Nafion-based optical sensor for the determination of selenium in water samples

An optical chemical sensor responsive to selenium (SeO₃²⁻) in water samples was developed. Its matrix was nafion membrane suffused with an organic ligand p-amino-p’-methoxydiphenylamine or variamine blue (VB). The method of analysis was flow injection (FI) where in the membrane was fixed in a flow-through demountable measuring cell and connected to a computer-controlled simple spectrophotometer.

Variamine blue was previously established to determine amounts of selenium in water and other media by means of a spectrophotometer. The method involved reacting selenite with potassium iodide to generate iodine gas, which reacts with variamine blue to form a colored species.

Experimental results showed the optrode to be an effective tool in analyzing the selenium content of water samples particularly for remote or in situ applications. Interference studies proved that the method is free of intervention from tested ions.     

Determination of glucose in wine and fruit juice based on a fibre-optic glucose biosensor and flow-injection analysis

A flow-injection system for the determination of glucose in various samples using a glucose biosensor based on an oxygen optrode with immobilized glucose oxidase (GOD) is described. The consumption of oxygen was determined via dynamic quenching of the fluorescence of an indicator by molecular oxygen. GOD was adsorbed on a sheet of carbon black and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. Carbon black was used as an optical isolation to protect the optrode from interference from ambient light and sample fluorescence. The system is linear for 0.1–500 mM glucose, with an r.s.d. of 2% at 100 mM (5 measurements). The application of the system to glucose in wine and fruit juice is demonstrated. It was possible to analyse up to 60 samples per hour. The enzyme optrode was stable for more than 400 h in continuous use and was easily maintained.     

Sequential flow injection determination of iodate and periodate with spectrophotometric detection

A flow injection (FI) system is described for the sequential determination of periodate and iodate based on their reaction with iodide at pH 3.5. Two sample plugs were injected into the same carrier stream sequentially. One injection is for the iodate determination and the other for the sum of iodate and periodate determination. For iodate determination, molybdate solution buffered at pH of 3.5 was used for selective masking of periodate. The influences of reagent concentrations were studied by a univariable method and the influence of FI manifolds was studied using univariable and simplex method. Periodate and iodate can be determined in the range of 0.050-5.0 and 0.050-10 microg/ml, respectively. The 3 sigma limit of detection was 0.030 and 0.050 microg/ml for periodate and iodate, respectively. The proposed method has been applied for the sequential determinations of periodate and iodate in water samples.     

Evaluation of a reagent-injection flow injection technique for sample background absorption elimination: determination of chloride in cigarettes

The applicability of reagent-injection flow injection (FI) technique in elimination of background absorption was evaluated by using the FI determination of water-soluble chloride in cigarettes, based on the mercury thiocyanate method, as a model. Some parameters of the proposed reagent-injection FI method were optimized and the proposed procedure had a linear range of 0-7.5 mg l(-1) Cl, a detection limit of 0.02 mg l(-1) Cl, a sampling rate of 60 h(-1) and a relative standard deviation of 0.1% at 5 mg l(-1) Cl. Eight cigarette samples were analyzed by this proposed reagent-injection FI method and the referential membrane dialysis FI procedure. The relative errors were <4.3%, and paired t-test shows that there are no significant differences between these two methods. As no dialysis unit was needed, the reagent-injection FI method has much simpler flow system than the existed CFA and FI methods.     

Electrophoretic separations with polyether ether ketone capillaries and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

The Raipore R1030 membrane, an anion-exchange membrane containing ammonium groups as ionogenic groups, was evaluated as the interface of an optical sensor for Cr(VI), and the effect of chemical parameters affecting Cr(VI) transport were studied. Good transport features were obtained, demonstrating the suitability of the Raipore R1030 membrane for this application. Thus, an optical sensor for chromium(VI) monitoring in industrial process waters was developed. The sensor is based on the renewable reagent approach and uses the Raipore R1030 membrane as the interface between the sample and the sensor head, which contains 1,5-diphenylcarbazide as spectrophotometric reagent for chromium. Chromium(VI) crosses the membrane and reacts with the reagent inside the sensor head, resulting in changes in the absorption of light. These changes are monitored in situ through a system of optical fibers. The sensor performance was tested by analysing samples from a waste water treatment plant for effluents from electroplating industries.     

Polymeric encapsulated membrane for optrodes

Highly efficient and simple reagent immobilisation procedure for an optrode membrane has been developed. The preparation procedure combines two well-known physical immobilisation procedures, viz. adsorption and encapsulation techniques, applied sequentially which, in turn, produce a combined optical sensing layer. The sensitive polymeric encapsulated membrane (PEM) contains the polymeric resin, which can adsorb a large amount of indicator dye, encapsulated within porous polymeric structure. The procedure has been tested in the preparation of a pH sensor.     

On-line precipitation–dissolution in knotted reactor for thermospray flame furnace AAS for determination of ultratrace cadmium

A simple, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and sensitive method was developed for the determination of trace cadmium in rice and water by using flow injection (FI) on-line precipitation–dissolution in a knotted reactor (KR) as a preconcentration scheme for thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS). The preconcentration was achieved by online merging the sample solution and the precipitating reagent in a KR and subsequently eluting the resultant precipitate of cadmium hydroxide with 1 mol/L HNO₃. The eluant was then introduced into TS-FF-AAS for the determination. A self-assembled FI system was employed to hyphenate the KR system with TS-FF-AAS. Under optimal chemical and instrumental conditions, a limit of detection of 0.04 μg/L and a sensitivity enrichment factor of 34 for cadmium was obtained with a total initial sample volume of 4 mL. The proposed method was applied to the determination of cadmium in certified reference rice and water samples with analytical results in good agreement with their certified values. Real rice samples and real water samples were also determined by the proposed method, with analytical results confirmed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS).     

A calcium-selective optrode based on fluorimetric measurement of membrane potential

An ion-selective optrode for the continuous determination of calcium ions is presented. It is based on measurement of the fluorescence intensity of a potential-sensitive dye (the C-18 ester of rhodamine B) incorporated into a lipid membrane constructed by the Langmuir-Blodgett film technique. The membrane potential depends on the calcium ion concentration in the sample solution, when a calcium-selective ionophore (ETH 1001) is incorporated into the lipid membrane. The fluorescence of the potential-sensitive dye is reduced with increasing calcium ion concentrations. Interferences by other cations can be compensated for by using a reference optrode. The relation between the negative logarithm of the calcium ion concentration and the decrease in relative fluorescence is linear over the range 0.1–10 mM calcium and can be described by an optical “Nernst” equation. The selectivity factors over magnesium, sodium and potassium are better than 1×10⁵ when the reference optrode is used. The maximal signal change caused by 10 mM calcium ion is ?8%. The membranes are stable for more than six months when stored in the dark. The analytical data are compared with those obtained with potassium- and sodium-selective optrodes, and the photophysical principles underlying the selective and unselective responses are discussed.     

A simple flow injection spectrophotometric determination of nitrite based on its reaction with thiourea.

A simple flow injection spectrophotometric method for the determination of nitrite is described. Nitrite injected into the flow system reacts with thiourea in acidic medium and the generated thiocyanate ion reacts with Fe(III) in the reagent solution to produce a highly colored product. The influences of chemical and physical parameters including reagent concentrations, sample volume injected, flow rates of the carrier and reagent solutions, reaction coil length and reaction temperature, were studied and optimum values of these parameters were established. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve for nitrite was linear over the concentration range 0.36 - 90 microg ml(-1) without preconcentration and over the range 3.8 - 500 ng ml(-1) with a simple online preconcentration step using an anion exchange column. The corresponding detection limits were 0.36 micro ml(-1) and 3.8 ng ml(-1), respectively. Up to 25 samples can be analyzed per hour, with an average relative standard deviation of < or = 1.2%. Interferences by various foreign ions were studied and the method was applied to the determination of nitrite in water and spiked water samples.     

A flow injection analysis technique for the determination of chloride using reflectance detection

A flow injection (FI) determination for chloride has been developed using the light reflectance of the precipitate formed by the reaction of chloride with silver(I) as the method of detection rather than turbidimetry, as in the previous FI method using this reaction. The dynamic range of the analysis is increased to 0-10 mM chloride with a 10 mM silver(I) reagent and to 0-50 mM chloride with a 50 mM silver(I) reagent by using this mode of detection. The ability to select the injected reagent from an option of two concentrations via the control program is incorporated into the FI system, enhancing the versatility of the analysis. The dynamic range is further extended to 100 mM chloride by measuring the signal levels at the trailing portion of the response curve. The consumption of reagent is kept to a minimum by merging injected zones of sample and reagent instead of using a constant reagent stream.     

Polymeric encapsulated membrane for optrodes

Highly efficient and simple reagent immobilisation procedure for an optrode membrane has been developed. The preparation procedure combines two well-known physical immobilisation procedures, viz. adsorption and encapsulation techniques, applied sequentially which, in turn, produce a combined optical sensing layer. The sensitive polymeric encapsulated membrane (PEM) contains the polymeric resin, which can adsorb a large amount of indicator dye, encapsulated within porous polymeric structure. The procedure has been tested in the preparation of a pH sensor. Received: 17 November 1998 / Revised: 5 February 1999 / Accepted: 17 February 1999     

Flow-injection coulometric titrations

A flow-injection analysis technique based on stop flow coulometric titrations is described, utilizing a gradient chamber, reagent generation chamber, and detector flow cell integrated into a single unit. The use of stop flow allowed for automated sample dilution up to a factor of 100 times. The system has been used to titrate samples of sodium hydroxide in the range 5 x 10(-4)-4M, and nitric acid ranging from 5 x 10(-3)-15M. Analyses over the entire range of concentrations yielded a relative standard deviation of less than 3%. A correlation coefficient of 0.999 was obtained for all comparisons with manual titrations. Remote spectrophotometric detection was performed with optical fibers. No frit or membrane is required to separate the generating and counter electrodes within the system, yet the advantages of conventional coulometric titration, which eliminate the problems of reagent and calibration solution handling, storage or degradation, are retained.     

利用荧光能量转移设计高灵敏苦味酸光极膜

利用荧光能量转移设计高灵敏苦味酸光极膜王柯敏，曾恚恚，俞汝勤（湖南大学化学化工系，长沙，４１００８２）关键词荧光能量转移，光极，苦味酸基于稠环芳烃荧光熄灭的苦味酸光极膜［１ａ，２］在选择性方面优于传统苦味酸根离子电极，较适于实际应用，但在检测低浓度苦...     

Combination of flow injection with capillary electrophoresis: 8. Miniaturized capillary electrophoresis system with flow injection sample introduction and electrogenerated chemiluminescence detection

The combined flow injection (FI)-capillary electrophoresis (CE) system was further exploited by coupling to an electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) detection system. A low-cost miniaturized CE system was developed on a chip platform to provide easy interface both with FI sample introduction and with ECL detection. A falling-drop interface was employed to perform FI split-flow sample introduction while achieving electrical isolation from the CE high voltage. A plexiglas reservoir at the capillary outlet served as both the reaction and detection cell for the ECL reaction, with Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ reagent continuously flowing through the cell. An optical fiber was positioned within the reservoir close to the capillary outlet for transferring the ECL emission to the PMT. The relative positions of the capillary outlet, working electrode and optical fiber as well as reagent renewal flow-rate were optimized to achieve both good sensitivity and separation efficiency under non-interrupted sampling conditions, involving large numbers of samples. An on-column joint often used in other works for isolating the ECL detection system from the CE separation voltage was not found necessary. The performance of the system was illustrated by the baseline separation of proline, valine and phenylalanine with a high throughput of 50 h⁻¹ and plate height of 14 μm for proline under 147 V cm⁻¹ field strength. Detection limits (3σ) were 1.2, 50 and 25 μM and peak height precisions were 1.4, 5.4 and 4.3% R.S.D. (n=9) for proline, valine and phenylalanine, respectively.     

Development of method for determination and preconcentration of uranium in water samples using XAD-4 resin loaded with Br-PADAP

In the present work, a minicolumn of XAD-4 loaded with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)-phenol (Br-PADAP) is proposed as a preconcentration system for uranium determination in well, tap and mineral water samples by spectrophotometer using arsenazo III as the chromogenic reagent. Initially, a two-level (2³) full factorial design was used for the preliminary evaluation of three factors, involving the following variables: sampling flow rate, elution flow rate, and pH. This design has revealed that, for the studied levels, buffer concentration and pH were significant factors. When the experimental conditions established in the optimization step were pH = 8.6, and an elution flow rate of 8.6 mL min^?1 using 0.5% m/v ascorbic acid, this system has allowed for the determination of uranium with a detection limit (LOD) (3σ/S) of 0.05 μg L^?1 and a quantification limit (LOQ) (10σ/S) of 0.16 μg L^?1. The precision expressed as the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 0.8% and 1.9% at 10.0 and 1.0 μg L^?1, respectively- and a preconcentration factor of 184.5 for a sample volume of 50.0 mL. Accuracy was confirmed by uranium determination in the standard reference material, NIST SRM 1566b trace element units in Oyster Tissue samples, and spike tests with recuperations ranging from 93.2 to 105%; the procedure were applied for uranium determination in tap water, well water, and drinking water samples collected from Caetité and Cruz das Almas Cities, Bahia, Brazil. Five water samples were analyzed the uranium concentrations varied from 0.50 to 2.07 μg L^?1     

Determination of Nitrite,Phosphate, and Silicate by Valveless Continuous Analysis with a Bubble-Free Flow Cell and Spectrophotometric Detection

A continuous flow analysis system, composed of a 1.2-cm laboratory-made antibubble flow cell and a spectrophotometer, was established. The system was evaluated for the determination of nitrite, phosphate, and silicate. Different from flow injection analysis and other flow analysis modes, an injection or multiposition valve was not needed. Even better, the system was free from interferences from air bubbles without the use of a debubbler device or electronic bubble gate. Without the formation of air bubbles, the chemical reaction was accelerated using a water bath. The experimental parameters for nutrient analysis, including reagent concentration, flow strategy, flow rate, and reaction temperature, were optimized based on a univariate experimental design. The carry-over effect was comprehensively evaluated and may be ignored using this protocol. The established system and analytical methods were especially suitable for laboratories with only basic instruments and limited budgets. The system had the advantages of high sample throughput (>60?h^?1); great convenience without valve utilization; long linear dynamic ranges (0.2–80?µM for nitrite, 0.3–14?µM for phosphate, and 0.5–120?µM for silicate); low detection limits (0.06?µM for nitrite, 0.08?µM for phosphate, and 0.11?µM for silicate); and high recovery values (91.5?±?1.01 to 108.7?±?3.18%). In addition to water samples, national reference materials were analyzed, and the results were in good agreement with the certified values.     

A Multi‐Element Flow Injection System for Heavy Metals Determination

Abstract

A multi‐element flow injection (FI) system with spectrophotometric detection was developed for sequential determination of Zn(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II). Dithizone reagent was used for the previously mentioned analytes and it was prepared on line by using a solid reagent column (SRC). Bear in mind that the most hazardous elements for environmental contamination are lead, cadmium, and mercury; a multi‐element FI system with preconcentration steps is proposed to determine their trace levels in natural waters. Results obtained for different samples agreed satisfactorily with those obtained by the reference method inductively coupled plasma‐atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES). Detection limits were 5.4, 5.0 and 14 µg L^?1 for Cd(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II), respectively. The percent of relative standard deviation (RSD) was better than 4.5% for each one.     

Micro flow injection analysis combined with a separation technique for the urinary glucose assay.

A urinary glucose assay has been investigated, employing a micro flow injection analysis (microFIA) combined with a separation technique of glucose from the analyte. The adsorption part using activated alumina for the glucose in the analyte can be successively integrated onto a microFI chip. The selective adsorption-desorption of glucose in the artificial urine can progress on the adsorption part. Along with this selective preconcentration of glucose, the typical FI peak of glucose can be obtained just by feeding the sample and deionized water as an elutant sandwiched with the reagent on the carrier stream. The glucose concentration in artificial urine can be quantitatively determined with the present microFIA system, while the interference of other components coexisting in urine occurs in the case of the conventional FIA system without any separation part. The described method serves as a template for improving the selectivity for the analyte in the multi-component system.     

Flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of phenolic drugs and carbamate pesticides by coupling with diazotized 2,4,6-trimethylaniline.

A flow-injection (FI) spectrophotometric system is proposed for the determination of phenols and carbamates. In the FI manifolds, the solutions of phenols or carbamates (the latter after hydrolysis with NaOH) were injected into a diazonium ion carrier stream at pH 9.5 (buffered with tetrahydroborate), which was formed by mixing 2,4,6-trimethylaniline (TMA) with nitrate in a sodium dodecyl sulfate aqueous micellar medium. Absorbance was measured at 550 nm. The system combines the advantages derived from the use of TMA for the coupling of phenols in basic micellar media, because of the inhibition of the self-coupling reaction of the reagent, with the precision and speed of the FI procedures. Other diazotized reagents produced excessive blank signals. The procedures were successfully applied to the determination of phenolic drugs (epinephrine, acetaminophen, and gualacol) in pharmaceuticals and carbamates (bendiocarb, benfuracarb, carbaryl, carbofuran, methiocarb, promecarb, and propoxur) in pesticide products and water samples.     

Capillary electrophoresis system with flow injection sample introduction and chemiluminescence detection on a chip platform

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) system with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was combined with flow injection (FI) sample introduction on a chip platform. A falling-drop interface was applied to perform FI split-flow sample introduction while achieving electrical isolation from the CE high voltage. A tubular reservoir at the capillary outlet served as both the CL reaction and detection cell for the luminol-peroxide-metallic ion chemiluminescent reaction, with the luminol included in the separation buffer and CL reagent H2O2 continuously introduced into the outlet reservoir. An optical fiber was positioned within the outlet reservoir directly opposite, and 300 microns away from, the capillary outlet for collecting and transferring the generated CL to the PMT. The peak height signals and the separation efficiency were almost independent of the reagent flow-rate, making the system a robust one. The performance of the system was illustrated by the separation of Co(II) and Cu(II), achieving baseline separation in 60 s. Detection limits (3 sigma) were 1.25 x 10(-8) and 2.3 x 10(-6) mol dm-3 for Co(II) and Cu(II), respectively. Peak height precision was 1.9% RSD (n = 9) at the 10(-7) mol dm-3 Co level.