Chemical characterization of the black crust present on the stone central portal of St. Denis abbey

 A black crust sample from the stony central portal of the abbey of St. Denis, France, was analyzed by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques to determine whether it was due to atmospheric pollution or to the degradation of a past restoration treatment. Stratigraphic surveys by optical microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (SEM/EDX) and pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (PY/GC/MS) were consistent in ascribing the bulk of the crust to gypsum (CaSO₄ ⋅ 2H₂O) with inclusion of carbon particulate. The organic fraction was a minor constituent of the black crust. Hence, the deterioration by an organic substance used in the past to restore the building was ruled out. Received: 23 May 1996/Revised: 29 July 1996/Accepted: 1 August 1996     

Chemical characterization of the black crust present on the stone central portal of St. Denis abbey

 A black crust sample from the stony central portal of the abbey of St. Denis, France, was analyzed by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques to determine whether it was due to atmospheric pollution or to the degradation of a past restoration treatment. Stratigraphic surveys by optical microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (SEM/EDX) and pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (PY/GC/MS) were consistent in ascribing the bulk of the crust to gypsum (CaSO₄ ⋅ 2H₂O) with inclusion of carbon particulate. The organic fraction was a minor constituent of the black crust. Hence, the deterioration by an organic substance used in the past to restore the building was ruled out. Received: 23 May 1996/Revised: 29 July 1996/Accepted: 1 August 1996     

Determination of tin in marine sediment slurries by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using palladium-magnesium nitrate as chemical modifier

 A method was optimized for the determination of tin in slurries of marine sediment samples using palladium-magnesium nitrate as chemical modifier and Triton X-100 (0.1%) surfactant as stabilizer. To obtain a complete pyrolysis of the slurry sample, two charring steps were used, the first at 480 °C and the second at 1300 °C. The precision and accuracy of the method were studied using the Reference Material PACS-1 (marine sediment) from National Research Council Canada. The detection limit (LOD) was 57.6 μg kg^-1. The method was applied to the determination of tin in marine sediment samples from the Galicia coast. Received: 16 February 1996/Revised: 26 March 1996/Accepted: 12 April 1996     

Analysis of halogenated C1/C2-trace compounds in marine atmosphere

Patterns of volatile ECD-active substances in marine air at the ultra trace level were investigated. The protocol used carbon based adsorbents, thermodesorption and thick film HRGC-ECD together with a second ECD in line with oxygen doped make-up gas. The latter ECD mode leads to an increased sensitivity for chloromethane, dichloromethane, and other important chlorinated substances with an otherwise low response at an ECD driven with oxygen-free nitrogen or argon/methane. The experimental set-up is easily to employ. Air samples were taken on two cruises of the German research vessel R/V “Polarstern” in the Atlantic Ocean to determine the background pattern of all volatile halocarbons from CF₃Cl to CHI₃ in marine air. Received: 28 July 1999 / Revised: 26 September 1999 / Accepted: 4 October 1999     

Application of derivative UV spectrophotometry to the simultaneous determination of nitrate and nitrite ions in bath solutions for alkaline black-oxidation of steel

Second order derivative spectrophotometry was applied to the determination of nitrite and nitrate ions in bath solutions for alkaline black-oxidation of steel. The measurements were directly taken after dilution of the samples at λ = 336.4 nm for NO₃ ^– and λ = 390 nm for NO₂ ^–. The method was checked on artificial mixtures and applied to real samples containing approximately 5.5% NaNO₂ and 6% NaNO₃. The results agree well with those obtained by the standard manganometric method. Received: 8 July 1996 / Revised: 24 September 1996 / Accepted: 28 September 1996     

Adsorptive stripping voltammetry of Tartrazine at the hanging mercury drop electrode in soft drinks

Adsorptive stripping voltammetry was used for the determination of trace amounts of the dye Tartrazine (E-102) by square-wave (SWS) and differential pulse techniques (DPS). Its adsorptive voltammetric behaviour was investigated at different pH media. NH₄Cl/NH₃ buffer solution was chosen as the most suitable, taking into account the sensitivity and definition of the reduction peaks obtained. The effects of the experimental parameters on the determination are discussed. Standard deviations of 3.3% and 2.6% were obtained by SWS and DPS for 100 and 50 μg/L Tartrazine solutions, respectively (n = 10). Both methods were applied to determine the dye in several commercial soft drinks, containing very small amounts of it. Measurements were made directly in the commercial samples. A comparison of the results obtained by the proposed voltammetric methods with those of an HPLC method was also made. Good correlations between the voltammetric results and the values supplied by the manufacturer were found, whereas recoveries of the same order of magnitude were obtained by the HPLC method. Received: 23 May 1996 / Revised: 5 July 1996 / Accepted: 10 July 1996     

Analytical characterization of manganese in rainwater and snow samples

 Seven rain and 2 snow samples collected in October and November 1993 were analyzed by GFAAS. Manganese concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 11.3 μg/L were found. pH-values (4.04–4.89, mean 4.52) and redox potentials (528–665 mV, mean 581 mV) were additionally determined. This is important with respect to a qualified specification of Mn in atmospheric samples. A 0.45 μm-filtration of the samples prior to GFAAS-analysis showed the same manganese concentrations in the filtrate as in the unfiltered samples. Hence, the amount of solid Mn species in the investigated samples is negligible. For an examination of the oxidation state of Mn some investigations concerning the stability of Mn(III) were carried out. They indicated that Mn(III) is unstable under atmospheric conditions. For checking whether all the manganese in rainwater exists as Mn(II), a sensitive IC method for the detection of Mn(II) was developed. By adapting a photometric procedure based on the oxidation of Leucomalachite Green (LMG) to Malachite Green (MG) by permanganate (MnO^- ₄) to the IC-flow-through-system, a limit of determination of 1 μg/L Mn(II) could be achieved. A comparison of the IC measurements with GFAAS-results of the filtered samples showed agreeing results. Thus, manganese in rainwater and snow exists entirely as soluble Mn(II). Received: 24 May 1996/Revised: 7 July 1996/Accepted: 14 July 1996     

Analytical characterization of manganese in rainwater and snow samples

 Seven rain and 2 snow samples collected in October and November 1993 were analyzed by GFAAS. Manganese concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 11.3 μg/L were found. pH-values (4.04–4.89, mean 4.52) and redox potentials (528–665 mV, mean 581 mV) were additionally determined. This is important with respect to a qualified specification of Mn in atmospheric samples. A 0.45 μm-filtration of the samples prior to GFAAS-analysis showed the same manganese concentrations in the filtrate as in the unfiltered samples. Hence, the amount of solid Mn species in the investigated samples is negligible. For an examination of the oxidation state of Mn some investigations concerning the stability of Mn(III) were carried out. They indicated that Mn(III) is unstable under atmospheric conditions. For checking whether all the manganese in rainwater exists as Mn(II), a sensitive IC method for the detection of Mn(II) was developed. By adapting a photometric procedure based on the oxidation of Leucomalachite Green (LMG) to Malachite Green (MG) by permanganate (MnO^- ₄) to the IC-flow-through-system, a limit of determination of 1 μg/L Mn(II) could be achieved. A comparison of the IC measurements with GFAAS-results of the filtered samples showed agreeing results. Thus, manganese in rainwater and snow exists entirely as soluble Mn(II). Received: 24 May 1996/Revised: 7 July 1996/Accepted: 14 July 1996     

Colorimetric determination of iron in infant fortified formulas by sequential injection analysis

 A procedure is described for the colorimetric determination of iron in infant fortified formulas based on sequential injection analysis (SIA). Iron(III) complexation with thiocyanate is used as colour developing reaction. The system enables the determination of iron in the samples (after digestion by dry ashing and treatment with 0.2 mol/L nitric acid in the range of 0.50–20.0 mg/L, consuming 140 μL of the sample and 8 mg thiocyanate per determination. The reactor geometry and the adjustment of the ionic content of the calibration solutions is important for the accuracy of the results. A regression line according to the equation [Fe(III) (mg/L)]_SIA=−0.3(±0.4)+1.03(±0.04) [Fe(III) (mg/L)]_FAAS was obtained after comparative analysis of a set of 12 samples. The measurement rate was 34 s, thus allowing to analyze 100 samples per hour with a relative standard deviation lower than 2%. Received: 30 July 1996/Revised: 1 October 1996/Accepted: 4 October 1996     

Simultaneous comparison of δ31P and 1JPN for the assignment of E/Z-stereochemistry of the phosphorus-nitrogen double bond in iminophosphines R-P=N-R′

 The analysis of ³¹P and ¹⁵N NMR data of a series of 40 iminophosphines R-P=N-R′ reveals that the E/Z-stereochemistry of the PN double bond can be predicted on the basis of a simultaneous comparison of the values of δ³¹P and ¹J_PN. Received: 31 May 1996/Revised: 2 July 1996/Accepted: 5 July 1996     

Simultaneous comparison of δ31P and 1JPN for the assignment of E/Z-stereochemistry of the phosphorus-nitrogen double bond in iminophosphines R-P=N-R′

 The analysis of ³¹P and ¹⁵N NMR data of a series of 40 iminophosphines R-P=N-R′ reveals that the E/Z-stereochemistry of the PN double bond can be predicted on the basis of a simultaneous comparison of the values of δ³¹P and ¹J_PN. Received: 31 May 1996/Revised: 2 July 1996/Accepted: 5 July 1996     

Evaluation of on-line coupling size exclusion chromatography electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for selenium speciation

 Chromatographic effluents were on-line analyzed by Zeeman-ETAAS, using a flow-through cell placed in a graphite furnace autosampler as interface. To obtain high sampling rates, the use of fast graphite furnace programmes was studied. Conventional programmes of 96 s were reduced to 18 s by using hot injection (120 °C) and reducing the charring step to 2 s. The increase of the injection volume from 20 to 60 μl lengthened the programme to 46 s. Nickel had to be added to get a comparable response for both inorganic and organic selenium species (selenite and selenomethionine) and to reduce the interferent effect produced in presence of the chromatographic eluent (TRIS 0.01 mol l^-1, NH₄NO₃ 0.1 mol l^-1, pH 7). The optimized conditions were applied to the speciation of selenium in human erythrocyte lysates by size exclusion LC-ETAAS. Using a high performance size exclusion column selenium could be assigned to proteins of 100 and 35 kDa. Detection limits in the range of 1 ng (2 μg l^-1 for 500 μl injection volume) were obtained for the combined technique. Received: 9 October 1996/Revised: 8 July 1996/Accepted: 14 July 1996     

Field determination of molybdenum in soils

A new procedure for the field characterization of the available amount of molybdenum in soil extract is described. It is based on the preconcentration of the Mo(V)-SCN^– complex into toluene solution of N-octylacetamide (OAA) and subsequent heating of the extract for ≈ 10 min at 60° C over a water bath. The molar absorptivity of the complex is (3.50) × 10⁴ 1 mole^–1 cm^–1 at λ_max 470 nm. The detection limit of the method is 4 ppb Mo. It provides a significantly increased tolerance limit for iron (up to 1000 ppm) and is applicable to the field characterization of Mo in soil extracts. Received: 29 May 1996 / Revised: 17 July 1996 / Accepted: 19 July 1996     

Rhodium and palladium β-diketonate determination with on-line supercritical fluid extraction-high performance liquid chromatography via solid phase extraction

 An on-line system of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) via solid phase extraction (SPE) is described for the determination of palladium and rhodium 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione-(thd) as well as rhodium-acetylacetonate-(acac) and benzylacetonate-(bzac) chelates. The chelates were extracted with supercritical CO₂ from sand and humic acid, concentrated on SPE cartridges and analysed with HPLC. Two cartridge materials were tested and compared to off-line trapping. The percentage of the breakthrough and cartridge retained material were measured in liquid dichloromethane. The SFE conditions could be optimized to separate metal chelates during the extraction. The supercritical fluid (SF) behaviour of different ligands on rhodium were investigated. Received: 19 July 1996/Revised: 11 December 1996/Accepted: 14 December 1996     

Correction of the interference by mixing the reagents in the bioluminescent determination of ATP in environmental samples by an interfaced PC photometer and a robust regression procedure

 An automated procedure for correcting the interference due to mixing the reagents in the determination of ATP by a bioluminescent technique is described. The measurements were performed by an in-house interfaced PC photometer. An automated procedure based on a robust regression method and outliers detection was applied to exclude the time of the mixing of the reagents from the global time of reaction. In fact the mixing of the reagents is responsible of the poor analytical precision (RSD%>25) and low sensitivity (limit of detection≈2×10^-8 mol/l). By this procedure, the precision (RSD%<7) and sensitivity (limit of detection≈8×10^-10 mol/l) were improved. The method was applied to the determination of ATP in marine sediments and good recovery within 90–108% was obtained. For non-polluted samples the measurement can be carried out by direct comparison with standard solutions. The standard addition procedure is recommended for polluted samples. Received: 25 April 1996/Revised: 28 June 1996/Accepted: 3 July 1996     

Correction of the interference by mixing the reagents in the bioluminescent determination of ATP in environmental samples by an interfaced PC photometer and a robust regression procedure

 An automated procedure for correcting the interference due to mixing the reagents in the determination of ATP by a bioluminescent technique is described. The measurements were performed by an in-house interfaced PC photometer. An automated procedure based on a robust regression method and outliers detection was applied to exclude the time of the mixing of the reagents from the global time of reaction. In fact the mixing of the reagents is responsible of the poor analytical precision (RSD%>25) and low sensitivity (limit of detection≈2×10^-8 mol/l). By this procedure, the precision (RSD%<7) and sensitivity (limit of detection≈8×10^-10 mol/l) were improved. The method was applied to the determination of ATP in marine sediments and good recovery within 90–108% was obtained. For non-polluted samples the measurement can be carried out by direct comparison with standard solutions. The standard addition procedure is recommended for polluted samples. Received: 25 April 1996/Revised: 28 June 1996/Accepted: 3 July 1996     

In-line flow injection extraction-preconcentration through a passive hydrophilic membrane. Determination of total phenols in oil by flow-injection analysis

 An in-line flow injection extraction-preconcentration procedure for the determination of total phenols in oil is described. The reaction between phenolic compounds and 4-aminoantipyrine in the presence of K₂S₂O₈ as oxidizing reagent was used. The phenols were extracted and preconcentrated from a xylene solution by using a more selective passive hydrophilic Spectrapor membrane which also removed interferences. The phenols deprotonated after diffusion to the basic acceptor stream and the preconcentrated phenolate was injected into a carrier stream containing 4-aminoantipyrine as colour reagent. The carrier stream then merged with the oxidant stream, followed by detection at 500 nm. The system was suitable for the determination of total phenols in oil at a sampling rate of 12 samples per hour with an RSD of better than 1.3%. The detection limit was 0.09 mg/l for phenol, 0.18 mg/l for o-cresol and 0.02 mg/l for m-cresol. The results of the proposed system compared favourably with a standard manual 4-AAP method and a standard GC procedure. Received: 30 July 1996/Accepted: 25 August 1996     

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the sequential determination of trace metals in sea water after electrothermal vaporization of their dithiocarbamate complexes in methyl isobutyl ketone

 A sensitive method has been developed for the sequential determination of V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo and Sb in sea water using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after electrothermal vaporization of their dithiocarbamate complexes in methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). After complexion with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (NaDDTC), all trace analyte elements were simultaneously separated from sea water matrix and concentrated 20 fold in a single extract of MIBK, followed by introduction of 10 μL of the extract into argon plasma using a pyrolytic graphite rod electrothermal vaporizer (ETV). Sensitivity enhancement due to chemical modification using a mixed modifier of Pd(NO₃)₂-Mg(NO₃)₂ was observed for all the elements. The limits of detection ranged from 2 ng/L for Co to 329 ng/L for V. For replicate determinations of the elements in sea water, the repeatability was within 10% (as a coefficient variation), except for V (12.8%). The recovery test performed on a sea water sample resulted in a range value from 87% for Sb to 119% for V. The method has been successfully applied to sea water samples collected from the surface to the depth of 5000 m at a sampling station in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Received: 1 July 1996/Revised: 24 September 1996/Accepted: 25 September 1996     

Sensitive determination of nucleotides and polynucleotides based on the fluorescence quenching of the Tb3+-Tiron complex

 A sensitive method using fluorescence quenching for the determination of nucleotides (ATP, ADP, AMP, CTP, UTP) and polynucleotides[poly(A), poly(I), poly(U)] is proposed. It is based on the ability of nucleotides and polynucleotides to inhibit the formation of a strongly fluorescent complex of Tb³⁺ ion with Tiron. The possibilities of spectrofluorimetric measurements of these systems were studied under optimal conditions (pH 6.9 in hexamethylene tetramine-HCl buffer, 1.2×10^-6 mol/L of Tb³⁺, 4.0×10^-6 mol/L of Tiron, λ_ex=317 nm, λ_em=546 nm). The results showed that the Tb³⁺-Tiron complex could be used as a fluorescence test for the phosphate moieties of nucleotides and polynucleotides. The detection limits are 0.3, 1.2, 3.7, 0.2, 0.3, 1.1, 0.6 and 0.9 ng/mL for ATP, ADP, AMP, CTP, UTP, poly(A), poly(I), and poly(U), respectively. The relative standard deviations (6 replicates) are within 4.0% in the middle of the linear range. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of these systems is also discussed. Received: 16 July 1996 / Revised: 13 November 1996 / Accepted: 13 November 1996