Flow injection spectrophotometric determination of ascorbic acid in soft drinks and beer

Two spectrophotometric methods, a photochemical and a non-photochemical, for the determination of ascorbic acid in soft drinks and beer using a flow-injection system are proposed. The non-photochemical method is based on the redox reaction that takes place between ascorbic acid and Fe(III), yielding dehydroascorbic acid and Fe(II). Fe(II) reacts with 1,10-phenantroline, originating the reddish orange Fe(phen)3(2+) complex (ferroin). This complex is spectrophotometrically monitored at 512 nm, and the signal is directly related to the concentration of ascorbic acid in the sample. The photochemical method has the same basis, nevertheless, uses the irradiation with visible light to enhance the redox reaction and so achieve higher sensitivities in the analysis. The non-photochemical method shows a linear range between 5 and 80 microg mL(-1), with a relative standard deviation of 1.6% (n = 11), a detection limit of 2.7 microg mL(-1) and a sample throughput of 60 samples h(-1). The photochemical method shows a linear range between 1 and 80 microg mL(-1), with a relative standard deviation of 1.0% (n = 11 ), a detection limit of 0.5 microg mL(-1) and a sample throughput of 40 samples h(-1).     

Univariate and simplex optimization for the flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of copper using nitroso-R salt as a complexing agent.

A simple colorimetric flow-injection system for the determination of Cu(II) based on a complexation reaction with nitroso-R salt is described. The chemical and FIA variables were established using the univariate and simplex methods. A small volume of Cu(II) was mixed with merged streams of nitroso-R salt and acetate buffer solutions. The absorbance of the complex was continuously monitored at 492 nm. The calibration curve over the concentration range 1.0-7.0 microg ml(-1) was obtained. The relative standard deviation for determining 4.0 microg ml(-1) Cu(II) was 0.47% (n = 11). The detection limit (3sigma) was 0.68 microg ml(-1) and the sample throughput was 150 h(-1). The validity of the method has been satisfactorily examined for the determination of Cu(II) in wastewater and copper ore samples. The accuracy was found to be high, because the student t-values were calculated to be less than the theoretical values when the results were compared with those obtained by FAAS.     

Flow-injection determination of ornidazole by chemiluminescence detection based on a luminol-ferricyanide reaction.

A flow-injection analysis (FIA) with a chemiluminescence detection method was developed for the determination of ornidazole based on the inhibition intensity of chemiluminescence from the luminol-ferricyanide system. Under the condition of 1.0 x 10(-3) mol/L luminol and 5.0 x 10(-6) mol/L potassium ferricyanide, the response to the concentration of omidazole is linear from 0.2 microg ml(-1) to 10 microg ml(-1), and a detection limit of 0.05 microg ml(-1) can be obtained. This method has been successfully applied to the determination of omidazole in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Highly selective spectrophotometric flow-injection determination of trace amounts of bromide by catalytic effect on the oxidation of m-cresolsulfonephthalein by periodate

A new flow-injection method is reported for the determination of bromide. The method is based on catalytic effect of bromide on the oxidation of m-cresolsulfonephthalein by periodate in acidic media. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance at 528 nm. The influence of pH, reagent concentration and manifold variables on the sensitivity was studied. Under optimum conditions, a calibration graph was obtained in the range of 0.160-20.00 microg ml(-1) bromides with a limit of detection of 0.150 microg ml(-1) bromide. The relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurement of 1.0 microg ml(-1) bromide was 2.1%. The influence of potential interfering ions on the selectivity was studied. The method successes to measure bromide in the presence of other halide ions. The method was used to measure bromide in river water and tap water.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of formaldehyde with a bromate-rhodamine 6G system.

In this paper, a novel flow-injection chemiluminescence (CL) system for the determination of formaldehyde is described. It is based on a strong enhance effect of formaldehyde on the weak CL emission of the reaction between potassium bromate and rhodamine 6G in a sulfuric acid medium. A possible mechanism for this CL reaction is proposed. A CL calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.8 - 200 microg l(-1) and the detection limit was 0.3 microg l(-1) (3sigma). The relative standard deviation was less than 3% for 10 microg l(-1) formaldehyde (n = 11). The method has been applied to determine formaldehyde in the air samples.     

Sensitive flow injection colorimetry of nitrite by catalytic coupling of N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine with N,N-dimethylaniline

A rapid, sensitive and selective flow-injection colorimetry method is proposed for the determination of trace amounts of nitrite. It is based on the nitrite's catalytic effect on the oxidative coupling of N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine with N,N-dimethylaniline to produce a green dye (lambda(max)=735 nm) in the presence of bromate. The change in absorbances of the dye were monitored in continuos flow mode. Linear calibration curves were obtained for the nitrite concentration range 2.0-100 ng ml(-1). The proposed method had a low detection limit (0.6 ng ml(-1)) and high sample throughput (approximately 30 samples h(-1)). The RSD for 10 and 50 ng ml(-1) nitrite were 2.4 and 1.3% (n=10), respectively. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of nitrite in river water samples.     

Ion chromatography determination of trace level bromate by large volume injection with conductivity and spectrophotometric detection after post column derivatisation

Bromate is a well known by-product produced by the ozonisation of drinking water; the allowed concentration for human consumption has to be regulated to the low microg l(-1) range. A direct injection, ion chromatographic method was developed using a tetraborate eluent with serially connected conductivity and spectrophotometric detection. Bromate was detected after post-column reaction with fuchsin at 520 nm. Sample capacity was investigated by injecting large volumes (up to 6 ml) using a high total hardness and chloride tap water. Linear correlation of bromate response with volumes from 1 ml to 6 ml was demonstrated, the main limitation being the overlapping of the chloride peak with bromate. Up to 1.5 ml sample can be injected without any pre-treatment. With more than 1.5 ml injection volume, a sample pre-treatment with a cartridge in Ag and H form, followed by a 10 min degassing in an ultrasonic bath, was needed. This method was validated by analysing secondary reference materials and real samples from a drinking water treatment plant. The method was linear from the limit of quantification to 20 microg l(-1). Reproducibilities in tap water were 18% (5 microg l(-1), n=12) and 21% (1 microg l(-1), n=4) respectively for 1.5 and 6 ml injection volumes with conductivity detection, and 17% at 0.5 microg l(-1) (n=9) with spectrophotometric detection. Calculated detection limits were 0.5 microg l(-1) (6 ml) ahd 2 microg l(-1) (1.5 ml) for conductivity detection and 0.3 microg l(-1) (1.5 ml) for spectrophotometric detection.     

Selective determination of diphenhydramine in compound pharmaceutical containing ephedrine by flow-injection electrochemiluminescence.

On the basis of the structural interactions between diphenhydramine (DPH) and ephedrine (EPH) to enhance electrochemiluminescence (ECL) intensity, a flow-injection ECL analysis of DPH in the present of EPH by utilizing tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II), (Ru(bpy)(3)2+) has been reported. In the optimized experimental conditions, the linear ECL response to concentrations of DPH is from 2.00 to 40.0 microg/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995 and a detection limit of 1.20 microg/L. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 4.6% (n=5) and the recovery was in the range of 98-106% for the determination of DPH in pharmaceutical samples. The method avoids any interference of coexistent EPH in the compounding drug without prior separation. The method has advantages over HPLC method in terms of speed and convenience, economics and safe procedure, and could be an alternative for places where HPLC equipment is not available.     

Development of a polypyrrole-based amperometric detector for the determination of certain anions in water samples

The development of a polypyrrole-based modified electrode for use in the detection of anions in flow-injection analysis and ion chromatography is described. Chloride, nitrate, nitrite, perchlorate, bromide, carbonate, sulphate and phosphate were detected by using flow-injection analysis combined with the polypyrrole-based CME electrochemical detector. All of the anions were detected conveniently and reproducibly over a linear concentration range 1-100 mug/ml. A detection limit of 0.1 mug/ml was obtained for chloride and a limit of 1.0 mug/ml for all of the other anions. Chloride, nitrate, sulphate and phosphate, following separation using ion chromatography, were detected simultaneously by using a conductivity detector and the polypyrrole-based CME electrochemical detector in series. Both methods of detection yielded similar results with comparable sensitivity, linearity and limits of detection. This method was then applied to the analysis of fresh water samples. The electrode was stable over a 2-week period of operation with no evidence of chemical or mechanical deterioration.     

N-bromosuccinimide-fluorescein based sensitive flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of phenformin.

A novel and highly sensitive method for the determination of phenformin over the range of 6 x 10(-9) - 1 x 10(-5) g ml(-1) in pharmaceutical formulations with flow-injection chemiluminescence (CL) detection is proposed. The method is based on the CL produced during the oxidation of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in an alkaline medium in the presence of fluorescein as an effective energy transfer agent. The use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a sensitizer enhances the signal magnitude by about 100 times. The detection limit is 2 x 10(-9) g ml(-1) (3sigma) with a relative standard deviation of 2.3% (n = 11) at 1 x 10(-7) g ml(-1) phenformin. Ninety samples can be determined per hour. The method was evaluated by carrying out a recovery study and by the analysis of commercial formulations. The obtained results compared well with those by an official method, and demonstrated good accuracy and precision. The possible CL mechanism of the proposed system was also briefly analyzed.     

Determination of clenbuterol in pharmaceutical preparations by reaction with o-phthalaldehyde using a flow-injection fluorimetric procedure

A new procedure for the determination of clenbuterol is proposed using flow-injection and fluorimetric detection. The method is based on the derivatization reaction of the primary amine group with o-phthalaldehyde in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. The calibration graph based on peak area was linear in the range 0.2-5 mug ml(-1) and the detection limit was 0.06 mug ml(-1). The method was validated using a reference spectrophotometric procedure and was applied to the determination of the drug in commercial pharmaceutical preparations.     

On-line preconcentration and determination of Zn in natural water samples employing a styrene-divinylbenzene functionalized resin and flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

In this work, flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was used as a detector for the determination of zinc in natural water samples with a flow-injection system coupled to solid-phase extraction (SPE). In order to promote the on-line preconcentration of zinc from samples a minicolumn packed with 35 mg of a styrene-divinylbenzene resin functionalized with (S)-2-[hydroxy-bis(4-vinylphenyl)methyl]pyrrolidine-1-carboxylic acid ethyl esther was utilized. The system operation was based on Zn(II) ion retention at pH 9.5 +/- 0.5 in such a minicolumn with analyte elution, at the back flush mode, with 1 mol L(-1) HCl directly to the FAAS nebulizer. The influence of the chemical (sample pH, buffer concentration, HCl eluent concentration and effect of the ionic strength) and flow (sample and eluent flow rates and preconcentration time) parameters that could affect the performance of the system were investigated as well as the possible interferents. At the optimum conditions, for 2 min of preconcentration time (9.9 ml of sample volume), the developed methodology presented a detection limit of 1.1 microg L(-1), a RSD of 3.5% at 10 microg L(-1) and an analytical throughput of 24 h(-1). Whereas, for 4 min of the preconcentration time (19.8 ml of sample volume) a detection limit of 0.98 microg L(-1), a RSD of 6.5% at 5 microg L(-1) and a sampling frequency of 13 h(-1) are reported.     

Highly sensitive and selective spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of ropinirole hydrochloride in tablets

Three sensitive, selective, accurate spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods have been developed for the determination of ropinirole hydrochloride in tablets. The first method was based on measuring the absorbance of drug solution in methanol at 250 nm. The Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range 2.5-24 microg ml(-1). The second method was based on the charge transfer reaction of drug, as n-electron donor with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), as pi-acceptor in acetonitrile to give radical anions that are measured at 842 nm. The Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range 0.6-8 microg ml(-1). The third method was based on derivatization reaction with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) in borate buffer of pH 8.5 followed by measuring the fluorescence intensity at 525 nm with excitation at 464 nm in chloroform. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range 0.01-1.3 microg ml(-1). The derivatization reaction product of drug with NBD-Cl was characterized by IR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopy. The developed methods were validated. The following analytical parameters were investigated: the molar absorptivity (epsilon), limit of detection (LOD, microg ml(-1)) and limit of quantitation (LOQ, microg ml(-1)), precision, accuracy, recovery, and Sandell's sensitivity. Selectivity was validated by subjecting stock solution of ropinirole to acidic, basic, oxidative, and thermal degradation. No interference was observed from common excipients present in formulations. The proposed methods were successfully applied for determination of drug in tablets. The results of these proposed methods were compared with each other statistically.     

Native fluorescence flow-through optosensor for the fast determination of diphenhydramine in pharmaceuticals.

A single, rapid flow-through optosensor spectrofluorometric system is proposed for the determination of diphenhydramine in different pharmaceutical preparations. This sensor was developed in conjunction with a monochannel flow-injection analysis system with fluorometric solid-phase transduction. Diphenhydramine was directly injected into a carrier stream of ethanol/water, 50% (v:v), and transitorily retained on a sorption gel Sephadex G-15 placed in the detection area into the cell. The determination was carried out without any derivatization reaction by directly measuring the intrinsic fluorescence of the analyte and using the peak height as an analytical signal. The chemical and instrumental variables were optimized, and the influence of some foreign substances that can be found in typical pharmaceutical samples containing diphenhydramine was also investigated. Diphenhydramine could be determined in the concentration ranges of 0.5 - 8 microg ml(-1) and 0.1 - 1.2 microg ml(-1) with detection limits of 0.088 and 0.019 microg ml(-1) at sampling rates of 30 and 19 h(-1) for 200 and 800 microl of the sample volume, respectively.     

A new chemiluminescence method for the determination of nickel ion

A new chemiluminescence (CL) phenomenon described as the second-chemiluminescence (SCL) was observed and a strong CL signal was detected, when Ni(II) ion was injected into the mixture after the end of the reaction of potassium permanganate with alkaline luminol. The possible CL mechanism is proposed based on the kinetic curve of the CL reaction, CL spectra, UV-vis spectra and some other experiments. A flow-injection analysis for the determination of nickle(II) ion has been developed, based on the catalysis of nickel(II) ion on the CL reaction between potassium manganate produced on-line and luminol under alkaline condition. Under the optimum conditions, the SCL intensity is linear with the concentration of nickel(II) ion in the range of 8.0-200.0 microg l-1 and 0.2-2.0 mg l-1. The R.S.D. was 4.5% for 11 determinations of 250 microg l-1 nickel(II) ion and the detection limit (3sigma) for nickel(II) ion was 0.33 microg l-1. The method was applied to determine nickel(II) ion in synthetic samples with satisfactory results.     

Flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole in pharmaceuticals and urine.

A rapid and sensitive flow-injection spectrophotometric method is proposed for the determination of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole. This method is based on the diazotization of sulfonamide with sodium nitrite, and a coupling reaction of the diazo-compound with alpha-naphthylamine. The optimum experimental conditions are obtained by using the controlled and weighted centroid simplex method. The linear ranges for the determination of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole are 0.2-20 microg ml(-1) and 0.1-20 microg ml(-1), and their detection limits are 0.06 microg ml(-1) and 0.05 microg ml(-1), respectively, and the sampling frequency is 130 samples per hour. The method has been used to determine sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole in pharmaceuticals and urine without separation. The results are in agreement with those obtained by a high-performance liquid chromatograph technique at the 95% confidence level.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of enalapril maleate in pharmaceuticals and biological fluids using tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II).

A chemiluminescence (CL) method using flow injection (FI) has been investigated for the rapid and sensitive determination of enalapril maleate. The method is based on the CL reaction of the drug with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II), Ru(bipy)3(2+) and acidic potassium permanganate. After selecting the best operating parameters, calibration graphs were obtained over concentration ranges of 0.005-0.2 microg/ml and 0.7-100 microg/ml with a detection limit (S/N=2) of 1.0 ng/ml. The average % found was 99.9 +/- 0.7 and 100.2 +/- 0.3 for the two concentration ranges respectively. %RSD (n=10) for 5.0 microg/ml was 0.44. The method was successfully applied to the determination of enalapril maleate in dosage forms and biological fluids without interferences.     

Chemiluminescence flow sensor for folic acid with immobilized reagents.

A novel chemiluminescence (CL) sensor for folic acid combined flow-injection (FI) technology was presented in this paper. The analytical reagents involved in the CL reaction, including luminol and hexacyanoferrate(III), were both immobilized on an anion-exchange column in FI system. The CL signal produced by the reaction between luminol and hexacyanoferrate(III), which were eluted from the column through sodium phosphate injection, was decreased in the presence of folic acid. The CL emission was correlated with the folic acid concentration in the range from 0.01 to 15 microg ml(-1), and the detection limit was 3.5 ng ml(-1) folic acid (3sigma). At a flow rate of 2.0 ml min(-1), including sampling and washing, could be performed in 2 min with a relative standard deviation of < 2.5%. The flow sensor could be reused more than 300 times and has been applied to the analysis of folic acid in pharmaceutical preparations. and the recovery was from 97.4% to 100.4%.     

Validated chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method for a novel anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus fluoroquinolone WCK 771

A sensitive, simple, specific, precise, accurate and rugged method for the assay and determination of enantiomeric purity of S-(-)-9-fluoro-6,7-dihydro-8-(4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-5-methyl-1-oxo-1H,5H-benzo[i,j]quinolizine-2-carboxylic acid L-arginine salt tetrahydrate (WCK 771) in bulk drug has been developed. The method is RP-HPLC using endcapped C-18 stationary phase and chiral mobile phase. Chirality to the mobile phase was imparted with addition of beta-cyclodextrin. The UV-vis detector was operated at 290 nm. The flow rate of mobile phase was 2 ml/min. The method offers excellent separation of two enantiomers with resolution more than 2 and tailing factor less than 1.5. The method was validated for the assay of WCK 771 and quantification of R-(+)-enantiomer impurity in bulk drug. The calibration curves showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.05-0.15 mg/ml for WCK 771 and 0.5-7.5 microg/ml for R-(+)-enantiomer. The precision (RSD) of the assay was 0.23%. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of the method for WCK 771 were 0.015 and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for R-(+)-enantiomer were 0.025 and 0.09 microg/ml, respectively. The average recovery of the R-(+)-enantiomer was 100.5%. Same method was applied for the assay and determination of enantiomeric purity of WCK 771 in the intravenous formulation.     

Determination of L-ascorbic acid in fruit and vegetable juices by flow injection with immobilised ascorbate oxidase

Ascorbate oxidase was immobilised on cyanogen bromide activated-Sepharose 4B and incorporated in a flow-injection system with amperometric detection at a glassy carbon electrode at +0.6 V. On passage through the immobilised ascorbate oxidase a fraction of the L-ascorbic acid was converted into dehydroascorbic acid and the decrease in signal was measured. This could be directly related to the amount of L-ascorbic acid present. The calibration graph was linear over the range 0-400 ng ml(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994. The detection limit (2 sigma) in phosphate buffer (0.08 M, pH 5.5) was 4.0 ng ml(-1). The relative standard deviation for a 200 ng ml(-1) standard was 1.0% (n = 10) and the sampling throughput was 30 samples h(-1). The method was used for the simple and rapid determination of L-ascorbic acid in fruit and vegetable juice.