oxidized sample with iodide in hydrochloric acid. The iodate is separately determined by applying the reaction in acetic acid. The working range of the spectrophotometric finish is 1-15muM and the limit of determination (10 sigma) is 0.7muM for iodate and for iodate plus bromate. The enrichment factor in the preconcentration step is 50, yielding a limit of determination of 15nM for bromide in natural waters. Eighteen samples of water from the Baltic, with salinity ranging from 3 to 33%. have been analysed. A Br/Cl ratio of (1.53 +/- 0.02) x 10(-3) was found. A comparative study of the original and the new preconcentration step has been made with three river waters, rich in humic substances. The results agreed within +/- 1. 5%.     

The determination of chromium species in natural waters

A method for the determination of chromium species has been developed and successfully applied to both fresh and sea water samples. The method utilizes pre-concentration of total chromium, chromium(ni) and particulate chromium at natural pH with accurate and precise analysis by a single flameless atomic absorption procedure. A minimal blank allows for a reliable detection limit of 0.02 nM, which is sufficient for most natural waters with chromium concentrations in the range 0.01–10 nM. Immediate shipboard preconcentration of the samples minimizes storage problems. The method is simple and rapid; 20 samples can be analysed in duplicate for total chromium, chromium(III) and particulate chromium in one day with routinely available reagents and equipment.     

Determination of trace concentrations of bromate in municipal and bottled drinking waters using a hydroxide-selective column with ion chromatography

The International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that bromate is a potential human carcinogen, even at low micro/l levels in drinking water. Bromate is commonly produced from the ozonation of source water containing naturally occurring bromide. Traditionally, trace concentrations of bromate and other oxyhalides in environmental waters have been determined by anion exchange chromatography with an IonPac AS9-HC column using a carbonate eluent and suppressed conductivity detection, as described in EPA Method 300.1 B. However, a hydroxide eluent has lower suppressed background conductivity and lower noise compared to a carbonate eluent and this can reduce the detection limit and practical quantitation limit for bromate. In this paper, we examine the effect of using an electrolytically generated hydroxide eluent combined with a novel hydroxide-selective anion exchange column for the determination of disinfection byproduct anions and bromide in municipal and bottled drinking water samples. EPA Methods 300.1 B and 317.0 were used as test criteria to evaluate the new anion exchange column. The combination of a hydroxide eluent with a high capacity hydroxide-selective column allowed sub-microg/l detection limits for chlorite, bromate, chlorate, and bromide with a practical quantitation limit of 1 microg/l bromate using suppressed conductivity detection and 0.5 microg/l using postcolumn addition of o-dianisidine followed by visible detection. The linearity, method detection limits, robustness, and accuracy of the methods for spiked municipal and bottled water samples will be discussed.     

Determination of iodide and bromide by flow methods with amperometric detection

Determination of bromide and iodide in real samples (water, pharmaceutical preparations, and biological material) was performed using modified flow injection analyses (FIA) with amperometric detection on platinum electrode. As an additional confirmation of FIA experiments, cyclic voltammetry was employed. Iodide was determined by the kinetic method, its limit of detection was 1.0 nM, and the linearity was 0.1–100 μM. The limit of detection for bromide determination was 50.0 nM and the calibration was linear for 2.5–100 μM and 0.1–10 mM. The relative standard deviation for 1 μM of iodide was 3.03% and, for 5 μM of bromide, it was 1.23% (n = 6). Both methods enable 60 analyses per hour to be performed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

An ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC-fluorimetric system for ultratrace determination of aluminium with salicylaldehydebenzoylhydrazone

An ion-pair HPLC fluorimetric determination of Al(III) at trace level has been developed, with salicylaldehydebenzoylhydrazone (SAB) as a precolumn reagent. The highly fluorescent AlSAB chelate (lambda(ex) 390.8 nm, lambda(em) 458.1 nm) is separated on a LiChroCART RP-18 column with an eluent consisting of 3.1 x 10(-)m tetrabutylammonium bromide, 1 x 10(4)m disodium EDTA and 5 x 10(-3)m sodium acetate in aqueous 42% w/w acetonitrile solution. The detection limit for Al is 1.5nM (40 pg/ml) in a 100-mul injection. The spectrophotometric detection limit at 390 nm is 0.3 ng/ml for 0.005 full-scale absorbance range. The selectivity is excellent and the method is useful for routine quality-control applications, such as determination of Al in tap water and in alkali pellets (LiOH, NaOH and KOH).     

Determination of dissolved methane in natural waters using headspace analysis with cavity ring-down spectroscopy

Methane (CH₄) is the third most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG) but is vastly understudied in comparison to carbon dioxide. Sources and sinks to the atmosphere vary considerably in estimation, including sources such as fresh and marine water systems. A new method to determine dissolved methane concentrations in discrete water samples has been evaluated. By analyzing an equilibrated headspace using laser cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), low nanomolar dissolved methane concentrations can be determined with high reproducibility (i.e., 0.13 nM detection limit and typical 4% RSD). While CRDS instruments cost roughly twice that of gas chromatographs (GC) usually used for methane determination, the process presented herein is substantially simpler, faster, and requires fewer materials than GC methods. Typically, 70-mL water samples are equilibrated with an equivalent amount of zero air in plastic syringes. The equilibrated headspace is transferred to a clean, dry syringe and then drawn into a Picarro G2301 CRDS analyzer via the instrument’s pump. We demonstrate that this instrument holds a linear calibration into the sub-ppmv methane concentration range and holds a stable calibration for at least two years. Application of the method to shipboard dissolved methane determination in the northern Gulf of Mexico as well as river water is shown. Concentrations spanning nearly six orders of magnitude have been determined with this method.     

Determination of trace concentrations of hexavalent chromium

A simple and sensitive solvent extraction-atomic spectrometric technique has been developed for the determination of hexavalent chromium in fresh and saline waters. The technique is based on the reaction of chromium with diphenylcarbazide. The method has been tested on a variety of water samples over an analytical range of 0-2 microg l(-1). A limit of detection of 0.024 microg l(-1) was achieved. Spiking recoveries in the range 87-115% were achieved in river water, drinking water and marine waters.     

Determination of bromide by low power surfatron microwave induced plasma after bromine continuous generation

A simple continuous flow generation of volatile bromine is described for the determination of low concentrations of the elements by atmospheric-pressure argon microwave induced plasma (MIP) surfatron. Bromine is continuously generated by mixing the bromide with sulphuric acid and hypochlorite solutions. The bromine vapor is separated from the aqueous phase by a gas-liquid separator and is desiccated by passing it through concentrated sulphuric acid. The detection limit attained was 2 microg/l. and the precision was +/-0.7% (at the 80 microg/l. level). The proposed determination is very selective if oxidizing/reducing agents are absent. The procedure has been tested for bromide determination in two drug preparations. Good agreement between the experimental results and the certified values has been obtained.     

Large-volume injection electrothermal AAS combined with tungsten-treated pyrolytic graphite furnace: determination of cadmium in tap, snow and river water samples with phosphate modifier.

A large-volume (100 microl) injection-ETAAS with W-treated PG furnace combined with a phosphate modifier was applied to the determination of unpolluted levels of Cd in tap, snow and river-water samples. The limit of detection of 1.1 ng l(-1) was observed for a 4 w/v% NH4H2PO4 modifer. Matrix interference studies were tested for major ion species well found in fresh water. The direct determination of Cd in certified river water (12 +/- 2 ng l(-1)) was carried out and the observed value was in agreement with the certified one. The good recoveries of Cd added to real environmental water samples were also observed. This method was applied to the determination of Cd in unpolluted environmental water samples.     

Study on the solid phase extraction of Co(II)-QADEAB chelate with C(18) disk and its application to the determination of trace cobalt

A sensitive, selective and rapid method has been developed for the determination mug l(-1) level of cobalt based on the rapid reaction of cobalt(II) with 2-(2-quinolylazo)-5-diethylaminobenzoic acid (QADEAB) and the solid phase extraction (SPE) of the colored chelate with Waters Porapak(R) Sep-Park C(18) disk. The QADEAB can react with Co(II) in the presence of pH 3.8 acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer solution and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) medium to form a violet chelate of a molar ratio 1:2 (cobalt to QADEAB). This chelate can retained on Waters Porapak(R) Sep-Park C(18) disk quantitatively when they passed the disk as aqueous solution. After the enrichment finished, the retained chelate can be eluted from disk by 2.5 ml of ethanol (contain 5% acetic acid). In the measured solution, the molar absorptivity of the chelate is 1.58x10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1)at 635 nm, and Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0.01-0.4 mug ml(-1). The relative standard deviation for 11 replicate sample of 0.01 mug ml(-1) level is 2.23%. The detection limit is 0.01 mug l(-1) (in original samples). This method can be applied to the determination of mug l(-1) level of cobalt in drinking water with satisfactory results.     

The determination of nanomolar levels of nitrite in fresh and sea water by cathodic stripping voltammetry

Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) is used for the determination of nitrite in natural waters, including sea water. The nitrite is first derivatised by diazotization with sulphanilamide, followed by coupling to 1-naphthylamine to produce an azo dye. This azo dye adsorbs on the mercury drop electrode and its reduction is fully reversible. The concentration of the dye is linearly related to the height of the reduction peak for nitrite concentrations between 0.3 and 200 nM. The optimal concentrations of sulphanilamide and naphthylamine are 2 mM and 0.1 mM, respectively, at a pH of 2.5. After diazotization and coupling, the differential-pulse CSV of the azo dye is done at pH 8.4 with an adsorption potential of ?0.3 V. The standard deviation of a determination of 4 nM nitrite is ±2% and the limit of detection is 0.3 nM for an adsorption time of 60 s. The linear range can be extended by using shorter adsorption times. These sensitivity in sea water is the same as that in fresh water. The concentration of the dye can also be measured by using anodic stripping voltammetry preceded by adsorptive collection at ?0.7 V, but this procedure is less sensitive than CSV.     

Trace humic and fulvic acid determination in natural water by cloud point extraction/preconcentration using non-ionic and cationic surfactants with FI-UV detection

A preconcentration and determination method for humic and fulvic acids at trace levels in natural water samples was developed. Cloud point extraction was successfully employed for the preconcentration of humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) prior to the determination by using a flow injection (FI) system coupled to a spectrophotometric UV-Vis detector. The quantitative extraction of HA and FA within the pH range 1-12 was obtained by neutralization of the anionic charge on the humic substances with a cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). This generated a hydrophobic species that was subsequently incorporated (solubilized) into the micelles of a non-ionic surfactant polyethylene glycol, tert-octylphenyl ether (Triton X-114). The FI method for HA and FA determination was developed by injection of 100 microl of the extracted surfactant-rich phase using an HPLC pump with spectrophotometric detection at 350 nm. A 50 ml sample solution preconcentration allowed an enrichment factor of 167. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained under the optimal conditions was 5 microg l(-1). The precision for ten replicate determinations at 0.2 mg l(-1) HA was 3.1% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated from the peak heights. The calibration using the preconcentration system for HA and FA was linear with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.9997 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 1 mg l(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of HA and FA in natural water samples (river water).     

Improved fluorimetric determination of dissolved aluminium by micelle-enhanced lumogallion complex in natural waters

A modification of the aluminium-lumogallion fluorescence measurement in the presence of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 is presented. The detection limit for dissolved Al is 0.7 nM, with a relative standard deviation of 3.6% at an Al level of 5.0 nM. Compared with previously reported methods in the literature, the method described here is free from matrix effects and can be used for the determination of aluminium in fresh, estuarine and saline waters. The interferences from iron and fluoride were minimized by the addition of o-phenanthroline and Be2+, respectively. The analysis of NIST SRM 1643C and PRC standard 2430101 by the proposed method provides results consistent with the certified values. A successful inter-laboratory calibration exercise also demonstrates the merit of the proposed method for the determination of Al in environmental and marine sciences.     

Automated solid-phase extraction for determination of amodiaquine, chloroquine and metabolites in capillary blood on sampling paper by liquid chromatography

Summary A bioanalytical method using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) has been developed and validated for the determination of amodiaquine, chloroquine and their metabolites in 100 μL blood applied to sampling paper. The intra-assay precision for all analytes was <5% at 2000 nM, <7% at 750 nM and <10% at 100 nM. The interassay precision for all analytes was <4% at 2000 nM, <7% at 750 nM and <12% at 100 nM. The lower limit of quantitation was 100 nM for all analytes. The limit of detection was 30 nM in 100 μL venous blood applied to sampling paper.     

Simultaneous determination of inorganic disinfection by-products and the seven standard anions by ion chromatography

For the first time, an ion chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of the disinfection by-products bromate, chlorite, chlorate, and the so-called seven standard anions, fluoride, chloride, nitrite, sulfate, bromide, nitrate and orthophosphate is presented. The separation of the ten anions was carried out using a laboratory-made high-capacity anion-exchanger. The high capacity anion-exchanger allowed the direct injection of large sample volumes without any sample pretreatment, even in the case of hard water samples. For quantification of fluoride, chloride, nitrite, sulfate, bromide, nitrate, orthophosphate and chlorate, a conductivity detection method was applied after chemical suppression. The post-column reaction, based on chlorpromazine, was optimized for the determination of chlorite and bromate. The method detection limit for bromate measured in deionized water is 100 ng/l and for chlorite, it is 700 ng/l. In hard drinking water, the method’s detection limits are 700 ng/l (bromate) and 3.5 μg/l (chlorite). The method’s detection limits for the other eight anions, determined by conductivity detection, are between 100 μg/l (nitrite) and 1.6 mg/l (chlorate).     

A low-cost flame atomic absorption spectrometry method for determination of trace metals in aqueous samples

A simple and fast method for the extraction into xylene of sub mug l(-1) concentrations of metals using ammonium diethyldithiophosphate (DDTP) as a complexing reagent and their subsequent determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry is described. The method was tested in sea water spiked with Au at a concentration of 3.0 mug l(-1). The extraction was carried out until the aqueous to organic phase ratio achieved a 1000-fold preconcentration of metal. Optimisation of extraction parameters and the effect of Fe interference was investigated. Sea water samples spiked with Au produced an average recovery of 95% and the detection limit (3sigma) in deionized water was 2.9 ng l(-1). High enrichment factors could be obtained due to the small final volume (mul) of organic solvent.     

Spectrophotometric flow injection determination of formetanate and m-aminophenol in water after reaction with p-aminophenol

An automated procedure has been developed for the determination of formetanate and its metabolite m-aminophenol (MAP) in water samples. MAP can be selectively determined in the presence of formetanate by direct on-line reaction with p-aminophenol and spectrophotometric measurement of the absorbance at 576 nm in the presence of KIO(4), as oxidizing agent. The method has a limit of detection of 5 x 10(-7)M, it provides a recovery percentage from 95 to 104% and permits one to carry out 120 measurements/hr. The spectrophotometric determination of formetanate must be carried out after a previous hydrolysis to MAP. To determine formetanate in the presence of MAP, two steps are necessary. Firstly, the MAP content is selectively determined as has been mentioned above. After that, the sample is treated with 0.05M NaOH at 90' degrees C, to hydrolyze the formetanate to MAP, and then the sum of both is determined spectrophotometrically. The difference between the results obtained in each step gives the formetanate concentration. The developed procedure for the determination of formetanate provides a sensitivity of 1070 absorbance units mol(-1) l and a limit of detection of 1.9 x 10(-7)M, which corresponds to 50 mug/l of formetanate hydrochloride. The method has been applied to the analysis of natural water samples fortified with formetanate and MAP, and formetanate has also been quantitatively recovered in irrigation waters at a concentration level of 1.9 x 10(-6)M which corresponds to 500 mug/l. On the other hand, working in the stopped-flow mode, for a reaction time of 100 sec, the sensitivity of the formetanate determination can be increased to 4642 absorbance units mol(-1) l but the limit of detection remains of the order of 44 mug/l.     

A simple supported liquid hollow fiber membrane microextraction for sample preparation of trihalomethanes in water samples

A simple and efficient liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) technique using a supported liquid hollow fiber membrane, in conjunction with gas chromatography-electron capture detector has been developed for extraction and determination of trihalomethanes (THMs) in water samples. THMs were extracted from water samples through an organic extracting solvent impregnated in the pores and filled inside the porous hollow fiber membrane. Our simple conditions were conducted at 35 degrees C with no stirring and no salt addition in order to minimize sample preparation steps. Parameters such as types of hollow fiber membranes, extracting solvents and extraction time were studied and optimized. The method exhibited enrichment factors ranged from 28- to 62-fold within 30 min extraction time. The linearity of the method ranged from 0.2 to 100 microg l(-1). The limits of detection were in the low microg l(-1) level, ranging between 0.01 and 0.2 microg l(-1). The recoveries of spiked THMs at 5 microg l(-1) in water were between 98 and 105% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 4%. Furthermore, the method was applied for determination of THMs in drinking water and tap water samples was reported.     

Solid phase extraction and spectrophotometric determination of silver with 2-(2-quinolylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol as chromogenic reagent.

A new chromogenic reagent, 2-(2-quinolylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (QADEAP), was synthesized. A sensitive, selective and rapid method has been developed for the determination of microg/L level silver ion based on the rapid reaction of silver(l) with QADEAP and the solid phase extraction of the colored chelate with C18 cartridge. The QADEAP reacts with Ag(l) to form a violet chelate of a molar ratio 1:2 (silver to QADEAP) in pH 3.5-8.0. This chelate was prconcentrated by solid phase extraction with C18 cartridge. An enrichment factor of 100 was achieved. The molar absorptivity of the chelate is 1.30 x 10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) at 590 nm in measured solution. Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0.01-0.6 microg/ml. The relative standard deviation for eleven replicate samples of 0.01 microg/ml is 1.15%. The detection limit is 0.02 microg/L in the original samples. This method was applied to the determination of microg/L level silver ion in water with good results.