Beer Digestions for Metal Determination by Atomic Spectrometry and Residual Organic Matter

Many standard and official sample digestion procedures for trace metal determination are carried out in open vessels on hot plates. A new procedure for the determination of trace metals by flame atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasmaatomic emission spectrometry in beer samples was developed to be performed in closed reactors assisted by microwaves. The results are compared with the ones obtained by other procedures by means of the analysis of the variance. The differences between the procedures are attributed to residual organic matter. Voltammetry, absorption molecular spectrophotometry and high pressure liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector are used to study the nature of these residues. Nitrobenzoic acids, phenolic acids and other organic compounds are often present after digestion. The results obtained are related to the precision in metal determination by atomic spectrometry. The need for elaboration of certified reference materials for trace metals in beer is suggested.     

Direct and simultaneous voltammetric analysis of heavy metals in tap water samples at Assiut city: an approach to improve the analysis time for nickel and cobalt determination at mercury film electrode

Tap water samples (Assiut city, lie in the middle north of upper Egypt, approx. 370 km from Cairo, January-March, 2002) were taken from the eight sampling sites of different locations at Assiut city. The samples are analyzed to determine the total content of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) while nickel and cobalt are determined by a new simple differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV), using dimethylglyoxime (DMG) as the complexing agent. This method uses sodium sulfite as the supporting electrolyte, which facilitates the removal of oxygen interference without the traditional necessity of purging with inert gas. The effect of various parameters was studied using DPASV (for Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) and AdSV (for Ni and Co) methods. Subsequently, under the so found experimental conditions, the stability of calibration curves and the detection limits (μg/l) have been determined. The data achieved (for all metals utility) are comparable to those measured by the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric (GF-AAS) method. The effects of the interferences between these metal ions have been investigated. Moreover, the effect of storage was discussed and the obtained results were compared favorably with standard official methods. Statistical analysis of the database exhibits applicability and the accuracy of the techniques. The results obtained from the two techniques (Voltammetry and GF-AAS) are in very good agreements in the most tap water samples.     

盐酸浸提-电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定烟草中的多元素

研究了用5mol/L盐酸煮沸提取烟叶中的部分金属元素，用ICP－AES测定浸提液，K、Ca、Mg、Cu、B、Ba、Zn获得了较满意的结果，P、Fe、Mn的测定结果稍微偏低。此方法操作简便、快速安全，特别适合大批量烟草样的快速检测。与硝酸－高氯酸湿消化法进行对照，结果吻合得较好。并测定了国家烟草标准样品GBW08514和GBW08515，其结果与标准值相符。     

Preparation of poly(N‐ethyl methacrylamide) particles via an emulsion/precipitation process: The role of the crosslinker

Monodisperse, thermosensitive poly(N‐ethyl methacrylamide) microgel particles were prepared by the batch precipitation/emulsion polymerization of water‐soluble N‐ethyl methacrylamide and the hydrophobic crosslinker ethylene glycol dimethacrylate initiated by potassium persulfate. Particular attention was paid to the effect of the crosslinker agent on the polymerization process (kinetics, conversion, and water‐soluble oligomer content). Particles were characterized in terms of their size distribution and swelling capacity. A polymerization mechanism for the water‐soluble monomer and non‐water‐soluble crosslinker is proposed and discussed on the basis of a combination of both emulsion and precipitation polymerization processes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1808–1817, 2002     

无火焰原子吸收测定血清中的铝

用无火焰原子吸收法测定血清中的铝,样品用高纯水十倍稀释后,用标准加入法进行测定,不需使用基体改进剂和氘灯扣除背景。方法简单、准确、灵敏度高。用含铝20ng/ml的一份十倍稀释血清样,重复测十次,变异系数5%左右。     

Determination of copper in medicinal plants used as dietary supplements by atomic absorption spectrometry with direct flame solid analysis

An alternative device for the direct solid analysis (DSA) for copper determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is proposed. Copper was directly determined in commercial medicinal plants used as dietary supplements. The determination of copper in solid samples by DSA–FAAS was made by using a conventional air–acetylene flame. Between 0.05 and 1.5 mg of each test, sample was weighed directly into a small polyethylene vial connected to the device used for solid introduction into the flame. Test samples were introduced into the flame as a dry aerosol using a T-quartz cell set between the burner and the optical path. The T-quartz cell has a slit in the superior part by which the solid aerosol passes to the flame. A transient signal, evaluated as integrated absorbance, is produced and it is totally integrated in 2 s. Background signals always presented absorbance values less than 0.1. It was found a characteristic mass of 0.8 ng Cu and absolute limit of detection of 1.2 ng (3 s), or 1.2 μg g⁻¹ if a sample mass of 1 mg was used. Optimized conditions for air flow rate, flame stoichiometry, and so on were established as well. No excessive grinding of the samples was needed and samples with particle of size less than 80 μm were used throughout. No statistical difference between the results from the proposed system and those obtained by sample digestion and determination by conventional FAAS was observed. With the proposed procedure, more than 50 test samples can be analyzed in 1 h and it can be easily adapted to conventional spectrometers for FAAS.     

Quantitative High Resolution Electron Microscopy

 With the resolution becoming sufficient to reveal individual atoms, HREM is now entering the stage where it can compete with X-ray methods to quantitatively determine atomic structures of materials without much prior knowledge, but with the advantage of being applicable to aperiodic objects such as crystal defects. In our view the future electron microscope will be characterised by a large versatility in experimental settings under computer control such as the illumination conditions (TEM-STEM), CBED, detecting conditions (diffraction, image, ptychography) and many other tunable parameters such as focus (g), voltage, spherical aberration (C _s ), beam tilt, etc. Since modern detectors can detect single electrons, also the counting statistics is known. The only limiting factor in the experiment will be the total number of electrons that interact with the object during the experiment due to the limitations in the exposure time or in the object damage. However, instrumental potentialities will never be exploited fully if not guided by an experimental strategy. Here intuitive guidelines can be very deceptive. For instance an image made with the best electron microscope (C _s  = 0) at the best focus (g = 0) from the best object (phase object) would show no contrast at all. Hence, questions such as what is the best C _s , focus, object thickness, etc. can only be answered properly if done using a method of experiment design.     

Validation of an analytical method to determine trace metal impurities in fluoride compounds by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy

 The development of an analytical method for the determination of some heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Co, Zn and Ni) in fluoride compounds [Cu(BF₄)₂, Sn(BF₄)₂, Pb(BF₄)₂ and HBF₄] by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy is described. This method is to be used as a routine analytical method in an industrial quality control laboratory. To this end the "performance characteristics" of an instrumental analytical method such as matrix effects, sensitivity, linearity, detection and quantitation limits, precision and accuracy were evaluated for every system under study. The results of these investigations showed that non-spectral interferences (due to the presence of large concentrations of major metals such as Cu, Sn and Pb) were observed. Nevertheless it was possible to define a matrix concentration interval where matrix effects were not statistically significant, and therefore a direct calibration approach could be used as the calibration tool whenever the major metal concentration was not higher than 40×10^–3 kg l^–1. A guide to the developement of an analytical method for trace metal determination is provided. General tools for quality control have been used in order to show how an analytical method can be tested daily and evaluated in a convenient manner. Received: 29 January 1997 Accepted: 11 March 1997     

Calculation of the van der Waals volumes of organic molecules

A new and more precise method is proposed for calculating van der Waals atomic and molecular volumes of organic compounds. The method provides for intersections of three or more spheres at one point of space. Such a possibility is essential for calculating the volumes of sterically overcrowded molecules and of molecules with intramolecular hydrogen bonds. A computer program for IBM PC/AT(XT) is developed. Depending on the atomic environment in the molecule, the average values of the volume increments for atoms C, N, O, H, F, Cl, and S are obtained using the data from the Cambridge Structural Database.N. S. Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117071. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 922–931, April, 1992.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法测定天然气转化催化剂中的氧化钾

建立火焰原子吸收光谱法测定天然气转化催化剂中氧化钾的分析方法。该方法将催化剂样品和助溶剂四硼酸锂熔融后再用盐酸溶解定容,采用火焰原子吸收光谱仪对样品溶液进行测定。在优化的实验条件下,钾离子的质量浓度在0.05~0.50 mg/L范围内与吸光度呈良好线性关系,相关系数为0.9995。钾的方法检出限为0.001 mg/L,定量限为0.01 mg/L,测定结果的相对标准偏差为2.6%~4.3%(n=6),样品加标回收率为97.8%~102.3%。与HG/T 3543-2014中的酸溶制样法相比,该方法能够将催化剂样品中的难溶钾盐溶出,分析结果准确度更高,可用于天然气转化催化剂中氧化钾含量的测定。