Determination of amino acids, vitamins, and drug substances in aqueous solutions using new potentiometric sensors with Donnan potential as analytical signal

Basic principles of a new potentiometric sensor are considered. Its analytical signal is the Donnan potential at the ion-exchange polymer/studied solution of electrolyte interface. Assessments of potential drops at individual interfaces are presented, same as estimates of diffusion potentials in the electrochemical circuit for measurement of the sensor response. It is shown that the overall contribution of the values of all potentials to EMF of the electrochemical circuit, except for the Donnan potential, at the ion-exchange polymer/studied solution interface are negligibly low as compared to the experimental values of the circuit EMF in the studied systems. Certain regularities of the Donnan potential formation are studied in the systems with the polymers of different structure and solutions containing inorganic ions and organic electrolytes in different ionic forms. The possibility is shown of using a sensor with such an analytical signal as the Donnan potential for assay of amino acids, vitamins, and drug substances in aqueous solutions. The sensor was used as a selective electrode for determination of lysine in aqueous solutions with neutral amino acids in the range of pH 5.0–7.0 and glycine in aqueous alkali solutions in the range of pH 9.00–11.00. The developed sensor is introduced as a cross-sensitive electrode into the array of multisensor systems for multicomponent quantitative analysis of the lysine monohydrochloride, thiamine chloride, novocaine hydrochloride, lidocaine hydrochloride solutions containing potassium and sodium chlorides. The measurement error of electrolytes in aqueous solutions did not exceed 10%.     

Potentiometric determination of lysine in aqueous solutions using MF-4SK modified perfluorinated membranes

A selective potentiometric sensor was developed on the basis of MF-4SK modified perfluorinated sulfonic cation-exchange membranes for determining lysine monohydrochloride in mixed aqueous solutions of neutral amino acids. It was shown that the treatment of MF-4SK membranes in ethylene glycol increased the sensitivity of the sensor. The use of MF-4SK perfluorinated sulfonic cation-exchange membranes for determining lysine in aqueous solutions is based on a protolytic reaction; as a result of this reaction, single-charged lysine ions from solution are transferred into doubly charged ions in the membrane phase. The Donnan potential at an individual boundary between the studied solution and the membrane is the sensor response. The response time was 10–15 min. The concentration constants of the sensor selectivity to lysine in the presence of glycine, alanine, and leucine did not exceed 0.019. The relative error of determining lysine monohydrochloride in the studied solutions of neutral amino acids was 2–5%.     

Studies on bis(crown ether)-based ion-selective electrodes for the potentiometric determination of sodium and potassium in serum

Bis(crown ether)-based ion-selective electrodes for sodium and potassium are described, based on the bis[(12-crown-4)-2-ylmethyl]-2-dodecyl-2-methyl malonate sensor(I) for sodium and the bis[(benzo-15-crown-5)-15-ylmethyl] pimelate sensor(II) for potassium. The best results were obtained when the sensors were used in association with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as plasticising solvent mediator and potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate as anion excluder in poly(vinyl chloride) matrices. Electrode slopes were near-Nernstian, with detection limits of less than 10(-5) M. The electrode features are compared with those of a sodium glass membrane electrode, for sensor I, and with a valinomycin-based potassium electrode, for sensor II. The electrodes are also discussed in relation to others reported for sensors I and II and are shown to be superior. However, although the electrodes described offer promising alternatives to glass electrodes for sodium and valinomycin electrodes for potassium, data for sodium and potassium measurements in blood serum indicate a need for further research in order to improve the correlation with flame photometric measurements.     

Structural and electrokinetic characteristics of ultra-and nanoporous glasses in tetraethylammonium chloride solutions

The structural and electrokinetic characteristics of ultra-and nanoporous glasses produced from basic sodium borosilicate glass have been investigated in tetraethylammonium chloride solutions. Colloido-chemical characteristics of the membranes have been compared with those determined in sodium and potassium chloride solutions. It has been found that the regularities of variations in counterion transference numbers and efficiency coefficients are related to a decrease in tetraethylammonium cation mobility in the membranes.     

A novel microfluidic flow-injection analysis device with fluorescence detection for cation sensing. Application to potassium

A microfabricated device has been developed for fluorimetric detection of potassium ions without previous separation. It is based on use of a fluorescent molecular sensor, calix–bodipy, specially designed to be sensitive to and selective for the target ion. The device is essentially made of a Y-shape microchannel moulded in PDMS fixed on a glass substrate. A passive mixer is used for mixing the reactant and the analyte. The optical detection arrangement uses two optical fibres, one for excitation by a light-emitting diode, the other for collection of the fluorescence. This system enabled the flow-injection analysis of the concentration of potassium ions in aqueous solutions with a detection limit of 0.5 mmol L⁻¹ and without interference with sodium ions. A calibration plot was constructed using potassium standard solutions in the range 0–16 mmol L⁻¹, and was used for the determination of the potassium content of a pharmaceutical pill. Figure Photography of the microfluidic channel showing the ridges in the PDMS substrate at the top of the channel     

Mercurous nitrate as a reductimetric reagent : The titration of various oxidising agents

It has been found that when excess of a solution containing ferrous ions is added to certain oxidising agents, the equivalent amount of ferric iron produced can be titrated accurately with mercurous nitrate, enabling the original oxidant to be assessed. Oxidising agents which have been determined in this way are potassium permanganate, potassium persulphate, ceric sulphate, sodium vanadate, potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and potassium dichromate. The last substance provides a convenient primary standard for the standardisation of mercurous nitrate solutions.     

Thermometric titration in investigation of the formation of polyanions of molybdenum(VI), tungsten(VI), vanadium(V), and chromium (VI)-I: comparison of thermometric and potentiometric titration curves

A new twin-cell thermometric titrator has been devised and used for thermometric titration of solutions of sodium molybdate, sodium tungstate, sodium orthovanadate, ammonium metavanadate, and potassium chromate with perchloric acid. The thermometric titration curves were compared with corresponding pH-titration curves for elucidation of the reactions occurring in the titrations. Thermometric titrimetric methods have been developed for the determination of tungsten, vanadium and chromium.     

Simultaneous determination of chlorine and sodium in large volume parenteral solutions by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Large volume parenteral solutions are pharmaceutical products containing as active compounds aminoacids, carbohydrates, calcium, chlorine, magnesium, potassium and sodium. A very simple fast and accurate method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of chlorine and sodium in large volume parenteral solutions by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Two reference materials were used for the precision and accuracy tests. The applicability of the method was checked by the assay of chlorine and sodium in large volume parenteral solutions from the Greek market. The results from all the analyzed samples showed that the proposed method with the advantages of simplicity (no chemical procedure is needed), rapidity (two-element analysis in one sample with one set of runs in 20 minutes) high precision and high accuracy is suitable for routine determinations of chlorine and sodium in large volume parenteral solutions.     

Potentiometric sensor array for the determination of lysine in feed samples using multivariate calibration methods

A potentiometric sensor array has been developed for the determination of lysine in feed samples. The sensor array consists of a lysine biosensor and seven ion-selective electrodes for NH4+, K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Li+, and H+, all based on all-solid-state technology. The potentiometric lysine biosensor comprises a lysine oxidase membrane assembled on an NH4+ electrode. Because the selectivity of the lysine biosensor towards other cation species is not sufficient, there is severe interference with the potentiometric response. This poor selectivity can be circumvented mathematically by analysis of the richer information contained in the multi-sensor data. The sensor array takes advantage of the cross-selectivity of lysine for each electrode, which differs from the other species and quantification of lysine in complex feed sample extracts is accomplished with multivariate calibration methods, such as partial least-squares regression. The results obtained are in a reasonable agreement with those given by the standard method for amino acid analysis.     

Adsorption of alkali and alkaline earth radionuclides on zeolite from water solutions

The adsorption of cesium and strontium ions from water solutions on zeolite has been investigated in presence of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium ions. Distribution ratios of cesium and strontium on the zeolite were determined in solutions of various compositions and solution volume to sorbent weight ratios (batch factor). Breakthrough curves for zeolite layers are reported.     

Determination of caesium-137 in fast-reactor coolant systems

A method for the separation of caesium by ion-exchange involving ammonium 12-molybdophosphate has been investigated, and found to be 100% efficient for aqueous solutions with high sodium and potassium concentrations.     

Determination of trace elements in cardiotonic drugs by neutron activation analysis

Potassium may be intimately involved to the action of cardiac glycosides. Chlorine and potassium also act as diuretics. The elements chlorine, manganese, potassium and sodium are determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis in all the cardiotonic drugs which are currently used in Greece. All the available pharmaceutical forms of these drugs were analysed (pills, injections, water solutions). It has been found that there is a wide variation among the different values for managanese, sodium and chlorine while for potassium values are relatively constant. Results are discussed from the pharmacological point of view. It is proposed to study the role of manganese in cardiotonic drugs as well as the effect of potassium addition in oral pharmaceutical form of cardiotonic drugs in decreasing the toxicity of cardiac glycosides.     

A fluorescent sensor with high selectivity and sensitivity for potassium in water

This communication describes a new optical sensor suitable for practical measurement of extracellular (serum or whole blood) potassium. The sensor responds rapidly and reversibly to changes in potassium concentrations typical of whole blood samples. No interferences from clinical concentrations of calcium or pH are observed, and the sodium interference is very minor. Excitation and emission occur in the visible light region. This new potassium sensor is currently used in the Roche OPTI CCA, a commercially available whole blood analyzer.     

Atomic-absorption spectrometric determination of calcium, magnesium and potassium in leaf samples after decomposition with molten sodium hydroxide

The decomposition of standard leaf samples of varied origin and nature by fusion with sodium hydroxide in an open system has been studied. The use of sodium nitrate as an auxiliary agent facilitated the mineralization of most of the samples. The solutions obtained were analysed for calcium, magnesium and potassium by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry. The method is fast and quite precise, with absolute standard deviations of 0.04-0.13, 0.002-0.03 and 0.04-0.12% for calcium, magnesium and potassium contents of O.8-5.0, 0.13-0.48 and 0.36-2.2% respectively. The limits of detection (mug/ml) in the determination step were 0.10 for calcium, 0.011 for magnesium, and 0.09 for potassium.     

A thermogravimetric study of acidic and basic solutes in two molten alkali metal nitrate eutectics

The reaction of ten oxyanions and oxides, acting as Lux—Flood acids have been studied in both lithium nitrate—potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate—potassium nitrate eutectics and the stoichiometries of the reactions established. A series of acids arranged in order of decreasing strength has been drawn up, which is very similar for both eutetic solvents.Five Lux—Flood bases have also been studied in these two solvents. Sodium carbonate proved to be very stable to 500°C. Sodium peroxide revealed significant differences in stability and solubility in the two solvents, while lithium, sodium and potassium hydroxides showed differences in the two melts and also considerable differences between each other, suggesting that little cation exchange takes place in these solutions.     

Characterization of inks by paper chromatography,for criminological purposes

Circular paper chromatography according to Rutter's method, which gives excellent results for the comparative study of very small quantities of a given substance, has been of considerable help for the characterization of inks for criminological purposes. The quantities of ink examined correspond to 0.0001 ml. Chromatograms were studied by means of ultraviolet light using various reagent solutions: sodium hydrosulphite, potassium hydroxide, hydrogen, peroxide, and potassium ferrocyanide.     

Zum analytischen Einsatz von Kryptaten für die maßanalytische Erfassung von Lithium,Natrium und Kalium in wäßrigen Lösungen

The application of cryptates has been tested for the quantitative determination of lithium, potassium and sodium. Titrimetric determinations are possible for lithium in the range from 10^?1 to 10^?3 M and for sodium and potassium from 10^?1 to 10^?4 M. Ion sensitive glass electrodes were used for indication. In pure solutions the variation coefficient for lithium amounts of 0.14 mg was found to be ±1.1%, for 0.46 mg of sodium ±1.1% and for 0.78 mg of potassium ±1.8 %. Mutual interferences of the alkalis, of ammonium ions and of the alkaline earths were investigated.     

Zum analytischen Einsatz von Kryptaten für die maßanalytische Erfassung von Lithium,Natrium und Kalium in wäßrigen Lösungen

The application of cryptates has been tested for the quantitative determination of lithium, potassium and sodium. Titrimetric determinations are possible for lithium in the range from 10^?1 to 10^?3 M and for sodium and potassium from 10^?1 to 10^?4 M. Ion sensitive glass electrodes were used for indication. In pure solutions the variation coefficient for lithium amounts of 0.14 mg was found to be ±1.1%, for 0.46 mg of sodium ±1.1% and for 0.78 mg of potassium ±1.8 %. Mutual interferences of the alkalis, of ammonium ions and of the alkaline earths were investigated.     

Evaluation of coated QCM for the detection of atmospheric ozone

A coated acoustic wave sensor has been developed to selectively detect atmospheric ozone. The selective detection has been assessed using a variety of coatings: beeswax, gallic acid, indigo carmine, polybutadiene, potassium iodide and sodium nitrite. Polybutadiene was the most sensitive with a limit of detection of 55 ppb. The sensitivity was improved by operating at higher harmonics and was shown to increase linearly with harmonic up to the 11th harmonic. This novel work shows that ozone detection can be improved by operating at the crystal's harmonic frequencies and in conjunction with a suitable flow rate, a potentially highly sensitive and fast response sensor can be created based on acoustic wave technology.     

Fiber optic sodium and potassium sensing by using a newly synthesized squaraine dye in PVC matrix

In recent years squarines received attention as fluorescent labels. Their very promising spectral properties such as long wavelength absorption and emission, high extinction coefficients and quantum yields could lead novel sensing technologies. In this work newly synthesized fluoroinophores named bis[4-N-(1-aza-4,7,10,13-tetraoxacyclopentadecyl)-3,5-dihydroxyphenyl]squaraine, azacrown-1 and 2 bis[4-N-(1-aza-4,7,10,13,16-pentaoxacyclooctadecyl)-3,5-dihydroxyphenyl]squaraine, azacrown-2 have been used for sodium and potassium sensing in plasticized PVC matrix. The squaraine derivatives exhibited fluorescence emission based optical responses to sodium and potassium with a detection limit of 1.10(-9) M. The sensor compositions exhibited wide response ranges between 10(-9) and 10(-5) M Na(+)or K(+), and, therefore, may be an alternative method to flame emission spectroscopy. The sensor is fully reversible within the dynamic range and the response time is 3 min under batch conditions. Cross sensitivity to pH is negligible in the pH range of 6.2-7.3. Throughout fiber optic based studies a relative signal change of 54-56% has been achieved. The azacrown dyes have the advantage that they can be excited with long wavelength light and, are, therefore, LED compatible. The cross sensitivity of azacrown-1 and -2 to Ba(2+), Ca(2+) and NH(4)(+)were also tested in separate solutions.