In-Capillary Derivatization and Preconcentration for CE of Metal Ions as Their Phenanthroline Complexes

A simple and automated method involving in-capillary derivatization and in-capillary preconcentration was developed for the simultaneous determination of metal ions by capillary zone electrophoresis. Fe(II), Zn(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) were derivatized using 1,10-phenanthroline as the derivatizing agent. The in-capillary derivatization and in-capillary preconcentration via large volume injection were performed sequentially as follows: 60 mmol L^?1 1,10-phenanthroline was first hydrodynamically injected (0.2 psi) for 2 s; metal ions were introduced by hydrodynamic injection (0.5 psi) for 60 s; 0.2 mol L^?1 acetate pH 5.5 containing 20 % methanol was used as the running buffer. Four metal ions can be determined within 8 min using 16 kV. The resulting preconcentration factors were in the range 12–21. Good linearity was obtained for concentrations of 0.1–8.0 mg L^?1 (r ² > 0.990). The mean recoveries of the metal ions evaluated by fortification of wine samples were in the range 90–102 %. The limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 mg L^?1. The proposed method can be applied for directly determining metal ions in wine samples.     

Ion Chromatographic Analysis of Monosaccharides and Disaccharides in Raw Sugar

A simple and effective method using ion chromatography was developed for the simultaneous determination of five monosaccharides (arabinose, glucose, fructose, xylose, and ribose) and two disaccharides (sucrose and lactose) in raw sugar samples. The separation was performed on a CarboPac PA 10 column using the gradient elution of sodium hydroxide and water as the mobile phase. Monosaccharides and disaccharides were detected by an integrated pulsed amperometric detection (IPAD) using gold working electrode. Acid hydrolysis was used for sample preparation before the analysis of glucose and fructose. All the studied sugars showed good linear ranges within 0.5–100 µg mL⁻¹ with the correlation coefficients higher than 0.997. The limits of detection were all less than 0.5 µg mL⁻¹. The RSDs of the method were less than 10 %. The recoveries of the sugars that spiked in raw sugar samples ranged from 96.1 to 102.4 %. The method was successfully applied for the analysis of sugars in raw sugar samples. Sucrose is the major constituent found in the samples at 97 %.

     

Reversed Phase Chromatographic Analysis of 13 Amino Acids in Honey Samples

A simple method using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was developed for the simultaneous analysis of 13 amino acids. Amino acids were pre-column derivatized with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl) before analysis by RP-HPLC. Experimental parameters affecting the derivatization and chromatographic separation were investigated. Amino acids were derivatized with FMOC-Cl under alkaline condition in 0.1 mol/L borate buffer pH 10.0 at room temperature. The FMOC-amino acid derivatives were separated on an Atlantis C18 column under the gradient elution of 0.05 % trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile and UV detection at 265 nm. Linear ranges were 0.2–100.0 μg/mL with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.992. Limits of detection and limits of quantitation were in the range of 0.05–2.0 and 0.2–5.0 µg/L, respectively. The intra-day precision (n = 3) of retention time was less than 1 %, while for the peak area was less than 4 %. The inter-day precision (n = 3 × 3) of retention time was less than 2 % and the peak area was less than 8 %. This method was applied in honey samples and the results showed that proline is the major amino acids in honey samples.

     

New polymeric membrane cadmium(II)-selective electrodes using tripodal amine based ionophores

Fabrication of PVC membrane electrodes incorporating selective neutral carriers for Cd(2+) was reported. The ionophores were designed to have different topologies, donor atoms and lipophilicity by attaching tripodal amine (TPA) units to the lipophilic anthracene (ionophore I) and p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (ionophores II, III and IV). The synthesized ionophores were incorporated to the plasticized PVC membranes to prepare Cd(II) ion selective electrodes (ISEs). The membrane electrodes were optimized by changing types and amounts of ionic sites and plasticizers. The selectivity of the membranes fabricated from the synthesized ionophores was evaluated, the relationship between structures of ionophores and membrane characteristics were explored. The ionophore IV which composed of two opposites TPA units on the calix[4]arene compartment showed the best selectivity toward Cd(2+). The best membrane electrode was fabricated from ionophore IV (10.2 mmol kg(-1)) with KTpClPB (50.1 mol% related to the ionophore) as an ion exchanger incorporated in the DOS plasticized PVC membrane (1:2; PVC:DOS). The Cd-ISE fabricated from ionophore IV exhibited good properties with a Nernstian response of 29.4±0.6 mV decade(-1) of activity for Cd(2+) ions and a working concentration range of 1.6×10(-6)-1.0×10(-2)M. The sensor has a fast response time of 10s and can be used for at least 1 week without any divergence in potential. The electrode can be used in the pH range of 6.0-9.0. The proposed electrodes using ionophores III and IV were employed as a probe for determining Cd(2+) from the oxidation of CdS QDs solution and the real treatment waste water sample with excellent results.