Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry for the quantification of ethylene glycol ethers in different household cleaning products

A rapid and simple procedure is reported for the determination of six ethylene glycol ethers in cleaning products and detergents using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. The analytes were extracted from 2.0 g samples in acetonitrile (3 mL) and the extract was submitted to a clean‐up step by QuEChERS method, using a mixture containing 0.3 g magnesium sulfate, 0.15 g primary/secondary amine, and 0.05 g C₁₈. The clean acetonitrile extract (1 μL) was injected into the chromatographic system. No matrix effect was observed, so the quantification of the samples was carried out against external standards. Detection limits were in the range 3.0–27 ng/g for the six ethylene glycol ethers. The recoveries obtained, using the optimized procedure, were in the 89.4–118% range, with relative standard deviations lower than 14%. Twenty‐three different household cleaning products, including glass cleaner, degreaser, floor, softeners, and clothes and dishwashing detergents, were analyzed. Large interindividual variations were observed between samples and compounds.     

Handheld device for fast and non-contact optical measurement of protein films on surfaces

Thin films of bacteria, proteins and other biochemical substances are almost always found on surfaces exposed to the environment. Optical methods enable innovative tools for the study of such films. Residua of proteins exhibit fluorescence when excited in the UV. We present a specially designed handheld measuring device that can detect organic contamination levels down to 100 ng/cm² with measurement times shorter than a second. Using time-correlated spectroscopy methods the fluorescence detection of contamination levels on surfaces is possible even if the fluorescence spectra of contamination and base material overlap. The results presented in this paper show that a detection of contamination levels of bovine serum albumine (BSA) down to 100 ng/cm² is possible on non-fluorescent materials. A theoretical analysis shows the possibility to detect BSA levels down to less than 1 ng/cm² with the presented setup. Future development of handheld optical devices suitable for the detection or analysis of various compounds can be based on these results. A compact formalism is suggested that can be used to calculate the minimal concentration of a given organic contamination that can be detected with a certain measurement setup.     

Minimizing the Interferences from Adsorption of Substances onto Cell Components in Stripping Voltammetry

Abstract

A simple procedure has been introduced to remove the adsorbed substance from voltammetric cell and electrodes. The method is based on the introduction of about 0.5 g of a cation exchanger and stirring for several minutes. This exchanger not only can remove the adsorbed cations but also the adsorbed organic substances and surfactants from the cell wall and electrodes. Methods to clean under microwave irradiation and ultrasound are introduced also. These methods are compared with some recommended procedures such as alkaline or acidic rinse. The performances were evaluated for several systems at mercury electrode at low concentration levels of copper, 2,4‐D, and triclosan.     

Bounds on the cleaning times of robot vacuums

We show a robot vacuum using a protocol that next cleans the “dirtiest” incident edge may take exponential time to clean a network. This disproves a conjecture of Messinger and Nowakowski. We also present two simple variants of this protocol that are polynomial in time.     

Efficient HPLC method for determination of cephalosporin residues on spiked stainless-steel plates and human plasma: application of a worst-case product for Cosa®CIP

ABSTRACT

The main objective of the cleaning validation procedure is to verify the effectiveness of the cleaning procedure for removal and minimising the risk of cross-contamination, a topic that has become more important regarding the development of the medicines. Furthermore, if a product is found to be the worst among many of the products, one cleaning validation procedure of the worst-case product can cover the validation of the remaining ones, thus saving time and money. A novel, reproducible and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was optimised and validated for the detection of the following cephalosporin residues: cephalexin (CPH), cefaclor (CFC), cefixime (CFX), cefdinir (CFR) and ceftazidime (CFZ) in human spiked plasma and in production machines using rinse and swab sampling collected from surfaces and application to Cosa®CIP Detergent. Isocratic chromatographic system was performed at ambient temperature using mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: 40% tetrabutylammonium hydroxide adjusted to pH 7.0 ± 0.1 with 10% phosphoric acid (72.5:27.5, v/v) on Ultrasphere ion pair column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5.0 μm particle size) at a flow rate 1.0 mL/min, injection volume 10 μL and UV detection at 265 nm. The chromatographic run time was less than 20 min for the mixture. Linear relationships were obtained over the concentration ranges 0.5–25 ng mL^?1 for CPH, 1.5–30 ng mL^?1 for CFC, 2–33 ng mL^?1 for CFX, 3–35 ng mL^?1 for CFR and 4–40 ng mL^?1 for CFZ with correlation coefficients >0.998. Analytical and bioanalytical validation methods were carried out following terms of linearity, specificity, LOQ, LOD, accuracy and precision for determination of cephalosporin residues in production machines and in human spiked plasma according to FDA guidelines.     

Sonochemical characterisation of ultrasonic dental descalers

An ultrasonic dental descaling instrument has been characterised using sonochemical techniques. Mapping the emission from luminol solution revealed the distribution of cavitation produced in water around the tips. Hydroxyl radical production rates arising from water sonolysis were measured using terephthalate dosimetry and found to be in the range of μmol min⁻¹, comparable with those from a sonochemical horn. Removal of an ink coating from a glass slide showed that cleaning occurred primarily where the tip contacted the surface but was also observed in regions where cavitation occurred even when the tip did not contact the surface. Differences in behaviour were noted between different tip designs and computer simulation of the acoustic pressure distributions using COMSOL showed the reasons behind the different behaviour of the tip designs.     

Investigation into CO2 laser cleaning of titanium alloys for gas-turbine component manufacture

This paper reports results of the investigation into the feasibility of using a CO₂ laser technology to perform critical cleaning of gas-turbine aero-engine components for manufacture. It reports the results of recent trials and relates these to a thermal model of the cleaning mechanisms, and describes resultant component integrity. The paper defines the experimental conditions for the laser cleaning of various aerospace-grade contaminated titanium alloys, using a continuous wave CO₂ laser. Laser cleaning of Ti64 proved successful for electron beam welding, but not for the more sensitive Ti6246. For diffusion bonding the trials produced a defective standard of joint. Effects of oxide formation is modelled and examined experimentally.     

Utilization of profilometry, SEM, AFM and contact angle measurements in describing surfaces of plastic floor coverings and explaining their cleanability

The tendency to soil and cleanability of ten commercial plastic floor coverings: eight vinyl (PVC) floor coverings, one vinyl composite tile and one plastic composite tile, were examined. Floor coverings were soiled with inorganic, organic and biological soil. The cleanability was measured both by bioluminescence of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and colorimetrically. The surface topography was studied by AFM, SEM and with a profilometer. From the 2D- and 3D-profilometric measurements several characteristic parameters of the surface profiles were extracted. The tendency to soil and cleanability were compared with the characteristics of the surface. A weak correlation was found between roughness and soilability but no correlation between roughness and cleanability. Roughness had no correlation with contact angle.     

Behavior of Ru surfaces after ozonated water treatment

In order for the development of cleaning technology of extreme ultra violet lithography photomask, the behavior of Ru surfaces after treatment with ozonated deionized water (DIO₃) solution was studied using Ru and ruthenium oxide particles and 2 nm-thick Ru capping layers. No significant changes in crystalline structures or chemical states of the Ru surfaces, nor any similarities with the structures or states of ruthenium oxide, were observed after DIO₃ treatment. Oxidation of ruthenium to form RuO₂ or RuO₃ was not observed. Adsorption of H₂O molecules on the Ru layer increased the surface roughness, but the desorption of H₂O molecules recovered it. Local chemisorption of H₂O molecules on the Ru surface may be the reason why rougher Ru surfaces were observed after DIO₃ cleaning.     

Water-assisted femtosecond laser ablation for fabricating three-dimensional microfluidic chips

When the femtosecond laser focused in the water, the breakdown will be induced. The generated high-speed jet and shock wave can be used to etch silica glass for fabricating three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic chips. We present a simple and practical method to produce 3D multilayer microfluidic chips in silica glass. This method offers high design flexibility and fabricating feasibility. We also introduce a convenient cleaning method for diluting and ejecting the ablated debris from microchannel. Therefore, the femtosecond laser induced high-speed jet and shock wave can be used to fabricate complex microfluidic chips in silica glass. Experimental results show that the diameter of microchannel is uniform and the complexity of the microfluidic chip is under control. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate the feasibility of the fabricating process by using the water-assisted femtosecond laser ablation.