Determination of boron isotopic variations in aquatic systems with negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry as a tracer for anthropogenic influences

A technique for precise boron isotope ratio measurements with a high detection power has been developed by negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry (NTIMS). Relative standard deviations in the range of 0.03–0.3% have been obtained for the determination of the ¹¹B/¹⁰B isotope ratio using nanogram amounts of boron. Ba(OH)₂ has been applied as ionization promoter for the formation of negative thermal ions. By adding MgCl₂ better reproducibilities of the measurement have been achieved. A possible interference of BO^-₂ ions at mass number 42 by CNO^- could be excluded by the sample preparation technique used. Contrary to other NTI techniques no dependence of the measured isotope ratio on the boron amount used has been observed. Anthropogenic and natural saline influences in ground water have been successfully identified by boron isotope ratio determinations with this NTIMS method, due to the different isotopic composition of boron in natural and anthropogenic substances. In sewage, the boron isotope ratio is substantially influenced by washing powder, which contains low ¹¹B/¹⁰B ratios (expressed in ¹¹B values normalized to the standard reference material NIST SRM 951). In contaminated ground water, low ¹¹B values are normally correlated with high boron and high chloride concentrations. On the other hand, ¹¹B shifts to higher values in less contaminated samples. For ground water with saline influences, only the ¹¹B determination, and not the boron or chloride content, allowed the correct identification of this natural source of contamination.     

Identification of ground water contaminations by landfills using precise boron isotope ratio measurements with negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry

 Precise boron isotope ratio measurements with negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry were used for the identification of ground water contaminations by leakages of landfills. BO^- ₂thermal ions were produced to determine the ¹¹B/¹⁰B isotope ratio, which was expressed as δ¹¹B value in ‰ normalized to the standard reference material NIST SRM 951. For example, household waste influences the boron isotope ratio by specific components such as washing powder. In the case of one investigated landfill low δ¹¹B values correlate well with high boron concentrations in contaminated seepage water samples and vice versa for uncontaminated ground water samples. Possible boron contributions of rainwater were taken into account, determining a boron content of 2.3 μg/L and a δ¹¹B value of 13.1‰ for a representative sample. Such low boron concentrations were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (detection limit 0.3 μg/L) whereas higher contents were also analyzed by a spectrophotometric method. However, different sources of contamination could only be identified by the isotope ratio and not by the concentration of boron. Received: 9 December 1996/Accepted: 18 February 1997     

Comparison of NTIMS and ICP-OES methods for the determination of boron concentrations in natural fresh and saline waters

Determination of B concentrations in natural fresh and saline waters by ICP-OES may be strongly affected by matrix effects resulting in a deviation (shift to apparently lower values) in the order of 10 to 20% (if working without matrix-matched standard solutions), at variance with the NTIMS (Negative Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry) isotope dilution technique which is virtually unaffected by such effects. NTIMS isotope dilution is a highly sensitive, precise and effective technique which requires only trace amounts of boron (1–10 ng B) and allows boron concentrations in natural waters to be analyzed with an analytical uncertainty of ± 2% (2 σ).     

Rapid mass-spectrometric determination of boron isotopic distribution in boron carbide

Boron isotopic ratios are measured in boron carbide by thermionic ionization mass spectrometry with no prior chemical separation. A powder blend of boron carbide and sodium hydroxide is prepared, a small portion is transferred to a tantalum filament, the filament is heated to produce sodium borate, and the filament is transferred to the mass spectrometer where the(11)B/(10)B ratio is measured, using the Na(2)BO(2)(+) ion. Variables investigated for their effect on preferential volatilization of (10)B include the sodium hydroxide-boron carbide ratio and the temperature and duration of filament heating. A series of boron carbide pellets containing natural boron, of the type proposed for the control rods of the Fast Flux Test Facility reactor, were analysed with an apparently unbiased result of 4.0560 for the (11)B/(10)B ratio (standard deviation 0.0087). The pellets contained over 3% metal impurities typically found in this material. Time of analysis is 45 min per sample, with one analyst.     

负热电离质谱测定硼同位素的涂样试剂比较

目前人们并未注意到利用负热电离质谱方法测定硼同位素所采用涂样试剂中BO^-的同质异位素CNO^-离子的存在和影响。对硼同位素测定采用的不同涂样试剂进行比较，结果发现在去硼海水和硝酸盐溶液中存在BO2^-的同质异位素CNO^-离子，干扰离子不仅来自有机物，而且可能来自硝酸根。在硼同位素测定中，检查空白中的43峰和43／42比值是必要的。实验表明MgCl2 NaOH混合溶液是负热电离质谱测定硼同位素的较为理想的涂样试剂。     

An unusual isotopic fractionation of boron in synthetic calcium carbonate precipitated from seawater and saline water

Inorganic calcium carbonate precipitation from natural seawater and saline water at various pH values was carried out experimentally. The results show the clear positive relationships between boron concentration and δ11B of inorganic calcium carbonate with the pH of natural seawater and saline water. However, the variations of boron isotopic fractionation between inorganic calcite and seawater/saline water with pH are inconsistent with the hypothesis that B(OH)4- is the dominant spe-cies incorporated into the biogenic calcite structure. The isotopic fractionation factors α between synthetic calcium carbonate precipitate and parent solutions increase systematically as pH increases, from 0.9884 at pH 7.60 to 1.0072 at pH 8.60 for seawater and from 0.9826 at pH 7.60 to 1.0178 at pH 8.75 for saline water. An unusual boron isotopic fractionation factor of larger than 1 in synthetic calcium carbonate precipitated from seawater/saline water at higher pH is observed, which implies that a substantial amount of the isotopically heavier B(OH)3 species must be incorporated preferentially into synthetic inorganic carbonate. The results propose that the incorporation of B(OH)3 is attributed to the formation of Mg(OH)2 at higher pH of calcifying microenvironment during the synthetic calcium carbonate precipitation. The preliminary experiment of Mg(OH)2 precipitated from artificial seawater shows that heavier 11B is enriched in Mg(OH)2 precipitation, which suggests that isotopically heavier B(OH)3 species incorporated preferentially into Mg(OH)2 precipitation. This result cannot be applied to explain the boron isotopic fractionation of marine bio-carbonate because of the possibility that the unusual environment in this study appears in formation of marine bio-carbonate is infinitesimal. We, however, must pay more attention to this phenomenon observed in this study, which accidentally appears in especially natural environment.     

Measurements by gas chromatography/pyrolysis/mass spectrometry: fundamental conditions in (2)H/(1)H isotope ratio analysis

Gas chromatography/pyrolysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/P/IRMS) is a relatively new method for on-line determination of (2)H/(1)H isotope ratios. The influence of different parameters on the (2)H/(1)H isotope ratios obtained in GC/P/IRMS has been thoroughly studied using several flavor compounds, such as 5-nonanone, linalool, menthol, linalyl acetate and 4-decanolide. The requirement of "conditioning" the pyrolysis reactor to obtain reliable delta(2)H(V-SMOW) values is discussed. Furthermore, the influence of the carrier gas flow of the gas chromatograph on the completeness of pyrolysis and subsequently on the delta(2)H(V-SMOW) values is investigated in detail. The linear range of the compounds investigated is determined. The results show that calibrating the GC/P/IRMS system with secondary standard substances is absolutely necessary in order to obtain reliable delta(2)H(V-SMOW) values. In view of interlaboratory comparability, validation procedures are recommended.     

The International Measurement Evaluation Programme,IMEP-8: carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

In IMEP-8, two samples of high purity CO(2)(g), with different carbon and oxygen isotope ratios were distributed to 27 participants, originating from 14 countries and from various isotopic measurement domains (geochemistry, atmospheric and food chemistry), but particularly set up for food laboratories. In total 19 laboratories reported results. The outcome of this comparison exercise shows that the laboratories reported carbon and oxygen isotope results in good agreement with the reference values across the domains. The reported results for delta(13)C(VPDB) (carbon) for both materials are within 1 per thousand. However, for the reported results of delta(18)O(VPDB) (oxygen) for both materials the overall spread of the reported results is about 11 per thousand. Within this spread two distinct groups of participants can be identified, where the results within each group vary about 2 per thousand. The latter seems to be caused by calculation errors by participants of the reporting delta(18)O(VPDB) values. As requested, participants also reported the isotope amount ratio for carbon and oxygen in the CO(2) samples. For carbon, all reported results for both materials agree with the isotope ratio value, which can be traced back to the value reported by Craig. For oxygen, all results are in good agreement and deviate by a maximum of 0.5% from the reference values measured at IRMM. Work carried out indicates the carbon isotope ratio, for both samples IMEP-8A and IMEP-8B, differ from those reported by Craig by as much as 1.2%. In the case of oxygen, this deviation is far smaller. Both data sets, i.e. the one realised by Craig and the one realised at IRMM, demonstrate traceability to SI. It is clear that both values significantly disagree.     

Column chromatographic boron isotope separation at 5 and 17 MPa with diluted boric acid solution

Boron isotopic fractionation factor (S) between boron taken up in strongly basic anion exchange resin and boron in aqueous solution was determined by breakthrough column chromatography at 5 and 17 MPa at 25 degrees C, using 0.1 mM boric acid solution as feed solution. The S values obtained were 1.018 and 1.012, respectively, which were smaller than the value reported by using the same chromatographic method at the atmospheric pressure at 25 degrees C with the boron concentration of 10mM, but were larger than the values under the same condition with much higher concentration of 100 and 501 mM. Calculations based on the theory of isotope distribution between two phases estimated that 21% (5 MPa) and 47% (17 MPa) of boron taken up in the resin phase was in the three-coordinated B(OH)(3)-form, instead of in the four-coordinated B(OH)(4)-form, at high pressures even with a very diluted boric acid solution. We discussed the present results by introducing (1) hydration and (2) a partial molar volume difference between isotopic molecules. Borate may have been partially dehydrated upon transfer from the solution phase to the resin phase at high pressures, which resulted in smaller S values compared with those at the atmospheric pressure. Instead, it may be possible that the difference in the isotopic partial molar volume difference between B(OH)(3) and B(OH)(4)(-) caused the S value to decrease with increasing pressure.     

Detection of royal jelly adulteration using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis

Stable isotope ratios ((13)C/(12)C and (15)N/(14)N) were measured in royal jelly (RJ) samples by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to evaluate authenticity and adulteration. Carbon and nitrogen isotope contents (given as delta values relative to a standard, delta(13)C, delta(15)N) of RJ samples from various European origins and samples from commercial sources were analyzed. Uniform delta(13)C values from -26.7 to -24.9 per thousand were observed for authentic RJ from European origins. Values of delta(15)N ranged from -1.1 to 5.8 per thousand depending on the plant sources of nectars and pollen. High delta(13)C values of several commercial RJ samples from -20.8 to -13.3 per thousand indicated adulteration with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as a sugar source. Use of biotechnologically produced yeast powder as protein source for the adulterated samples was assumed as delta(15)N values were lower, as described for C(4) or CAM plant sources. RJ samples from authentic and from adulterated production were distinguished. The rapid and reliable method is suitable for urgent actual requirements in food monitoring.     

High-precision determination of 18O/16O ratios of silver phosphate by EA-pyrolysis-IRMS continuous flow technique

A high-precision, and rapid on-line method for oxygen isotope analysis of silver phosphate is presented. The technique uses high-temperature elemental analyzer (EA)-pyrolysis interfaced in continuous flow (CF) mode to an isotopic ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). Calibration curves were generated by synthesizing silver phosphate with a 13 per thousand spread in delta(18)O values. Calibration materials were obtained by reacting dissolved potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH(2)PO(4)) with water samples of various oxygen isotope compositions at 373 K. Validity of the method was tested by comparing the on-line results with those obtained by classical off-line sample preparation and dual inlet isotope measurement. In addition, silver phosphate precipitates were prepared from a collection of biogenic apatites with known delta(18)O values ranging from 12.8 to 29.9 per thousand (V-SMOW). Reproducibility of +/- 0.2 per thousand was obtained by the EA-Py-CF-IRMS method for sample sizes in the range 400-500 microg. Both natural and synthetic samples are remarkably well correlated with conventional (18)O/(16)O determinations. Silver phosphate is a very stable material and easy to degas and, thus, could be considered as a good candidate to become a reference material for the determination of (18)O/(16)O ratios of phosphate by high-temperature pyrolysis.     

Peculiarities of changes of some physicomechanical characteristics of monoisotopes B, B and natural β-boron

Real structure and some physicomechanical characteristics of the samples of natural beta-rhombohedral boron B as well as of its ¹⁰B and ¹¹B monoisotopes have been studied. It was shown that the influence of ¹⁰B and ¹¹B isotopes on physicomechanical properties of boron had a different character. In particular, the samples enriched with ¹¹B had high values of microhardness, shear modulus (SM) and elastic limit if compared to those of boron, while the samples enriched with ¹⁰B monoisotopes were characterized with high values of thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) and thermal conductivity; lattice parameters a and c increased by the sequence: ¹¹B, B, ¹⁰B. It was established that TEC, thermal conductivity, microhardness, SM and shear elastic limit increased in all samples at annealing for 5 h at 1500 °C regardless of isotope content.     

The complex spectrum of a "simple" free radical: the Ã-X̃ band system of the jet-cooled boron difluoride free radical

The near-ultraviolet band system of the jet-cooled boron difluoride free radical has been studied by a combination of laser-induced fluorescence and single vibronic level wavelength resolved emission spectroscopies. The radical was produced in a supersonic discharge jet using a precursor mixture of 1%-3% of BF(3) or (10)BF(3) in high pressure argon. A large number of bands were found in the 340-286 nm region and assigned as transitions from the X?(2)A(1) ground state to the lower Renner-Teller component of the A?(2)Π excited state, based on our previous ab initio potential energy surface predictions, matching the emission spectra Franck-Condon profiles of (11)BF(2) and (10)BF(2), and comparison of observed and calculated boron isotope effects. Several bands have been rotationally analyzed providing ground state structural parameters of r(0)(') (BF) = 1.3102(9) ? and θ(0)(') (FBF) = 119.7(6)°. The ground state totally symmetric vibrational energy levels of both boron isotopologues have also been measured and assigned up to energies of more than 8000 cm(-1). Although BF(2) might be considered to be a "simple" free radical, understanding the details of its electronic spectrum remains a major challenge for both theory and experiment.     

Bis(trifluoroaceto) disulfide (CF3C(O)OSSOC(O)CF3): a HeI photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical study

Bis(trifluoroaceto) disulfide CF(3)C(O)OSSOC(O)CF(3) was prepared and studied by Raman, photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and theoretical calculations. This molecule exhibits gauche conformation with both C=O groups cis to the S-S bond; the structure of the OSSO moiety is characterized by dihedral angle delta(OSSO) = -95.1 degrees due to the sulfur-sulfur lone pair interactions. The contracted S-S bond (1.979 Angstroms) and relatively high rotational barrier (19.29 kcal mol(-1) at the B3LYP/6-31G level) of the delta(OSSO) indicate the partial resonance-induced double bond character in this molecule. After ionization, the ground cationic-radical form of CF(3)C(O)OSSOC(O)CF(3)(*+) adopts a trans planar main-atom structure (delta(OSSO) = 180 degrees and delta(OCOS) = 0 degrees ) with C(2)(h) symmetry. The S-S bond elongates to 2.054 Angstroms, while the S-O bond shortens from 1.755 Angstroms in neutral form to 1.684 Angstroms in its corresponding cationic-radical form. The adiabatic ionization energy of 9.91 eV was obtained accordingly. The first two HOMOs correspond to the electrons mainly localized on the sulfur 3p lone pair MOs: 3ppi {36a (n(A)(S))](-1) and 3ppi [35b (n(B)(S), n(B)(O(C)(=)(O)))](-1), with an experimental energy separation of 0.16 eV. The first vertical ionization energy is determined to be 10.81 eV.     

Influence of dietary composition on the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope ratios of milk

The stable isotope ratios ((13)C/(12)C, (15)N/(14)N, (18)O/(16)O, D/H) of animal feed and milk were investigated, considering cows stabled in two farms and fed with diets made up of different kinds of C(3) plants and different amounts of maize. Maize was characterised by delta(13)C, delta(18)O and deltaD values significantly higher than those of the C(3) plants, while, for the C(3) plants, Festuca arudinacea had significantly higher content of (13)C and (15)N. The delta(13)C and delta(18)O values of the overall diet and the delta(13)C of milk casein and lipids were shown to be significantly correlated with the percentage of maize in the animal diet. On the other hand, the delta(18)O values of milk water and the delta(18)O, deltaD and delta(15)N values of casein were shown to be only slightly influenced by the amount of maize in the feed, being probably more closely correlated with the geo-climatic and pedological characteristics of the area of origin and with the presence of fresh plant or silage in the ration. The delta(13)C value of casein was shown to be a suitable parameter for evaluating the amount of maize in the diet: each 10% increase in the maize content corresponded to a shift of 0.7 per thousand to 1.0 per thousand in the delta(13)C of casein. A threshold value of -23.5 per thousand for delta(13)C in milk casein, above which it is not possible to exclude the presence of maize in the diet, was suggested. The results obtained could be useful for determining mislabelling of dairy products declared to have been produced by pastured animals or of PDO cheeses with an established amount of maize in the diet and for verifying the unpermitted addition of exogenous components to milk.     

GasBench/isotope ratio mass spectrometry: a carbon isotope approach to detect exogenous CO(2) in sparkling drinks

A new procedure for the determination of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (13)C/(12)C isotope ratios, using direct injection into a GasBench/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GasBench/IRMS) system, has been developed to improve isotopic methods devoted to the study of the authenticity of sparkling drinks. Thirty-nine commercial sparkling drink samples from various origins were analyzed. Values of delta(13)C(cava) ranged from -20.30 per thousand to -23.63 per thousand, when C3 sugar addition was performed for a second alcoholic fermentation. Values of delta(13)C(water) ranged from -5.59 per thousand to -6.87 per thousand in the case of naturally carbonated water or water fortified with gas from the spring, and delta(13)C(water) ranged from -29.36 per thousand to -42.09 per thousand when industrial CO(2) was added. It has been demonstrated that the addition of C4 sugar to semi-sparkling wine (aguja) and industrial CO(2) addition to sparkling wine (cava) or water can be detected. The new procedure has advantages over existing methods in terms of analysis time and sample treatment. In addition, it is the first isotopic method developed that allows (13)C/(12)C determination directly from a liquid sample without previous CO(2) extraction. No significant isotopic fractionation was observed nor any influence by secondary compounds present in the liquid phase.     

Determination of isotopic ratio of boron in boric acid using laser mass spectrometry.

A reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RTOFMS) with a laser ablation ion source was used to determine the isotopic ratio of 10B/11B present in boric acid solutions, using graphite as the matrix. The atom % 10B values obtained were within +/-1% of the actual ones. The determination of the boron isotopic ratio using this method is, in comparison to other methods, faster, less expensive and easier to perform. The results are compared with the values determined using thermal ionization mass spectrometry.     

Partial pressure dependency of 17O/16O and 18O/16O of molecular oxygen in the mass spectrometer

A method to determine both (17)O/(16)O and (18)O/(16)O ratios for molecular oxygen with high precision by direct introduction into the mass spectrometer without gas separation is presented. Because both (17)O/(16)O and (18)O/(16)O in mixed gases have good linear correlations with their mixing ratios, these isotopic compositions can be determined without a gas-separation procedure by calibration using prepared standard gases with variable mixed ratios and by monitoring the amounts of fragment ions. Analytical precision for delta(17)O and delta(18)O of 45 and 7 per meg, respectively, were obtained. The observed partial pressure dependency of isotopic composition may be caused by isotope fractionation during admission from the ionization chamber into the flight tube of the mass spectrometer.     

Development and application of stable carbon isotope analysis to the detection of cortisol administration in cattle

The use of anabolic agents in food-producing animals has been prohibited within the EU since 1988. The control of the illegal use of natural steroid hormones in cattle is still an exciting analytical challenge as no definitive method and nonambiguous analytical criteria are available. We have used gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) to demonstrate the administration of cortisol to cattle. The method consisted of an efficient combination between OASIS HLB solid-phase extraction (SPE), oxidation, SiOH SPE and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for glucocorticoid purification. By comparison of the (13)C/(12)C isotopic ratio of the oxidised product of cortisol, i.e. 5 beta-androstane-3,11,17-trione (5 beta AAT), with an endogenous reference compound (ERC), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the differentiation of cortisol metabolite origin, either endogenous or exogenous, has been achieved. After treatment of an animal, the delta(13)C(VPDB) values of 5 beta AAT reached -30 to -32 per thousand, whereas the delta(13)C(VPDB) values of DHEA remained at -25 per thousand. A significant difference in the delta(13)C(VPDB) values between DHEA and 5 beta AAT was measurable over a period of 3 days after a single administration of cortisol to the animal.     

Macropolyhedral boron-containing cluster chemistry. The reversible disassembly and reassembly of the hexagonal pyramidal {B7} feature in the [S2B18H19]- anion

The [S(2)B(18)H(19)](-) anion 1, from syn-B(18)H(22) 2 with NaH and elemental sulfur, has an unusual arachno-type eleven-vertex {SB(10)} subcluster that has an open hexagonal pyramidal {B(7)} structural feature. This is conjoined, with two boron atoms in common, to a second {SB(10)} subcluster of conventional nido eleven-vertex geometry. Protonation of 1 forms neutral [S(2)B(18)H(20)] 4. Subsequent deprotonation of 4 yields the fluxional [S(2)B(18)H(19)](-) anion 5, which is isomeric with 1. Neutral 4and anion 5 do not have the {B(7)} hexagonal pyramidal feature. Neutral 4 consists of conventional nido eleven-vertex {SB(10)} and arachno ten-vertex {SB(9)} subclusters conjoined with a single spiro boron atom in common. Anion 5 is closely related to 4, but with an additional inter-boron intercluster link. Anion 5 spontaneously reverts to anion 1 over a few hours at room temperature, remarkable in that the open {B(7)} hexagonal pyramid is regenerated. DFT B3LYP/6-31G* calculations suggest definitive structures for 4 and 5 that are substantiated by agreement between observed NMR delta((11)B) values and boron nuclear shielding as calculated by the GIAO approach on the DFT-calculated structures. Extension of this approach additionally defines transition states and intermediates for the fluxionality of 5, and also for the reassembly of the starting anion 1, together with its {B(7)} feature, from fluxional 5. The fluxionality of 5 involves the inter-subcluster transfer of a {BH} unit. The reassembly of 1 from 5 involves a DSD rearrangement and two successive hydrogen-atom hops. Confidence in the application of this method to these large macropolyhedral assemblies is afforded in the first instance by good agreement between delta((11)B)(OBS) and delta((11)B)(CALC) for the structurally characterised original anion 1, the only species amongst these to be crystallographically established.