Fast sequential multi-element determination of Ca,Mg, K,Cu, Fe,Mn and Zn for foliar diagnosis using high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry: Feasibility of secondary lines,side pixel registration and least-squares background correction

The fast sequential multi-element determination of Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in plant tissues by high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. For this, the main lines for Cu (324.754 nm), Fe (248.327 nm), Mn (279.482 nm) and Zn (213.857 nm) were selected, and the secondary lines for Ca (239.856 nm), Mg (202.582 nm) and K (404.414 nm) were evaluated. The side pixel registration approach was studied to reduce sensitivity and extend the linear working range for Mg by measuring at wings (202.576 nm; 202.577 nm; 202.578 nm; 202.580 nm; 202.585 nm; 202.586 nm; 202.587 nm; 202.588 nm) of the secondary line. The interference caused by NO bands on Zn at 213.857 nm was removed using the least-squares background correction. Using the main lines for Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn, secondary lines for Ca and K, and line wing at 202.588 nm for Mg, and 5 mL min^− 1 sample flow-rate, calibration curves in the 0.1–0.5 mg L^− 1 Cu, 0.5–4.0 mg L^− 1 Fe, 0.5–4.0 mg L^− 1 Mn, 0.2–1.0 mg L^− 1 Zn, 10.0–100.0 mg L^− 1 Ca, 5.0–40.0 mg L^− 1 Mg and 50.0–250.0 mg L^− 1 K ranges were consistently obtained. Accuracy and precision were evaluated after analysis of five plant standard reference materials. Results were in agreement at a 95% confidence level (paired t-test) with certified values. The proposed method was applied to digests of sugar-cane leaves and results were close to those obtained by line-source flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Recoveries of Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in the 89–103%, 84–107%, 87–103%, 85–105%, 92–106%, 91–114%, 96–114% intervals, respectively, were obtained. The limits of detection were 0.6 mg L^− 1 Ca, 0.4 mg L^− 1 Mg, 0.4 mg L^− 1 K, 7.7 µg L^− 1 Cu, 7.7 µg L^− 1 Fe, 1.5 µg L^− 1 Mn and 5.9 µg L^− 1 Zn.     

Speciation analysis of selected metals and determination of their total contents in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples: An approach to investigate the permeability of the human blood-cerebrospinal fluid-barrier

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are gaining increasing relevance in our aging society. However, the complex multifactorial mechanisms of these diseases are not sufficiently understood yet. Several studies indicate that metal ions play an important role in the promotion of these diseases. Consequently, the transport pathways of metals and their species to the brain are of special interest. Following oral or inhalative uptake metals are absorbed and distributed via the blood stream in the body. Transport into the brain requires crossing of the neural barriers.Our study focuses on the investigation of the permeability of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-barrier for selected metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mg and Ca). For the first time paired human serum and CSF samples obtained from a neurological department were characterised for total metal concentrations and metal species. For CSF few data are available in the literature on total metal contents and applications of element speciation analysis in CSF samples are rare. In our study mean CSF/serum ratios (n = 29) were 0.7 for Mn, 0.02 for Fe, 0.02 for Cu, 0.03 for Zn, 1.3 for Mg and 0.5 for Ca. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) online with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was further developed for the size characterisation of the metal species in CSF and serum with limits of detection of 0.4 μg L⁻¹ for Fe, 0.01 μg L⁻¹ for Mn, 0.2 μg L⁻¹ for Cu, 0.2 μg L⁻¹ for Zn, 0.6 μg L⁻¹ for Mg and 3.8 μg L⁻¹ for Ca in the eluate from the HPLC column. Apart from Mn the application of this technique has not been published for metal speciation in CSF, yet. In the case of some Mn species it turned out that methanol, which was contained in the mobile phase of a SEC method previously published from our group on qualitative characterisation of Mn species, was interfering with the quantification. The modified method developed in this work (with NaCl but without methanol in the mobile phase; use of internal standard) allowed reliable quantification. The results clearly indicate changes in the metal species pattern due to different permeation behaviour at the blood-CSF-barrier. As part of the method validation the relative stability of complexes of albumin, transferrin and citrate with Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn was investigated.     

Preconcentration of trace elements from water samples on a minicolumn of yeast (Yamadazyma spartinae) immobilized TiO2 nanoparticles for determination by ICP-AES

A trace element preconcentration procedure is described utilizing a minicolumn of yeast (Yamadazyma spartinae) immobilized TiO₂ nanoparticles for determination of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn from water samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The elements were quantitatively retained on the column between pH 6 and 8. Elution was made with 5% (v/v) HNO₃ solution. Recoveries ranged from 98 ± 2 (Cr) to 100 ± 4 (Zn) for preconcentration of 50 mL multielement solution (50 μg L⁻¹). The column made up of 100 mg sorbent (yeast immobilized TiO₂ NP) offers a capacity to preconcentrate up to 500 mL of sample solution to achieve an enrichment factor of 250 with 2 mL of 5% (v/v) HNO₃ eluent. The detection limits obtained from preconcentration of 50 mL blank solutions (5%, v/v, HNO₃, n = 11) were 0.17, 0.45, 0.25, 0.15, 0.33 and 0.10 μg L⁻¹ for Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn, respectively. Relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate analyses was better than 5%. The retention of the elements was not affected from up to 500 μg L⁻¹ Na⁺ and K⁺ (as chlorides), 100 μg L⁻¹ Ca²⁺ (as nitrate) and 50 μg L⁻¹ Mg²⁺ (as sulfate). The method was validated by analysis of freshwater standard reference material (SRM 1643e) and applied to the determination of the elements from tap water and lake water samples.     

Simultaneous determination of Mn(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) as 2-(5′-bromo-2′-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol complexes by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry at a carbon paste electrode

A simple and precise square-wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (SW-AdCSV) method has been described for simultaneous determination of Mn(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) in water samples using a carbon paste electrode. In 0.1 mol L⁻¹ acetate buffer (pH 5) containing 50 μmol L⁻¹ of 2-(5′-bromo-2′-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP), Mn(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) were simultaneously determined as metal-complexes with 5-Br-PADAP following preconcentration onto the carbon paste electrode by adsorptive accumulation at +1.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl/3 M KCl). Insignificant interference from various cations (K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Al³⁺, Bi³⁺, Sb³⁺, Se⁴⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, V⁵⁺, Ti⁴⁺ and NH₄⁺), anions (HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, NO³⁻, SO₄²⁻ and PO₄³⁻) and ascorbic acid was noticed. Limits of detection of 0.066, 0.108 and 0.093 μg L⁻¹ and limits of quantitation of 0.22, 0.36 and 0.31 μg L⁻¹ Mn(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III), respectively, were achieved by the described method. The described stripping voltammetry method was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of Mn(II), Cu(II) and Fe(III) in ground, tap and bottled natural water samples.     

Optimization of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry with the aid of experimental design for simultaneous determination of heavy metals in natural waters

In this study, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was developed for simultaneous preconcentration and trace determination of chromium, copper, nickel and zinc in water samples. Sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (Na-DDTC), carbon tetrachloride and methanol were used as chelating agent, extraction solvent and disperser solvent, respectively. The effective parameters of DLLME such as volume of extraction and disperser solvents, pH, concentration of salt and concentration of the chelating agent were studied by a (2^f−1) fractional factorial design to identify the most important parameters and their interactions. The results showed that concentration of salt and volume of disperser solvent had no effect on the extraction efficiency. In the next step, central composite design was used to obtain optimum levels of effective parameters. The optimal conditions were: volume of extraction solvent, 113 μL; concentration of the chelating agent, 540 mg L⁻¹; and pH, 6.70. The linear dynamic range for Cu, Ni and Zn was 1-1000 μg L⁻¹ and for Cr was 1-750 μg L⁻¹. The correlation coefficient (R²) was higher than 0.993. The limits of detection were 0.23-0.55 μg L⁻¹. The relative standard deviations (RSDs, C = 200 μg L⁻¹, n = 7) were in the range of 2.1-3.8%. The method was successfully applied to determination of Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in the real water samples and satisfactory relative recoveries (90-99%) were achieved.     

Use of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol as the post column reagent for ion exchange chromatography of heavy metals in environmental samples

Ion exchange chromatography (IEC) using a bi-functional column (quaternary ammonium and sulfonate groups), followed by post-column reaction (PCR) with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN), was used to separate and quantitate Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Mn(II) and Hg(II) at low concentration levels. IEC-PCR separation was achieved within 14 min using the mobile phase containing 3 mmol L^− 1 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (PDCA) and 3 mmol L^− 1 oxalate at pH 12.5. Effects of pH as well as PAN, detergent and chloride ion concentrations during post-column reaction on detector response were examined. Detection limits were less than 4.5 μg L^− 1 for all metals except Hg(II) (19 μg L^− 1) using spectrophotometric measurements at 550 nm. Analytical validations showed good linearity for detection up to 6.0 mg L^− 1, with R² higher than 0.99. Precisions based on retention time evaluation for intra-day and inter-day measurements with the relative standard deviation (RSD) were less than 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively. The method gave good accuracy with the recoveries ranged from 80.5 to 105% for all metal ions studied. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of metal ions in environmental samples (leachate, soil and sediment) in Northeastern Thailand. The results were in good agreement with atomic spectroscopic measurements on the same samples.     

A new and direct method for the trace element determination in cauliflower by differential pulse polarography

Using the DPP polarograms of wet digested cauliflower sample in acetate buffer at pH values of 2, 4 and 6, Fe, Zn, Mo, Se, Cr, Cd, Pb, Ti and Cu quantities were determined. The best separation and determination conditions for Zn, Se and Mo was pH 2; for Cr, Zn, Mo and As was pH 4; for Pb pH 6, for Ti, Cu and Fe was pH 6-7 EDTA, for Cd pH 2 EDTA and for lead pH 6, all in acetate buffer. The trace element ranges for cauliflowers from two different seasons were (first figure for winter, the second for summer) for Se 120-250 μg g⁻¹, Fe 70-85 μg g⁻¹, Cu 320-150 μg g⁻¹, Ti 90-120 μg g⁻¹, Cr 130-630 μg g⁻¹, Zn 90-550 μg g⁻¹, Mo 170-230 μg g⁻¹, Cd 20 μg g⁻¹ (in winter) and Pb 130-300 μg g⁻¹ in dry sample. Cd was under the detection limit in summer. The length of digestion time had no effect on the recovery of copper, iron, molybdenum and zinc between 15 and 3 h of digestion.     

Determination of metal content in some herbal drugs-Empirical and chemometric approach

The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Ba and B in 26 herbal drugs of special importance in phytopharmacy were studied. Flame atomic absorption and emission spectrometry (FAAS, FAES), as well as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), were applied in this work. The whole procedure, from sample preparation, via dissolution, to measurements, was validated by using CRM (NIST 1573a—tomato leaves), and the obtained recovery values are in the range from 91 to 102%. Drug samples originated from medicinal plants cultivated in Serbia contained Cu (4.47-14.08 mg kg⁻¹), Zn (8.4-54.5 mg kg⁻¹), Mn (9-155 mg kg⁻¹), Fe (47-546 mg kg⁻¹), K (0.20-6.24%), Ca (0.18-1.84%), Mg (0.13-1.09%), Al (16-416 mg kg⁻¹), Ba (11.70-84.83 mg kg⁻¹) and B (5.1-118.7 mg kg⁻¹). In order to get a better insight into the elemental patterns, a common chemometric approach to data evaluation was used. Four significant factors identified by principal component analysis (PCA) were attributed partly to the significant influential sources and high mobility of some elements thus referring to potential anthropogenic contamination as well.     

Determination of copper,iron, nickel and zinc in ethanol fuel by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence after pre-concentration on chromatography paper

This paper presents an alternative analytical method employing energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine copper, iron, nickel and zinc ions in ethanol fuel samples after a pre-concentration procedure. Our pre-concentration strategy utilizes analyte retention on cation exchange chromatography paper, a convenient substrate for direct EDXRF measurements. The repeatability, expressed in terms of RSD of standard solutions containing 0.25 μg mL⁻¹ of Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn, and calculated from fifteen consecutive measurements, was 2.5, 2.8, 3.0, and 2.7%, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), defined as the analyte concentration that gives a response equivalent to three times the standard deviation of the blank (n = 10), were found to be 13, 15, 15 and 12 μg L⁻¹ for Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn, respectively. The proposed method was applied to Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn determination in hydrated ethanol fuel samples collected from different gas stations.     

Sequential injection anodic stripping voltammetry with monosegmented flow and in-line UV digestion for determination of Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) in water samples

A cost-effective sequential injection system incorporating with an in-line UV digestion for breakdown of organic matter prior to voltammetric determination of Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) of a small scale voltammetric cell was developed. A low-cost small scale voltammetric cell was fabricated from disposable pipet tip and microcentrifuge tube with volume of about 3 mL for conveniently incorporated with the SI system. A home-made UV digestion unit was fabricated employing a small size and low wattage UV lamps and flow reactor made from PTFE tubing coiled around the UV lamp. An in-line single standard calibration or a standard addition procedure was developed employing a monosegmented flow technique. Performance of the proposed system was tested for in-line digestion of model water samples containing metal ions and some organic ligands such as strong organic ligand (EDTA) or intermediate organic ligand (humic acid). The wet acid digestion method (USEPA 3010a) was used as a standard digestion method for comparison. Under the optimum conditions, with deposition time of 180 s, linear calibration graphs in range of 10-300 μg L⁻¹ Zn(II), 5-200 μg L⁻¹ Cd(II), 10-200 μg L⁻¹ Pb(II), 20-400 μg L⁻¹ Cu(II) were obtained with detection limit of 3.6, 0.1, 0.7 and 4.3 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Relative standard deviation were 4.2, 2.6, 3.1 and 4.7% for seven replicate analyses of 27 μg L⁻¹ Zn(II), 13 μg L⁻¹ Cd(II), 13 μg L⁻¹ Pb(II) and 27 μg L⁻¹ Cu(II), respectively. The system was validated by certified reference material of trace metals in natural water (SRM 1640 NIST). The developed system was successfully applied for speciation of Cd(II) Pb(II) and Cu(II) in ground water samples collected from nearby zinc mining area.     

Pre-concentration of trace elements in short chain alcohols using different commercial cation exchange resins prior to inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometric detection

Chelex-100, Dowex 50W-x8 and Dowex MAC-3 exchange resins were investigated for separation and pre-concentration of trace amounts of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti and Zn in alcohols with respect to retention and desorption characteristics. Dowex 50W-x8 was found to be the best sorbent with percentages recoveries >95%. In addition, Chelex-100 appeared to be suitable for the pre-concentration of Cu, Fe and Zn, whereas Dowex MAC-3 was selective for Cu and Fe. Therefore, Dowex 50W-x8 was used for further investigations. The relative standard deviations <4% (n = 20), limits of detection and quantification were 0.1–1.2 μg L⁻¹ and 0.3–1.5 μg L⁻¹, respectively. The SPE method was validated against a certified reference material and the results were in agreement with certified values. The accuracy of the optimized method was verified by the recovery test in the spiked alcohol samples. The accuracy and spike recovery test for different metal ions were in the range 98–102% and 95–105%, respectively. The optimized method was applied to the separation and pre-concentration of metal ions in different commercial alcohol samples.     

Efficient generation of volatile species for cadmium analysis in seafood and rice samples by a modified chemical vapor generation system coupled with atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A vapor generation procedure to determine Cd by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) has been established. Volatile species of Cd are generated by following reaction of acidified sample containing Fe(II) and l-cysteine (Cys) with sodium tetrahydroborate (NaBH₄). The presence of 5 mg L⁻¹ Fe(II) and 0.05% m/v Cys improves the efficiency of Cd vapor generation substantially about four-fold compared with conventional thiourea and Co(II) system. Three experiments with different mixing sequences and reaction times are designed to study the reaction mechanism. The results document that the stability of Cd(II)–Cys complexes is better than Cys–THB complexes (THB means NaBH₄) while the Cys–THB complexes have more contribution to improve the Cd vapor generation efficiency than Cd(II)–Cys complexes. Meanwhile, the adding of Fe(II) can catalyze the Cd vapor generation. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit of Cd is 0.012 μg L⁻¹; relative standard deviations vary between 0.8% and 5.5% for replicate measurements of the standard solution. In the presence of 0.01% DDTC, Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) have no significant influence up to 5 mg L⁻¹, 10 mg L⁻¹and 10 mg L⁻¹, respectively. The accuracy of the method is verified through analysis of the certificated reference materials and the proposed method has been applied in the determination of Cd in seafood and rice samples.     

A solid phase extraction using a chelate resin immobilizing carboxymethylated pentaethylenehexamine for separation and preconcentration of trace elements in water samples

A chelate resin immobilizing carboxymethylated pentaethylenehexamine (CM-PEHA resin) was prepared, and the potential for the separation and preconcentration of trace elements in water samples was evaluated through the adsorption/elution test for 62 elements. The CM-PEHA resin could quantitatively recover various elements, including Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ti, U, and Zn, and rare earth elements over a wide pH range, and also Mn at pH above 5 and V and Mo at pH below 7. This resin could also effectively remove major elements, such as alkali and alkaline earth elements, under acidic and neutral conditions. Solid phase extraction using the CM-PEHA resin was applicable to the determination of 10 trace elements, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn, in certified reference materials (EnviroMAT EU-L-1 wastewater and ES-L-1 ground water) and treated wastewater and all elements except for Mn in surface seawater using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The detection limits, defined as 3 times the standard deviation for the procedural blank using 500 mL of purified water (50-fold preconcentration, n = 8), ranged from 0.003 μg L⁻¹ (Mn) to 0.28 μg L⁻¹ (Zn) as the concentration in 500 mL of solution.     

Feasibility of internal standardization in the direct and simultaneous determination of As, Cu and Pb in sugar-cane spirits by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Bismuth and Sb were evaluated as internal standards (IS) to minimize matrix effects on the direct and simultaneous determination of As, Cu, and Pb in cachaça by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using W-coated platform plus Pd-Mg(NO₃)₂ as modifier. For 20 μL injected sample, calibration within the 0.5-10 μg L⁻¹ As, 100-1000 μg L⁻¹ Cu and 0.5-30 μg L⁻¹ Pb intervals were established using the ratios As absorbance to Sb absorbance, Cu absorbance to Bi absorbance and Pb absorbance to Bi absorbance versus analytes concentration, respectively. Typical linear correlations of 0.998, 0.999 and 0.999 were, respectively, obtained. The proposed method was applied for direct determination of As, Cu and Pb in 10 commercial cachaça samples and results were in agreement with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry at 95% confidence level. The found characteristic masses were 30 pg As, 274 pg Cu and 39 pg Pb. The useful lifetime of the graphite tube was around 760 firings. Recoveries of As, Cu and Pb added to cachaça samples varied, respectively, from 98% to 109%, 97% to 108% and 98% to 104% with internal standards and from 48% to 54%, 53% to 92% and 62% to 97% without internal standards. The limits of detection were 0.13 μg L⁻¹ As, 22 μg L⁻¹ Cu and 0.05 μg L⁻¹ Pb. The relative standard deviations (n = 12) for a spiked sample containing 20 μg L⁻¹ As, Pb and 500 μg L⁻¹ Cu were 1.6%, 1.0%, and 1.8% with IS and 4.3%, 5.2%, and 5.5% without IS.     

Electrospun nanofiber based colorimetric probe for rapid detection of Fe in water

An imidazole derivative, 2-(2′-pyridyl)imidazole (PIMH), was developed as a colorimetric probe for the qualitative analysis of Fe²⁺ in aqueous solution. PIMH was then used to post-functionalize poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (PVBC) nanofibers after electrospinning so as to afford a solid state colorimetric probe. Upon treatment with Fe²⁺ the probe displayed a distinctive color change both in liquid and solid platforms. The linear dynamic range for the colorimetric determination of Fe²⁺ was 0.0988–3.5 μg mL⁻¹. The ligand showed a high chromogenic selectivity for Fe²⁺ over other cations with a detection limit of 0.102 μg mL⁻¹ in solution (lower than the WHO drinking water guideline limit of 2 mg L⁻¹), and 2 μg mL⁻¹ in the solid state. The concentration of Fe²⁺ in a certified reference material (Iron, Ferrous, 1072) was found to be 2.39 ± 0.01 mg L⁻¹, which was comparable with the certified value of 2.44 ± 0.12 mg L⁻¹. Application of the probe to real samples spiked with Fe²⁺ achieved recoveries of over 97% confirming accuracy of the method and its potential for on-site monitoring.     

Simultaneous determination of copper and iron in automotive gasoline by X-ray fluorescence after pre-concentration on cellulose paper

This paper proposes an alternative analytical method using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine Fe and Cu in gasoline samples. In the proposed procedure, samples were distilled and the distillation residues were spotted on cellulose paper disk to form a uniform thin film and to produce a homogeneous and reproducible interface to the XRF instrument. The disks were dried at 60 °C for 20 min and copper and iron were determined directly in the solid phase at 6.40 and 8.04 keV, respectively. The calibration curves showed linear response in the 20-800 μg L⁻¹ concentration range of each metal. The precisions (repeatability) calculated from 15 consecutive measurements and defined as the coefficient of variation of solutions containing 100 μg L⁻¹ of Fe and Cu were 7.8 and 8.1%, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), defined as the analyte concentration that gives a response equivalent to three times the standard deviation of the blank (n = 10), were found to be 10 and 15 μg L⁻¹ for Fe and Cu, respectively. The proposed method was applied to copper and iron determination in gasoline samples collected from different gas stations.     

Determination of azoxystrobin residues in grapes, musts and wines with a multicommuted flow-through optosensor implemented with photochemically induced fluorescence

In this paper, the conversion of azoxystrobin in a strongly fluorescent degradation product by UV irradiation with quantitative purposes and its fluorimetric determination are reported for the first time. A multicommuted flow injection-solid phase spectroscopy (FI-SPS) system combined with photochemically-induced fluorescence (PIF) is developed for the determination of azoxystrobin in grapes, must and wine. Grape samples were homogenized and extracted with methanol and further cleaned-up by solid-phase extraction on C₁₈ silica gel. Wine samples were solid-phase extracted on C₁₈ sorbent using dichloromethane as eluent. Recoveries of azoxystrobin from spiked grapes (0.5-2.0 mg Kg⁻¹), must (0.5-2.0 μg mL⁻¹) and wine (0.5-2.0 μg mL⁻¹) were 84.0-87.6%, 95.5-105.9% and 88.5-111.2%, respectively. The quantification limit for grapes was 0.021 mg Kg⁻¹, being within European Union regulations, and 18 μg L⁻¹ and 8 μg L⁻¹ for must and wine, respectively.     

A study of the direct determination of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in certified reference materials of soils by solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and rapid method for the direct determination of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in soil was developed. The method was developed using three certified reference materials of soil: Eutric Cambisol, Orthic Luvisols and Rendzina, which differed in their matrix composition. Chemical modifiers were essential to achieve reproducible and interference-free signals for the analytes studied. The best results were obtained with a Pd/Mg(NO₃)₂ admixture for the determination of Cd, Pb and Zn and NH₄F for Cu. The combination of W (as a permanent modifier) and Mg(NO₃)₂ provided well-defined signal profiles for Cr. The following spectral lines were used: Cd 228.8 nm, Cr 520.6 nm, Cu 218.2 nm, Pb 205.3 nm and Zn 307.6 nm. The limit of detection was 4.2 ng g^− 1 for Cd, 1.1 μg g^− 1 for Cr, 0.5 μg g^− 1 for Cu, 1.3 μg g^− 1 for Pb and 8.6 μg g^− 1 for Zn for the maximum sample mass used. Under optimized conditions, the analyte and matrix were separated effectively in situ, and aqueous standards could be used for calibration.     

A multi-pumping flow-based procedure with improved sensitivity for the spectrophotometric determination of acid-dissociable cyanide in natural waters

An analytical procedure with improved sensitivity was developed for cyanide determination in natural waters, exploiting the reaction with the complex of Cu(I) with 2,2′-biquinoline 4,4′-dicarboxylic acid (BCA). The flow system was based on the multi-pumping approach and long pathlength spectrophotometry with a flow cell based on a Teflon AF 2400^® liquid core waveguide was exploited to increase sensitivity. A linear response was achieved from 5 to 200 μg L⁻¹, with coefficient of variation of 1.5% (n = 10). The detection limit and the sampling rate were 2 μg L⁻¹ (99.7% confidence level), and 22 h⁻¹, respectively. Per determination, 48 ng of Cu(II), 5 μg of ascorbic acid and 0.9 μg of BCA were consumed. As high as 100 mg L⁻¹ thiocyanate, nitrite or sulfite did not affect cyanide determination. Sulfide did not interfere at concentrations lower than 40 and 200 μg L⁻¹ before or after sample pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide. The results for natural waters samples agreed with those obtained by a fluorimetric flow-based procedure at the 95% confidence level. The proposed procedure is then a reliable, fast and environmentally friendly alternative for cyanide determination in natural waters.     

2-{[1-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)methylidene]amino}benzoic acid immobilized Amberlite XAD-16 as metal extractant

2-{[1-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)methylidene]amino}benzoic acid (DMABA) was loaded on Amberlite XAD-16 (AXAD-16) via azo linker and the resulting resin AXAD-16-DMABA explored for enrichment of Zn(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Fe(III) and Co(II). The optimum pH values for extraction are 6.5-7.0, 5.0-6.0, 5.5-7.5, 5.0-6.5, 6.5-8.0, 5.5-7.0, 4.0-5.0 and 6.0-7.0, respectively. The sorption capacity was found between 97 and 515 μmol g⁻¹ and the preconcentration factors from 100 to 450. Tolerance limits for foreign species are reported. The kinetics of sorption is fast as t_1/2 is ≤5 min. The chelating resin can be reused for 50 cycles of sorption-desorption without any significant change (<1.5%) in the sorption capacity. The limit of detection values (blank +3 s) are 1.12, 1.38, 1.76, 0.67, 0.77, 2.52, 5.92 and 1.08 μg L⁻¹ for Zn(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Fe(III) and Co(II), respectively. The enrichment on AXAD-16-DMABA coupled with monitoring by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is used to determine all the metal ion ions in river and synthetic water samples, Co in vitamin tablets and Zn in milk samples.