A multicommutated flow system for determination of bismuth in milk shakes by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry incorporating on-line neutralization of waste effluent

A highly sensitive method was developed for determination of bismuth in milk shakes by multicommutation hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) based on off-line sonication for 10 min with aqua regia 8% (v/v) and on-line waste treatment. The instrumentation and chemistry variables were studied in order to provide the best performance. The limit of detection in the original samples, established for a probability level of 99.6% (k = 3), was 1.67 ng/g Bi. The method provides a fast alternative in control analysis with a sampling throughput of 72 h as compared with 31 h obtained by the classical continuous measurement. Additionally, multicommutation reduces waste generation by a factor of 2.6. The consumption of sample, reductant, and blank, as compared with continuous mode HG-AFS, was reduced 9.6, 4.5, and 13.3 times, respectively. To confirm the accuracy of the method, recovery studies were performed, and excellent agreement between multicommutation and continuous measurement-based values was obtained. Application of the developed methodology for bismuth determination in milk shake samples from the Spanish market provided concentrations ranging from 4.2 to 15.0 ng/mL, and good comparability with data obtained by continuous measurements after microwave-assisted total digestion of samples for a 95% probability level and 12 degrees of freedom was found.     

On-line preconcentration and determination of cobalt by DPTH-gel chelating microcolumn and flow injection inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

This paper reports the development of a new methodology for the determination of cobalt in biological samples by using a flow injection system with loaded DPTH-gel as solid phase to preconcentrate analytes. The procedure is based on the on-line preconcentration of cobalt on a microcolumn of 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridyl)methylene thiocarbohydrazide immobilized on silica gel (DPTH-gel). The trapped cobalt is then eluted with 1% tartaric acid and 1% citric acid (7.1 mL) and determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The analytical figures of merit for the determination of cobalt are as follows: detection limit (3S), 8.5 ng mL^–1; precision (RSD), 5.8% for 100 ng mL^–1 of cobalt; enrichment factor, 13 (using 7.3 mL of sample); sampling frequency, 40 h^–1 using a 60-s preconcentration time. For a 120-s preconcentration time (14.6 mL of sample volume) a detection limit of 5.7 ng mL^–1, an RSD under 5% at 50 ng mL^–1, an enrichment factor of 25, and a sampling frequency of 24 h^–1 were reported. The precision and accuracy of the method were checked by analysis of biological certified reference materials.     

A tandem-flow assembly for the chemiluminometric determination of hydroquinone

A direct chemiluminescent procedure for determination of hydroquinone based on the emergent flow methodology known as multicommutation or tandem-flow is presented for first time. The manifold was based on a set of three channels and three solenoid valves; and, the determination was performed at 60 °C and at flow-rate of 7.5 ml min⁻¹. The complete cycle lasted 35 s, which resulted in a sample flow trough of 103 h⁻¹. The chemical process was the hydroquinone oxidation with the system sulphuric acid-potassium permanganate; and the light emission was clearly enhanced by the presence of quinine sulphate and benzalkonium chloride reaching a detection limit of 30 μg l⁻¹. The dynamic interval was over the range 0.1-15.0 mg l⁻¹ and a large list of interferents were assayed; the chemical robustness was also tested. The method was applied to different type of samples: namely, pharmaceutical formulations, a photographic solution and irrigation and residual superficial waters.     

New flow-multicommutation method for the photo-chemiluminometric determination of the carbamate pesticide asulam

This paper deals with a straightforward automated method for the determination of asulam in water based on the use of a flow manifold including three computer-controlled solenoid valves. The method involves irradiating on an aqueous solution of asulam in glycine buffer at pH 8.3 with UV light during 90 s, then follows the oxidation with potassium permanganate in a sulphuric medium and chemiluminescence-based detection of the resulting photoproducts. The limit of detection thus achieved is 40 μg l⁻¹. The detector response is linear up to a 5 mg l⁻¹ asulam concentration and the throughput is 30 samples h⁻¹. In parallel tests, oxidation with alkaline ferricyanide was also assessed and the results compared (sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility) with those from oxidation with potassium permanganate in acidic medium. The use of a flow based on solenoid valves results in substantial reagent savings and constitutes a further extension of clean chemistry procedures. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first chemiluminescence-based determination of asulam and also the first based on multicommutation analysis.     

Multicommutation ATR-FTIR: determination of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate in detergent formulations

The mechanization of attenuated total reflectance measurements (ATR) in Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR) through the use of multicommutation has been evaluated in order to reduce the sample consumption and waste generation also avoiding risks of cells breaking. A new multicommutation ATR-FTIR procedure has been proposed for the determination of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) in liquid detergent formulations. The main advantages of this method are the low consumption of sample (96 ml per 100 determinations) and the analytical throughput (23 h⁻¹ versus 15 h⁻¹ for the manual mode). Results obtained for reference samples containing 7.52% to 9.52% (w/w) of AOS are in the 0.5% (w/w) error range, with a mean precision of 0.3% RSD. Recovery studies evidence the accuracy of the method, with average values around 100%. It was evaluated the possibilities of ATR-FTIR analysis of different types of liquid samples like beer, orange juice, milk and olive oil, showing the great versatility and applications of this approach to improve sample introduction and cell cleaning.     

Determination of ultratrace bismuth in milk samples by atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A sensitive procedure was developed for determination of bismuth (Bi) in milk samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) after microwave-assisted sample digestion with HNO3 and H2O2. The method provides a sensitivity of 1832 fluorescence units (ng/mL) with a detection limit of 0.01 ng/mL, which corresponds to 20 pg absolute limit of detection, equivalent to 0.50 ng/g in the original sample. Application of the methodology to cow milk samples from the Spanish market showed the presence of Bi at a concentration of 11.8-28.8 ng/g, which compared well with data obtained after dry ashing of samples and with data obtained by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after microwave-assisted digestion.     

Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of ultratraces of selenium and tellurium in cow milk

A sensitive procedure has been developed for selenium and tellurium determination in milk by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) after microwave-assisted sample digestion. The method provides sensitivity values of 1591 and 997 fluorescence units ng⁻¹ ml⁻¹ with detection limits of 0.005 and 0.015 ng ml⁻¹ for Se and Te, respectively. The application of the developed methodology to the analysis of cow milk samples of the Spanish market evidenced the presence of concentration ranges from 11.1 to 26.0 ng ml⁻¹ for Se, and from 1.04 to 9.7 ng ml⁻¹ for Te having found a good comparability with data obtained after dry-ashing of samples.     

Determination of phenols in waters using micro-pumped multicommutation and spectrophotometric detection: an automated alternative to the standard procedure

An automated and greener spectrophotometric procedure has been developed for the determination of phenol in water at 700 nm. The method uses the reaction between phenol, sodium nitroprusside, and hydroxylamine hydrochloride in a buffered medium at pH 12.3. The flow manifold comprises four solenoid micro-pumps employed for sample and reagent introduction into the reaction coil and to transport the colored product formed to the detector. The linear dynamic range was 50–3,500 ng mL⁻¹ (R = 0.99997; n = 6) and the method provided a limit of detection (3σ) of 13 ng mL⁻¹. The sampling throughput was estimated to be 65 measurements per hour and the coefficient of variation was 0.5% (n = 10) for a 1.0 μg mL⁻¹ phenol concentration. Recoveries of 92–105% were obtained for phenol determination in spiked water samples at concentration levels from 50 to 5,000 ng mL⁻¹. The use of multicommutation reduced the reagent consumption 25-fold, the sample consumption 225-fold, and the waste generation 30-fold compared with the batch procedure. The proposed method is an environmentally friendly alternative to the official 4-aminoantipyrine method since it avoids the use of chloroform.     

Flow injection on-line preconcentration coupled to hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry for ultra-trace amounts of cadmium determination in seawater

A simple flow injection on line separation and preconcentration system coupled to hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) was developed for ultra-trace cadmium determination in seawater. With the sample pH kept at 3.0, the preconcentration of cadmium on the inner walls of the knotted reactor was carried out based on the retention of cadmium complex with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoylpyrazol-5-one. A 0.2 mol L⁻¹ HCl was introduced to elute the retained analyte complex and merge with KBH₄ solution for HG-AFS detection. Under the optimal experimental conditions, an enhancement factor of 12 was obtained with a sample consumption of 12.0 mL. The limit of detection was 3.2 ng L⁻¹ with a sample frequency of 24 h⁻¹. The developed method was validated by the analysis of cadmium in certified reference materials, and was applied to the determination of cadmium in four seawater samples with R.S.D. of around 10%. Correspondence: Hong Wu, Department of Chemistry, Xuzhou Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, P.R. China     

TIRF-based biosensor for sensitive detection of progesterone in milk based on ultra-sensitive progesterone detection in water

We report on recent advances of our immunoassay for the hormone progesterone in cows milk. Detection is based on total internal reflectance fluorescence (TIRF), the binding-inhibition assay with an immobilized progesterone derivative, and a commercially available monoclonal antibody to progesterone as biological recognition element. The fully automated River Analyzer (RIANA) biosensor for unattended, cost-effective, and continuous monitoring of environmental pollution therefore was adapted for sensitive determination of progesterone in milk. First, the sensitivity and robustness of the existing progesterone assay for water analysis were improved, resulting in a detection limit (LOD) of only 0.2 pg mL^–1 and a quantification limit (LOQ) of only 2.0 pg mL^–1. These extraordinary results are the lowest detection and quantification limits for progesterone determination using biosensors yet reported in the literature. Second, the accurate indicator of ovulation was calibrated and detected in three different types of milk (UHT milk, fresh milk, and raw milk). For commercial milk and randomly procured raw milk nominal levels of progesterone are typically in the range 5–15 ng mL^–1. Limits of detection (LOD) achieved for added progesterone (i.e. spiked samples) were between 45.5 and 56.1 pg mL^–1 depending on milk type. Having in mind the 1:10 dilution factor, these results are still a success. For the first time a commercially available antibody was incorporated into an immunoassay for progesterone detection in bovine milk, giving a detection limit below 1 ng mL^–1 for a fully automated biosensor. Thus the outstanding progress made with this biosensor in environmental monitoring and water analysis has now been successfully adapted to milk analysis for use in the field of reproduction management.Dedicated to the memory of Wilhelm Fresenius.     

Determination of some selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Summary Analytical methods for the determination in environmental samples, of some selected Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH's), which are included on the EPA Priority Pollutant list, have been developed and evaluated. The methodology involves the extraction of PAH's from water samples by solvent extraction with dichloromethane. Solid samples were ultrasonically extracted with acetone/hexane and the extract was cleaned up on a silica gel/alumina column. The concentrated and cleaned up extracts were analysed by HPLC on a polymeric C₁₈ column using a gradient of acetonitrile/water as the mobile phase and fluorescence detection. Typical detection limits lie in the range of 1–30 ng ml^–1 of the analytes, but after sample pretreatment detection limits of 10–300 ng l^–1 were obtained. The extraction, clean-up and HPLC methodology was applied to the determination of selected PAH's in coal washings samples and the method was validated by the quantification of PAH's in a natural contaminated and a spiked sediment.     

A clean method for flow injection spectrophotometric determination of cyclamate in table sweeteners

A flow system based on the multicommutation is proposed for fast and clean determination of cyclamate. The procedure exploits the reaction of cyclamate with nitrite in acidic medium and the spectrophotometric determination of the excess of nitrite by iodometry. The flow system was designed with a set of solenoid micro-pumps to minimize reagent consumption and waste generation. The detection limit was estimated as 30 μmol L⁻¹ (99.7% confidence level) with linear response ranging up to 3.0 mmol L⁻¹. The coefficient of variation was estimated as 1.7% for a solution containing 2.0 mmol L⁻¹ cyclamate (n = 20). About 60 samples can be analyzed per hour, consuming only 3 mg KI and 1.3 μg NaNO₂, and generating 2.0 mL of effluent per determination, thus providing an environmentally friendly alternative to previously proposed procedures. Common artificial and natural sweeteners did not interfere when present in concentrations 10-times higher than cyclamate. The procedure was successfully applied for determination of cyclamate in artificial table sweeteners with results in agreement with the reference method at the 95% confidence level.     

Cold vapour atomic fluorescence determination of mercury in milk by slurry sampling using multicommutation

A highly sensitive mechanized method has been developed for the determination of mercury in milk by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). Samples were sonicated for 10 min in an ultrasound water bath in the presence of 8% (v/v) aqua regia, 2% (v/v) antifoam A and 1% (m/v) hydroxilamine hydrochloride, and after that, they were treated with 8 mmol l⁻¹ KBr and 1.6 mmol l⁻¹ KBrO₃ in an hydrochloric medium. Atomic fluorescence measurements were made by multicommutation, which provides a fast alternative in quality control analysis, due to the easy treatment of a large number of samples (approximately 70 h⁻¹), and is an environmentally friendly procedure, which involves a waste generation of only 94.5 ml h⁻¹ as compared with the 605 ml h⁻¹ obtained by using continuous AFS measurements. The limit of detection found was 0.011 ng g⁻¹ Hg in the original sample. The method provided a relative standard deviation of 3.4% for five independent analysis of a sample containing 0.30 ng g⁻¹ Hg. To validate the accuracy of the method, a certified reference material NIST-1459 (non-fat milk powder) containing 0.3±0.2 ng g⁻¹ Hg was analysed and a value of 0.27±0.06 ng g⁻¹ Hg was found. A comparison made between data found by the developed procedure and those obtained by microwave-assisted digestion and continuous AFS measurements evidenced a good comparability between these two strategies. Results obtained for commercially available milk samples varied between 0.09 and 0.61 ng g⁻¹ Hg depending on the type of sample and its origin. The confluence of the analytical waste with a 6 mol l⁻¹ NaOH allowed us to reduce the waste generation in a working session from 1 l to 5 g solid residue with a matrix of Fe(OH)₃ which contributes to the deactivation of traces of heavy metals presents in the samples that does not form volatile hydrides.     

Determination of arsenic and antimony in milk by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A highly sensitive procedure has been developed for total arsenic and antimony determination in milk samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry after microwave-assisted sample digestion. The discrete introduction of 2 ml of digested sample in the automated continuous flow hydride generation system allows us to reduce drastically the sample and HCl consume and to determine several elements from a same sample digestion. The method provides detection limits of 0.006 and 0.003 ng ml⁻¹, a sensitivity of 2390 and 2840 fluorescence units per ng ml⁻¹ for As and Sb respectively, and average relative standard deviation of 2.3% for As and 4.8% for Sb. The analysis of cow milk samples, obtained from the Spanish market evidenced the presence of As at concentration levels from 3.4 to 11.6 ng g⁻¹ and Sb levels from 3.5 to 11.9 ng g⁻¹, thus in a proportion near to 1:1, which is in contrast with the 10:1 natural ratio between As and Sb and could evidence the effect of the introduction of new alloys and polymer materials in the industrial process of milk. The method was validated by the comparison of data found for commercial samples by using the proposed procedure and reference methods based on dry-ashing and AFS, and microwave-assisted digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination.     

Ultratrace determination of mercury in water following EN and EPA standards using atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Chemical vapour generation has been used in combination with atomic fluorescence spectrometry to determine mercury at ultratrace concentrations down to 0.1 ng L^–1. A time-based injection of 1 mL of solution for measurement was sufficient to generate a steady-state detector response in the direct mode of measurement. The detection limit calculated from a ten-point calibration curve according to DIN 32645 was 0.26 ng L^–1. Instrument noise is limited by reflected radiation from the light source rather than by the dark current of the photomultiplier. The detection limit is directly influenced by the reagent blank which was 2 ng L^–1 in the experiments described. Focusing by amalgamation and subsequent thermal desorption generates a detector response which is about eight times higher in peak intensity and about twice as large in integrated intensity. The detection limit under these conditions is 0.09 ng L^–1 which can be further improved by preconcentration of larger volumes of solution for measurement. The cycle time for one individual reading is about 40 s without amalgamation and 125 s with amalgamation. The linear dynamic range of the system is five orders of magnitude with a single photomultiplier gain setting. The carry-over is less than 0.3% in direct measurement mode. Reference water samples and a surface water containing approximately 5 ng L^–1 were used to prove the validity of the method for real samples. Good accuracy and recoveries of 103% were calculated using the fast direct determination technique.     

Multicommutation cold vapour atomic fluorescence determination of Hg in water

A multicommutation-based method has been developed for the on-line direct atomic fluorescence spectrometric (AFS) determination of Hg in waters without any previous sample treatment. The performance of the proposed procedure has been compared with that of a conventional AFS system based on continuous mode measurements. In short, the use of multicommutation, together with a reduction of the size of the liquid-gas phase separator, provides an increase of the laboratory productivity by improving the sample throughput by a factor of 3.6 and strongly reduces the sample consumed by a factor of 6 and reagent consumed by a factor of 8.4. The waste generation is reduced by a factor of 2.4 and the Ar consumed by a factor of 6, thus the developed method is an environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to the methodology based on continuous measurements, without any reduction of the analytical sensitivity and with an enhancement of the repeatability of measurements. Only the limit of detection was poorer for the methodology developed (1.3 ng l⁻¹) than that found by the classical continuous mode (0.3 ng l⁻¹). The aforementioned methodologies were applied to the determination of Hg in water samples having obtained comparable values by both procedures and with those found by an external laboratory.     

Photochemical-chemiluminometric determination of aldicarb in a fully automated multicommutation based flow-assembly

A sensitive and fully automated method for determination of aldicarb in technical formulations (Temik) and mineral waters is proposed. The automation of the flow-assembly is based on the multicommutation approach, which uses a set of solenoid valves acting as independent switchers. The operating cycle for obtaining a typical analytical transient signal can be easily programmed by means of a home-made software running in the Windows environment. The manifold is provided with a photoreactor consisting of a 150 cm long × 0.8 mm i.d. piece of PTFE tubing coiled around a 20 W low-pressure mercury lamp. The determination of aldicarb is performed on the basis of the iron(III) catalytic mineralization of the pesticide by UV irradiation (150 s), and the chemiluminescent (CL) behavior of the photodegradated pesticide in presence of potassium permanganate and quinine sulphate as sensitizer. UV irradiation of aldicarb turns the very week chemiluminescent pesticide into a strongly chemiluminescent photoproduct. The method is linear over the range 2.2-100.0 μg l⁻¹ of aldicarb; the limit of detection is 0.069 μg l⁻¹; the reproducibility (as the R.S.D. of 20 peaks of a 24 μg l⁻¹ solution) is 3.7% and the sample throughput is 17 h⁻¹.     

On-line organoselenium interference removal for inorganic selenium species by flow injection coprecipitation preconcentration coupled with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

The existence of dimethylselenium (DMSe) and dimethyldiselenium (DMDSe) in some environmental samples can cause serious interference on Se(IV) determination by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) due to their contribution on HG-response. A flow injection separation and preconcentration system coupled to HG-AFS was therefore developed by on-line coprecipitation in a knotted reactor (KR) for eliminating interference subjected from organoselenium. The sample, spiked with lanthanum nitrate, was merged with an ammonium buffer solution (pH 8.8), which promoted coprecipitation of Se(IV) and quantitative collection by 150 cm PTFE KR. DMSe and DMDSe, however, were unretained and expelled from the KR. An air flow was introduced to remove the residual solution from the KR, then a 1.2 mol l⁻¹ HCl was pumped to dissolve the precipitates and merge with KBH₄ solution for HG-AFS detection. The interference of DMSe and DMDSe on the Se(IV) determination by conventional HG-AFS and its elimination by the developed separation and preconcentration system were evaluated. With optimal experimental conditions and with a sample consumption of 12.0 ml, an enhancement factor of 18 was obtained at a sample frequency of 24 h⁻¹. The limit of detection was 0.014 μg l⁻¹ and the precision (R.S.D.) for 11 replicate measurements of 1.0 μg l⁻¹ Se(IV) was 2.5%. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of inorganic selenium species in a variety of natural water samples.     

Sb(III) and Sb(V) separation and analytical speciation by a continuous tandem on-line separation device in connection with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A sensitive, precise and automated non-chromatographic method for Sb(III) and Sb(V) analytical speciation based on a continuous tandem on-line separation device in connection with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission (ICP-AES) detection is proposed. Two on-line successive separation steps are included into this method: a continuous liquid-liquid extraction of Sb(III) with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) into methylisobuthylketone (MIBK), followed by direct stibine generation from the organic phase. Both separation steps are carried out in a continuous mode and on-line with the ICP-AES detector. Optimization of experimental conditions for the tandem separation and ICP-AES detection are investigated in detail. Detection limits for Sb(III) were 3 ng.mL^–1 and for Sb(V) 8 ng.mL^–1. Precisions observed are in the range ± 5%. The proposed methodology has been applied to Sb(III) and Sb(V) speciation in sea-water samples.     

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin on an indium tin oxide electrode modified with implanted carboxy ions

A flow injection on-line preconcentration system was developed for the determination of lead by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). It is based on a simple micro-column filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The preconcentration of lead on the MWCNTs was carried out based on the adsorptive retention of analyte via on-line introducing the sample into the micro-column system. A 0.3 mol L^?1 HNO₃ was introduced to elute the retained analyte and merged with KBH₄ solution for HG-AFS detection. Under the optimal experimental conditions, an enhancement factor of 26 was obtained with a sample consumption of 14.4 mL. The limit of detection was 2.8 ng L^?1 and the precision (RSD) of 11 replicate measurements of 0.2?μg L^?1 Pb was 4.4%. The method was validated by analyzing three certified reference materials, and was successfully applied to the determination of trace lead in natural water samples.