Determination of arsenic in gold samples using matrix exchange differential pulse stripping voltammetry

A method comprising matrix exchange differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) at a gold film electrode has been proposed for the determination of small quantities of arsenic in pure gold. A wall-jet cell (WJC) and an on-line deoxygenation system were used to facilitate matrix exchange. The gold(I) cyanide complex was formed to avoid gold deposition on the electrode together with the arsenic. The pH of the sample solutions were adjusted to 3, as alkaline solutions gold(I) cyanide produced interference and the uncomplexed cyanide led to passivation of the gold film electrode. Matrix exchange electrolytes consisting of 4 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid or a combination of 2 mol l⁻¹ sulphuric acid and 0.2 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid could be utilised. Arsenic concentrations as low as 0.1 mg l⁻¹, could readily be detected in a gold matrix with a 60 s deposition time. While, cobalt and silver did not interfere with the arsenic determination, copper interfered even when present at similar concentrations to that of arsenic.     

Method for monitoring urea and ammonia in wine and must by flow injection-pervaporation

An easy to automate flow injection-pervaporation method for monitoring urea and ammonia in must and wine was developed. The method is based on separation of the ammonia from the sample matrix by pervaporation followed by its reaction with salicylate, hypochlorite and nitroprusside to form a diazonium salt with maximum absorption at 647 nm. Conversion of urea into ammonia catalysed by urease was mandatory before pervaporation. After optimisation by either the univariate or multivariate approaches as required, the linear range was established (between 0 and 25 mg l⁻¹) for both analytes. Then, the assessment of the proposed method versus a reference one for urea and ammonia was studied in terms of repeatability (0.52 and 0.43 mg l⁻¹, respectively), reproducibility (1.34 and 1.21 mg l⁻¹, respectively), detection and quantification limits (LOD=0.9 and 0.6 mg l⁻¹, LQ=1.02 and 0.67 mg l⁻¹, respectively) and traceability. The sample throughput was 16 samples h⁻¹. The method can be applied to the monitoring of the target analytes in must and young wine in order to control their contents, preventing formation of ethyl carbamate.     

Miniaturized capillary electrophoresis system with ultraviolet photometric detection combined with flow injection sample introduction using a modified falling-drop interface

A miniaturized capillary electrophoresis (CE) system with UV-Vis detection was coupled to a flow injection (FI) system for achieving high throughput continuous sample introduction. The cassette of a commercial CE instrument was modified to hold a 6.5 cm long silica capillary and a flow-through waste reservoir. The cassette was inserted into the flow-cell chamber of a commercial UV detector, with the light beam focused on the capillary and collected by two ball lenses on the cassette. The capillary inlet, left outside the cassette and detector, was positioned on the top of a vertical 3.5 mm diameter glass rod, in close contact with an electrode. Samples injected through the FI system dropped freely on top of the pillar, covering the capillary inlet and electrode. Continuous sample introduction was achieved for CE separations under non-interrupted separation voltage, which was isolated from the FI system through the discontinuity of droplets. The newly developed interface and UV detection system was used for fast separation of sulphamethoxazole (SMZ) and trimethoprim (TMP) in sulphatrim tablets, achieving a high throughput of over 48 h⁻¹, and a low carryover of 2%. Separation efficiencies of 8 μm plate height and detection limits of 1.0 mg l⁻¹ for SMZ and 0.5 mg l⁻¹ (3σ) for TMP were obtained.     

A multicommuted flow system for sequential spectrophotometric determination of hydrosoluble vitamins in pharmaceutical preparations

A multicommuted flow system is proposed for spectrophotometric determination of hydrosoluble vitamins (ascorbic acid, thiamine, riboflavine and pyridoxine) in pharmaceutical preparations. The flow manifold was designed with computer-controlled three-way solenoid valves for independent handling of sample and reagent solutions and a multi-channel spectrophotometer was employed for signal measurements. Periodic re-calibration as well as the standard addition method was implemented by using a single reference solution. Linear responses (r=0.999) were obtained for 0.500-10.0 mg l⁻¹ ascorbic acid, 2.00-50.0 mg l⁻¹ thiamine, 5.00-50.0 mg l⁻¹ riboflavine and 0.500-8.00 mg l⁻¹ pyridoxine. Detection limits were estimated as 0.08 mg l⁻¹ (0.5 μmol l⁻¹) ascorbic acid, 0.8 mg l⁻¹ (2 μmol l⁻¹) thiamine, 0.2 mg l⁻¹ (0.5 μmol l⁻¹) riboflavine and 0.1 mg l⁻¹ (0.9 μmol l⁻¹) pyridoxine at 99.7% confidence level. A mean sampling rate of 60 determinations per hour was achieved and coefficients of variation of 1% (n=20) were estimated for all species. The mean reagent consumption was 25-fold lower in relation to flow-based procedures with continuous reagent addition. Average recoveries between 95.6 and 100% were obtained for commercial pharmaceutical preparations. Results agreed with those obtained by reference methods at 95% confidence level. The flow system is suitable for application in quality control processes and in dissolution studies of vitamin tablets.     

Simultaneous UV and electrochemical determination of the herbicide asulam in tap water samples by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

A simple end-column electrochemical detector was designed and attached to an available commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument with UV detection to detect different kind of herbicides and to determinate methyl-4-aminophenyl-sulfonylcarbamate (asulam) in water samples. The designed cell is very easy to assemble and disassemble in a short period of time; the working electrode positioning is also quickly achieved without micropositioners. The alignment between working electrode and capillary outlet was very reproducible for the all checked electrodes; the R.S.D. obtained was lower than 6.0% for 100 μm gap distance. In this mode, the non-electroactive and electroactive compounds could be detected by UV and electrochemical detection, respectively at the same time. The electrochemical determination of asulam using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) is the first time that is reported. In both detection systems, a linear range was obtained for asulam concentrations lower than 25.0 mg l⁻¹, in boric acid 0.020 mol l⁻¹ at pH 8.20 and containing 0.025 mol l⁻¹ of sodium dodecyl sulfate, to obtain selectivity additional separation by the micellar distribution process. Under these conditions, an experimental detection limit of 0.4 mg l⁻¹ was achieved. A new experimental scheme is also described for asulam determination in tap waters with a previous preconcentration step. Using both, UV and electrochemical detection, with a previous extraction procedure, the detection limits of asulam in tap water samples were of 1.0 and 0.8 μg l⁻¹, respectively.     

Chemiluminometric determination of the pesticide 3-indolyl acetic acid by a flow injection analysis assembly

A new method is proposed for the chemiluminescent determination of the pesticide 3-indolyl acetic acid by means of an flow injection analysis system. The chemiluminescence emission is obtained by oxidation of the analyte with Ce (IV) in nitric acid and presence of β-cyclodextrine.The continuous-flow method allows the determination of 159 samples h⁻¹ of 3-indolyl acetic acid in an interval of concentrations over the range 0.5-15.0 mg l⁻¹. The limit of detection was 0.1 μg l⁻¹ and the R.S.D. (n, 17) at 2.0 mg l⁻¹ of the pesticide level was 2.7%. The method was applied to water samples.     

Determination of bromide ions in seawater using flow system with chemiluminescence detection

A simple flow-based procedure with chemiluminescence (CL) detection is proposed for bromide ion determination in seawater. The procedure was based on the oxidation of bromide to bromine by chloramine-T followed by the reaction of bromine with luminol resulting in CL emission. Since no significant reaction within chloramine-T and luminol was observed, the detection was carried out without bromine extraction from the oxidant medium. The proposed flow system had a sampling rate of 40 determinations per hour, reagents consumption of 100 μg luminol and 60 μg chloramine-T per determination, a limit of detection of 0.5 mg l⁻¹ bromide ions, a linear concentration range (r = 0.999 and n = 7) between 0 and 100 mg l⁻¹, and a coefficient of variance better than 2.5% (for 10 measurements of a 10 mg l⁻¹ Br⁻ solution) were achieved. The analytical system was applied for the determination of bromide in seawater and estuarine-water samples, obtaining an analyte recovery ranging from 94 to 102% and comparing the results with a reference spectrophotometric method no significant difference was observed in 95% confidence level.     

Fluorimetric determination of histamine in wine and cider by using an anion-exchange column-FIA system and factorial design study

A study has been performed of the conditions for the reaction of histamine with o-phthaldehyde in a flow injection analysis system employing three channels, using an anion-exchange column to eliminate sample matrix interferences. Factorial design was used to determine which operational parameters should be included in the optimization and their optimal values were found. The method developed shows good selectivity for histamine determination in alcoholic beverages. A linear response of up to 2.0 mg l⁻¹ was observed and the detection and quantification limits were 30 and 101 μg l⁻¹, respectively. The repeatability, measured by the R.S.D. for 10 replicate injections, was 0.84 and 0.52% for histamine solutions of 0.20 and 2.0 mg l⁻¹, respectively. The recoveries obtained in wine and cider samples were close to 100% and a sample frequency of 24 samples per hour was achieved.     

Dissolved oxygen amperometric sensor based on layer-by-layer assembly using host-guest supramolecular interactions

The development of a simple, efficient and sensitive sensor for dissolved oxygen is proposed using the host-guest binding of a supramolecular complex at a host surface by combining a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of mono-(6-deoxy-6-mercapto)-β-cyclodextrin (βCDSH), iron (III) tetra-(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)-porphyrin (FeTMPyP) and cyclodextrin-functionalized gold nanoparticles (CDAuNP). The supramolecular modified electrode showed excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction. The reduction potential of oxygen was shifted about 200 mV toward less negative values with this modified electrode, presenting a peak current much higher than those observed on a bare gold electrode. Cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments indicated that the oxygen reduction reaction involves probably 4-electrons with a rate constant (k_obs) of 7 × 10⁴ mol⁻¹ L s⁻¹. A linear response range from 0.2 up to 6.5 mg L⁻¹, with a sensitivity of 5.5 μA L mg⁻¹ (or 77.5 μA cm⁻² L mg⁻¹) and a detection limit of 0.02 mg L⁻¹ was obtained with this sensor. The repeatability of the proposed sensor, evaluated in terms of relative standard deviation was 3.0% for 10 measurements of a solution of 6.5 mg L⁻¹ oxygen.     

Fast spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in ground waters by flow injection using partial least-squares calibration

The presence of sulphate constitutes a serious interference in the usual zirconium lake-based spectrophotometric method for the determination of fluoride in water. In this report, full spectral data have been recorded for the zirconium lake of 2-(parasulfophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxy-3,6-naphthalene-disulfonate (SPADNS) in the simultaneous presence of fluoride and sulphate, as obtained with a flow injection system with a diode-array detector. The information has been processed with partial least-squares (PLS) multivariate calibration. Adequate modeling using a sixteen-sample calibration set allows fluoride to be determined in ground waters by the automated flow injection method, even in the presence of sulphate in concentrations up to 1000 mg l⁻¹. In the calibration range 0-1.50 mg l⁻¹ for fluoride, the limit of detection is 0.1 mg l⁻¹. The fluoride contents in real samples, as determined with the present method, were satisfactorily compared with those provided by ion selective potentiometry.     

Biparametric potentiometric analytical microsystem for nitrate and potassium monitoring in water recycling processes for manned space missions

The construction and evaluation of a Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC)-based continuous flow potentiometric microanalyzer prototype to simultaneously monitor the presence of two ions (potassium and nitrate) in samples from the water recycling process for future manned space missions is presented. The microsystem integrates microfluidics and the detection system in a single substrate and it is smaller than a credit card. The detection system is based on two ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), which are built using all-solid state nitrate and potassium polymeric membranes, and a screen-printed Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The obtained analytical features after the optimization of the microfluidic design and hydrodynamics are a linear range from 10 to 1000 mg L⁻¹ and from 1.9 to 155 mg L⁻¹ and a detection limit of 9.56 mg L⁻¹ and 0.81 mg L⁻¹ for nitrate and potassium ions respectively.     

Flow injection-chemiluminescence determination of propranolol in pharmaceutical preparations

A rapid and precise continuous-flow method is described for the determination of propranolol based on the chemiluminescence (CL) produced by its reaction with potassium permanganate in a sulphuric acid medium. The optimum chemical conditions for the chemiluminescence emission were investigated. Two manifolds were tested and their characteristics such as the length of the reactor, injection volume and flow rate were compared. When using the selected manifold, propranolol gives a linear calibration graph over the concentration range 1.0-17.5 mg l⁻¹. The detection limit calculated as proposed by IUPAC was 70 ng ml⁻¹ and the detection limit calculated as proposed by Clayton was 0.87 mg l⁻¹. For analysis of 10 solutions of 10.0 mg l⁻¹ propranolol, if error propagation theory is assumed, the relative error was 0.1%. The standard deviation (S.D.) for 10 replicate samples was 0.07 mg l⁻¹. The method has been validated versus a published fluorimetric method.The present chemiluminescence procedure was applied to the determination of propranolol in simple British and Spanish pharmaceutical formulations, with excellent recoveries, as the determination is free from interference from common excipients. However, some drugs, such as hydralazine and bendroflumethizide which may also be present in the formulation, increase the emission intensity.     

Flow-injection investigation of the chemiluminescent reaction of bis(2,4,6-(trichlorophenyl)oxalate) with free chlorine

This work investigated the chemiluminescent reaction of free chlorine with bis(2,4,6-(trichlorophenyl)oxalate) (TCPO) in the presence of 9,10-diphenylanthracene in acetonitrile/water medium, with analytical application for free chlorine in tap water. In the absence of free chlorine, the background signal increased with the pH and the chemiluminescence emission showed strong dependence with the sample acidity. A flow injection analysis system, for free chlorine determination, was developed. The linear range for free chlorine was (0.2-3.0)×10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹. Chloramine 1.0×10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹ and chlorite 1.0×10⁻⁶ mol l⁻¹ also enhanced the chemiluminescence intensity.     

Sequential injection lab-on-valve simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of copper and iron

A sequential injection (SI) method in a lab-on-valve (LOV) format for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of copper and iron has been devised. The detection chemistry is based on the complex formation of 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-[N-n-propyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)amino]aniline (5-Br-PSAA) with copper(II) and/or iron(II) at pH 4.6. Copper(II) reacts with 5-Br-PSAA to form the complex which has an absorption maximum at 580 nm but iron(III) does not react. In the presence of a reducing agent only iron(II)-5-Br-PSAA complex is formed and detected at 558 nm. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the determinable ranges are 0.1-2 mg l⁻¹ for copper and 0.1-5 mg l⁻¹ for iron, respectively, with a sampling rate of 18 h⁻¹. The limits of detection are 50 μg l⁻¹ for copper and 25 μg l⁻¹ for iron. The relative standard deviations (n = 15) are 2% for 0.5 mg l⁻¹ copper and 1.8% for 0.5 mg l⁻¹ iron when determined in standard solutions. The recoveries range between 96 and 105% when determining 0.25-2 mg l⁻¹ of copper and 0.2-5 mg l⁻¹ of iron in artificial mixtures at copper/iron ratios of 1:10 to 5:1. The proposed SI-LOV method is successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of copper and iron in multi-element standard solution and in industrial wastewater samples.     

Multi-pumping flow system for the determination of dissolved orthophosphate and dissolved organic phosphorus in wastewater samples

A multi-pumping flow system (MPFS) for the spectrophotometric determination of dissolved orthophosphate and dissolved organic phosphorus in wastewater samples is proposed. The determination of orthophosphate is based on the vanadomolybdate method. In-line ultraviolet photo-oxidation is employed to mineralise organic phosphorus to orthophosphate prior to detection. A solenoid valve allows the deviation of the flow towards the UV-lamp to carry out the determination of organic phosphorus.Calibration was found to be linear up to 20 mg P L⁻¹, with a detection limit (3s_b/S) of 0.08 mg P L⁻¹, an injection throughput of 75 injections h⁻¹ and a repeatability (R.S.D.) of 0.6% for the direct determination of orthophosphate. On the other hand, calibration graphs were linear up to 40 mg P L⁻¹, with a detection limit (3s_b/S) of 0.5 mg P L⁻¹, an injection throughput of 11 injections h⁻¹ and a repeatability (R.S.D.) inferior to 2.3% for the procedures involving UV photo-oxidation.     

Sequential injection method for the direct spectrophotometric determination of bismuth in pharmaceutical products

A spectrophotometric method is reported for the determination of bismuth in pharmaceutical products using sequential injection analysis. Methylthymol blue (MTB) was used as a color forming reagent and the absorbance of the Bi(III)-MTB complex was monitored at 548 nm. The various chemical and physical variables that affected the reaction were studied. A linear calibration graph was obtained in the range 0.0-75.0 mg l⁻¹ Bi(III) at a sampling frequency of 72 h⁻¹. The reagent consumption was considerably reduced compared to conventional flow injection systems, as only 150 μl of MTB were consumed per run. The precision was very satisfactory (s_r=0.5%, at 50.0 mg l⁻¹ Bi(III), n=12) and the limit of detection, c_L, was 0.250 mg l⁻¹. The developed method was applied successfully to the analysis of various pharmaceutical products containing Bi(III). The relative errors e_r, were <1.5% in all cases and were evaluated by comparison of the obtained results with those found using atomic absorption spectrometry as the reference method.     

Solvent extraction flow-injection manifold for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of free cyanide and thiocyanate ions based upon on-line masking of cyanides by formaldehyde

This study reports a sensitive solvent extraction flow-injection (FI) method for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of free cyanide and thiocyanate in human saliva and pralidoxime solutions. Cyanide and thiocyanate form colored (λ_max=540 nm) ternary complexes with copper and 2,2′-dipyridyl-2-quinolylhydrazone (DPQH) that are extractable into chloroform. The determination of thiocyanates in the presence of cyanides is accomplished after on-line masking of the latter with formaldehyde through a binary inlet static mixer (BISM). Total thiocyanates and cyanides are determined in a second run, without the use of the masking agent. The proposed method allows the determination of the analytes in the range of 0-4 mg l⁻¹ thiocyanates and 0-3 mg l⁻¹ cyanides, with the 3σ detection limits being 0.007 and 0.004 mg l⁻¹, respectively. The precision of the method (s_r<1.0% at 1 mg l⁻¹ CN⁻ or SCN⁻, n=12 in both cases) and the sampling rates were quite satisfactory (60 injections per hour). The method was applied to the analysis of human saliva and pralidoxime solutions and gave recoveries in the range of 98.0-102.2% for both analytes whereas the mean relative error was e_r=1.7%.     

Analytical strategy photodegradation/chemiluminescence/continuous-flow multicommutation methodology for the determination of the herbicide Propanil

The present paper is dealing with an analytical strategy based on coupling photodegradation, chemiluminescence and multicommutation continuous-flow methodology for the determination of the pesticide Propanil, a common herbicide. The pesticide solution is inserted as small segments sequentially alternated with segments of the solution for adjusting the suitable medium for the photodegradation. Both flow-rates (sample and medium) are adjusted to required time for photodegradation, 2.0 min; and then, the resulting solution is also sequentially inserted as segments alternated with segments of the oxidizing solutions system, 1.00 × 10⁻⁴ mol l⁻¹ potassium permanganate in 2.00 mol l⁻¹ sulphuric acid medium. The calibration range, from 10 μg l⁻¹ to 25 mg l⁻¹, resulted in a linear behaviour over the range 10 μg l⁻¹-5 mg l⁻¹ and fitting the linear equation: I = 780.30C + 95.28; correlation coefficient 0.9999. The limit of detection was 8 μg l⁻¹ and the sample throughput 20 h⁻¹. After testing the influence of a large series of potential interferents the method is applied to water samples obtained from different places and to one formulation. The method is valid for the determination of other pesticides from the same chemical family, namely: alachlor, flumetsulam, furalaxyl and ofurace. Calibration graphs, limits of detection, repeatability and determination in water samples are obtained for each reported pesticide.     

Voltammetric determination of trace mercury at a sonogel-carbon electrode modified with poly-3-methylthiophene

The sonogel-carbon electrode is a new class of sol-gel electrode that exhibit favourable mechanics and electrics properties to be used as electrochemical sensor. In this paper, a modified sonogel-carbon electrode is proposed to determine mercury at trace levels. The modified electrode is obtained by electropolymerization of 3-methylthiophene on the surface of a bare sonogel-carbon electrode. This electrode shows high selectivity and sensitivity and linear response towards Hg(II), with a detection limit of 1.4 × 10⁻³ mg l⁻¹. The electrode is reusable by a simple chemical cleaning procedure. No deterioration was observed in the electrode response during at least 1 week of successive measurements.     

On-line bi-directional electrostacking for As speciation/preconcentration using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A method using bi-directional electrostacking (BDES) in a flow system is presented for As preconcentration and speciation analysis. Some parameters such as electrostacking time and applied voltage, support buffers and their concentrations were investigated. Boric acid plus sodium hydroxide at 0.1 mol/l concentration was selected as support buffer to improve the pre-concentration factor (PF) for As(V). An analytical range from 2.0 to 50.0 μg l⁻¹, and 0.35 μg l⁻¹ as limit of detection, when applied 750 V for 20 min, were achieved. Under these conditions, a pre-concentration factor of 4.8 was obtained. The proposed method was applied to determine As(V) in mineral water and natural water samples (river, fountain and gold mine) from Ouro Preto city. Recoveries from 93.5 to 106.4% were achieved at 10 μg l⁻¹ added As level (R.S.D.s between 3 and 7%). Potassium permanganate (10 mg l⁻¹) was used for oxidising As species in order to determine total As, being established the concentration of As(III) from the difference between total As and As(V).