PVC matrix membrane electrodes based on cobalt and nickel phenanthroline complexes for selective determination of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) ions

Potentiometric sensors for determining cobalt and nickel ions are described. They are based on the use of cobalt and nickel tris(1,10-phenanthroline)-TPB as electroactive compounds dispersed in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) matrix. The sensors exhibit fast, near-Nernstian responses for cobalt and nickel-phenanthroline cations over the pH range 3–11 with a slope of 30.3 ± 0.3 mV/concentration decade. In the presence of excess 1,10-phenanthroline reagent, cobalt(II) and nickel(II) ions at concentration levels as low as 4 × 10^–6 M are accurately determined. The results show an average metal ion recovery of 98.5% with a mean standard deviation of 0.5%. Cobalt in organometallic compounds and nickel in silicate rocks are determined by these sensors and results agreeing fairly well with atomic absorption spectrometry are obtained.     

A Simple Liquid Chromatographic Method for Quantitative Extraction of Hydrophobic Compounds from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

We are reporting a rapid, high-capacity liquid chromatographic method for quantitative extraction and concentration of hydrophobic compounds from biological fluids and aqueous solutions. Samples are injected into commerically-available cartridges (Sep-Pak C^18R) containing a microparticulate, reversed phase packing which retains hydrophobic compounds. Inorganic salts and organic hydrophilic contaminants are removed with a water wash. Hydrophobic compounds are eluted quantitatively with minimal volumes (～5 ml) of organic solvents. As demonstrated with radiolabeled taurocholate, thin-láyer chromatography, enzymatic fluorimetry and capillary gas chromatography, complete recovery of bile salts from large volumes of urine, serum, amniotic fluid and hydrolysis reaction mixtures was achieved at flow rates up to 20 ml/min. A single cartridge concentrated approximately 50 mg of either taurocholate or the more polar bile salt, taurolithocholate sulfate. The technique is simple and applicable to the isolation of a wide range of hydrophobic compounds from aqueous solutions.     

Characteristics of immunosorbents used as a new approach to selective solid-phase extraction in environmental analysis

Summary The trace-level determination of organic pollutants in complex matrices is difficult and often not reliable because theccurrent extraction procedures are non-selective. New extraction sorbents involving antigen-antibody interactions, called immunosorbents (ISs), have been synthesised in order to trap a group of structurally related pollutants. The IS capacity is always high for the analyte-antigen used to make the antibodies, but can be low for some related compounds. In this work, we show the relationship that exists between capacity, break-through volume and recovery of analytes because of the competition between the structurally related compounds for antibody sites. Breakthrough due to the overloading of the column should be avoided because calibration curves are no longer linear. The capacity of two ISs, one made for trapping the triazine pesticide group and the second for the phenylurea, group, have been optimised by selecting silica with 50 nm pore size. Calibration curves are linear for all the compounds in a mixture of ten phenylureas up to a concentration of 5 to 10 μg L⁻¹ for each compound when handling 50 mL water samples through a precolumn packed with 0.22 g of IS. Under these conditions, reliable quantitative results are obtained because calibration curves are similar when compounds are alone or in a mixture. Application to the clean-up of soil extracts illustrates the high selectivity and the high potential of these new sorbents in environmental analysis. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Simple,Rapid, and Sensitive Determination of Thiols by Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection

Thiol compounds are important for protecting cells from oxidative stress. One common method of quantifying thiols is liquid chromatographic separation with fluorescence detection of their derivatives. The pH and the concentration of tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride in the reaction medium were shown to have significant effects on the fluorescence intensity of five thiol compounds: cysteine, glutathione, and three phytochelatins. The optimal pH range for derivatization, as indicated by the maximum fluorescence intensities, was 7.75–8.0 for all of the evaluated thiols. The thiol derivative fluorescence increased and then decreased with the tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride concentration. In particular, the fluorescence intensities of all of the derivatives decreased by 96.5–99.9% when tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride levels were increased from 0.1 to 1?mmol L^?1. We attributed these changes to preferential interactions between tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride and the thiol-specific fluorophore, monobromobimane. We describe herein a method, based on our optimized solution pH and tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride concentration, that is rapid (12?min) and boasts excellent recovery (91.3–102%), sensitivity (limit of detections, 17.8–75.2?pmol L^?1) and precision (relative standard deviation values ≤1.03%) for the quantification of these thiol compounds in microalgal samples.     

Direct determination of benzylnitriles using the cyanide ion selective electrode

The response characteristics of the solid state cyanide ion selective electrode towards some benzylnitriles are investigated. In 10M KOH solution, the electrode exhibits nearly Nernstian response over the concentration range of 10^–2 to 10^–4 M of various substituted benzylnitriles with an anionic slope of 53–59 mV/concentration decade. The response time varies from 10 to 20 min depending on both the nature of the substituent group and the concentration of the nitrile compound. Direct potentiometric measurement of some nitrile compounds at the concentration level of 0.01 to 1 mg/ml shows an average recovery of 98.2% and a mean standard deviation of 2.3%. Many nitrogen functional groups do not interfere.     

Non-volatile organic analysis of uranium ore concentrates

In support of nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation efforts, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is responsible for characterizing uranium ore concentrate (UOC) samples obtained from two ore mining and milling sites. A sorptive extraction method has been developed for analysis of non-volatile organic compounds that might be used to identify characteristics of the purification process by which uranium was separated from these ores. This method utilizes Gerstel Twister^® stir bars coated with polydimethylsiloxane to extract organic components from aqueous media. A slurry of UOC is extracted with the Twister^® stir bar in 20 % methanol/80 % water containing deuterated internal hydrocarbon standards. Following extraction of non-volatile organics, the Twister^® stir bar is analyzed directly in the inlet of a gas chromatograph fitted with a quadrupole mass spectrometric detector. Results have been consistent and have shown excellent recoveries of internal standards, with the average recovery being 97.5 %. Both qualitative and quantitative differences have been identified between the two sources of UOC utilizing this method. One source contained an increased concentration of amines which commonly are used in the recovery and purification of ores. Amines that were identified in this UOC source include dioctylamine, triisoctylamine, and Alamine^® 336, a common industrial complexant. Also, when comparing both sources, the same UOC source contained various decanol and C20 compounds. Based on the results from this study, non-volatile organic analysis of UOC using sorptive extraction with Twister^® stir bars and GC–MS is a tool that can be used to facilitate sourcing of unknown UOC.     

The development of a method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of petroleum hydrocarbon components using thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection

An analytical scheme to determine groups of petroleum hydrocarbon compounds in crude oil was developed and used for the qualitative and quantitative characterization of crude oil samples from the Shengli oilfield, the second largest oilfield in China. Crude oil samples were fractionated and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID). Relative standard deviation (RSD) values for retention time, peak height and half peak width were less than 5.2% for all classes of compounds, based on nine independent replicates. The crude oil light fraction was further analyzed by GC–MS and the majority of identified compounds were methyl- or hydro-derivatives of long-chain hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds. The external standard method used in the present study can lower detection limits of petroleum hydrocarbon compound classes to 20.0 mg L⁻¹, and the crude oil concentration in the range of 30 and 35,000 mg L⁻¹ has a high linear correlation (r² > 0.97, P < 0.05) with peak area. A comparison between elution chromatography (EC) and TLC-FID regarding the recovery of petroleum hydrocarbon compounds was carried out with aged crude oil contaminated soils of 50, 80, 200 and 300 mg g⁻¹. The tested TLC-FID method showed a 10% higher recovery for total extractable materials than the reference EC method. The calibration factor was fraction-dependent and varied with the recovery rate of TLC/EC. Regarding the tested extraction procedures, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) had a higher extraction efficiency for crude oil contaminated soils than Soxhlet and ultrasonic extractions.     

Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of giraldoid a,giraldoid B in rat plasma after oral administration of Daphne giraldii Nitsche extracts by LC–MS/MS

A simple sensitive LC–MS/MS method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of giraldoid A and giraldoid B in rat plasma. The method was applied to pharmacokinetics studies of the two compounds from Daphne giraldii Nitsche. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Acquity UPLC™ BEH C₁₈ column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 mm) by gradient elution with a flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹_. The method was linear over the concentration range of 1.0–1000 ng mL⁻¹, and the lower limits of quantification were 1.04 ± 0.10 and 1.04 ± 0.09 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (RSD) were <10.14 and 9.96%. The extraction recovery of the analytes was acceptable. Stability studies demonstrated that the two compounds were stable in the preparation and analytical process. The maximum plasma concentration was 687.78 ± 243.62 ng mL⁻¹ for giraldoid A and 952.38 ± 131.99 ng mL⁻¹ for giraldoid B. The time to reach the maximum plasma concentration was 0.50 ± 0.37 h for giraldoid A and 0.50 ± 0.66 h for giraldoid B. The validated method was successfully applied to investigate the concentration–time profiles of giraldoid A and giraldoid B.     

Choline Chloride–Lactic Acid-Based NADES As an Extraction Medium in a Response Surface Methodology-Optimized Method for the Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Hazelnut Skin

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are promising green solvents for the extraction of compounds from food byproducts. Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is one of the most commonly cultivated tree nuts worldwide. The skin represents one of the major byproducts of the hazelnut industry and accounts for 2.5% of the total hazelnut kernel weight. It is a rich source of phenolic compounds like flavan-3-ols, flavonols, dihydrochalcones, and phenolic acids. In this work, fifteen DESs based on choline chloride and betaine, with different compositions, were studied in order to test their phenolic compounds extraction efficiency through the determination of their total concentration via Folin–Ciocalteu assay. A qualitative analysis of extracted phenolic compounds was assessed by HPLC with UV and MS detection. Using the DES with the best extraction efficiency, a new ultrasound-assisted solid liquid extraction (UA-SLE) method was optimized though the response surface methodology (RSM), taking into account some extraction parameters. Efficient recovery of extracted phenolic compounds was achieved using a 35% water solution of choline chloride and lactic acid (molar ratio 1:2) as an extraction solvent, working at 80 °C and with a solid-to-solvent ratio of 1:25 gmL⁻¹. The optimized conditions made it possible to recover 39% more phenolic compounds compared to a classic organic solvent.     

Optimisation of derivatisation for the analysis of estrogenic compounds in water by solid-phase extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

An optimisation of derivatisation methods for the simultaneous determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water by solid-phase extraction (SPE) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed in this study. Seven highly potent EDCs including 17β-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), 16α-hydroxyestrone, 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol were selected as the target compounds. The SPE technique, followed by the derivatisation with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) was used for the extraction recoveries of compounds from water and effluent samples. The stability of the silylation derivatives under different reaction conditions was investigated. The combined use of BSTFA and pyridine as derivatisation reagents, together with the use of hexane as the final solvent, was preferred in order to generate more stable derivatives of EDCs. The relative response factor (RRF) of all derivatives except that of EE2 was stable 120 h after derivatisation. The addition of pyridine as derivatisation reagent with BSTFA can prevent the conversion of EE2 to other products during the reaction. Several parameters that may affect the recovery of EDCs, such as the SPE flow rate, and water properties including aquatic colloid content and surfactant concentration were tested. The results showed that the flow rate (1-25 mL min⁻¹), colloid concentration (0-50 mg L⁻¹) and surfactants concentration (0-10 μg L⁻¹) did not cause significant decrease in the EDCs recovery.     

Features of the complexation of octadecane-2,4-dione and lanthanide ions in Langmuir monolayers

Monolayers of octadecane-2,4-dione on the surfaces of EuCl₃ and TbCl₃ solutions in the concentration range of 1 × 10^–4 to 5 × 10^–3 M at pH 5.8 are studied. It is found that the limiting area of octadecane-2,4-dione molecule in a monolayer dependence on Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ concentration is of extreme nature. The formation of complex compounds in the ligand monolayer is postulated, and structures are proposed for these compounds at different concentrations of metal ions.     

Solid phase extraction of organophosphorus,triazine, and triazole-derived pesticides from water samples. A critical study

A critical study using C18 SPE columns for the determination of organophosphorus, triazine, and triazole-derived pesticides, nap-ropamide, and amitraz is presented. The type of sorbent, sorbent mass, flow rate in the extraction process, sample concentration of the different compounds, sample volume, pH, and ionic strength were evaluated. Special emphasis was placed on the evaporation step of eluates prior to GC determinations and on prefiltration of sample waters. Pesticide recovery is linear over a wide range of concentrations for most of compounds under study. Under general extraction conditions losses can be expected for amitraz, pro-metryn, prometon, dimethoate, penconazole, and propiconazole. At 100 ng L^?1, enhanced responses are produced for mevinphos, simazine, malathion, triadimefon, methidathion, and phosmet, which can be attributed to matrix effects. At basic pH, recovery of prometon, prometryn, and penconazole are improved. Low flow rates and high ionic strength enhance the recovery of prometon and prometryn. For phosmet, the influence of sample volume was established. Likewise, the influence of sorbent quantity was established for phosmet and dimethoate. Losses during the evaporation step were observed for mevinphos, dimethoate (> 50%), penconazole, propiconazole, and prometon (30%). Prefiltration of sample waters did not cause significant variations in the whole process of extraction. Impurities arising from the sorbent materials were not detected.     

Determination of polyphenolic compounds in wastewater olive oil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method for the determination of 21 polyphenolic compounds in wastewater from olive oil production plants is proposed. The method involves a liquid-liquid microextraction (LLME) procedure with ethyl acetate followed by a silylation step. Identification and quantification have been performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). MS measurements were carried out using selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). α-Naftol was used as internal standard. The proposed method was applied to the determination of these compounds in wastewater from an olive oil production factory in Jaén (Spain) at concentration levels ranging from 1.0 to 75.0 μg ml⁻¹ for each compound. The autodegradation process by own microbiota in samples collected in three different points of the factory was also studied. The method was validated by a recovery assay with spiked samples.     

Separation of phosphomolybdate by affinity chromatography

A new method of separating phosphomolybdate from phosphoric esters and anhydrides using a small column of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is introduced. When a mixture of phosphate compounds and ammonium molybdate (1–3%, pH 3-5) is poured onto such a column, inorganic orthophosphate (Pi)^p1 is selectively adsorbed onto the column material as phosphomolybdate, while other phosphate compounds, which do not react with molybdate, are drained through the column. Using radioisotopes, retention and recovery percentages were measured. At pH 3, 99.99% of Pi^p32 was retained in the column, while 97 ± 1% of ATP^p32 was recovered in the effluent. Retained Pi^p32 was eluted out later with 0.5 M ammonium hydroxide with a recovery percentage of 98 ± 1%. Unlike other methods of separating phosphomolybdate, the separation was little affected by the presence of reducing agents. The use of disposable columns, which can be prepared easily, packed ahead of time, and stored for later use, makes the radioisotopes assay convenient and contamination-free.     

The Application of Trichloroacetic Acid as an Ion Pairing Reagent in LC–MS–MS Method Development for Highly Polar Aminoglycoside Compounds

A simple, sensitive and robust liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for highly polar aminoglycoside compounds gentamicin, kanamycin and apramycin. The effect of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) concentration on plasma protein precipitation and sample recovery was studied and an optimized concentration of 25–30% TCA were determined that gives the best sample recovery for aminoglycosides from rat plasma. The effect of TCA concentration on the chromatographic behavior of gentamicin and tobramycin was studied on a Synergy Max RP-column using a mobile phase with a pH of 2.78. Other than protein precipitation, TCA also acted as ion pairing reagent and was only present in the samples but not in the mobile phases. The data demonstrated that by increasing the TCA concentration, the analyte retention and sensitivity were improved. The absence of TCA in mobile phase helped to reduce the ion source contamination and to achieve good reproducibility. The plasma method was linearly calibrated from 1–5,000, 20–10,000, 10–10,000 ng mL^?1 with precisions of 2.6–4.1, 3.3–5.0, 1.5–9.9%, and accuracies of 94.7–103.7, 87.9–104.9, 91.3–103.6% for gentamicin, kanamycin and apramycin, respectively. The LLOQs corresponding with a coefficient of variation less than 20% were 1, 20 and 10 ng mL^?1 for gentamicin, kanamycin and apramycin, respectively.     

Determination of 13C/12C-ratios of anthropogenic organic contaminants in river water samples by GC-irmMS

This study describes the application of a common analytical procedure adapted for compound-specific stable carbon isotope analyses of riverine contaminants. To evaluate the sensitivity of the analytical method and the precision of the isotopic data obtained, a set of numerous substances at different concentration levels were measured. For most of the anthropogenic contaminants investigated (including chlorinated aliphatics and aromatics, musk fragrances, phthalate-based plasticizers and tetrabutyl tin) acceptable carbon isotope analyses could be obtained down to amounts of approximately 5?ng absolutely applied to the gas chromatograph. These amounts correspond to concentrations in water samples at a natural abundance level of approximately 50–200?ng?L^?1 (low to medium contaminated river systems). However, it has to be considered that the precision and the sensitivity of the analytical method depend partially on the chemical properties of the substances measured. Five recovery experiments were conducted to assess changes in carbon isotope ratios during sample preparation and measurement. The compounds selected for these experiments are known riverine contaminants. Isotopic shifts or higher variations of the isotope ratios as a result of the analytical procedures applied were observed only for a couple of contaminants. Furthermore, compound-specific carbon isotope analyses were performed on eight water extracts of the Rhine river. By comparing the variation of the data of several individual compounds with the deviations obtained from the recovery experiments, it was possible to differentiate contaminants with unaffected isotope ratios and substances with significant alterations of the δ¹³C-values.     

Influence of salinity and natural organic matter on the solid phase extraction of sterols and stanols: application to the determination of the human sterol fingerprint in aqueous matrices

Faecal sterols have been proposed as direct chemical markers for the determination of faecal contamination in inland and coastal waters. In this study, we assess the impact of (a) the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), (b) the nature of DOC, (c) the salinity and (d) the concentration of sterols and stanols on their solid phase extraction. When natural organic matter (NOM) is modelled by humic acid, increasing DOC concentration from 2.7 to 15.4 mg/L has no significant impact on the recovery of sterols and stanols. The modelling of NOM by a mixture of humic acid and succinoglycan induces a significant (24%) decrease in the recovery of sterols and stanols. For all concentrations of target compounds, no significant increase in recovery is associated with increasing the salinity. Moreover, an increase in the recovery of target compounds is induced by an increase in their concentration. The nine target compounds and the recovery standard (RS) exhibit the same behaviour during the extraction step. Thus, we propose that (a) the concentration of target compounds can be corrected by the RS to calculate more realistic concentrations without modifying their profile and (b) the sterol fingerprint can be investigated in the colloidal fraction of aqueous samples without altering the information it could provide about the source. The application of this analytical method to waste water treatment plant influent and effluents yields results in agreement with previous studies concerning the use of those compounds to differentiate between sources of faecal contamination. We conclude that this analytical method is fully applicable to the determination of sterol fingerprints in the dissolved phase (<0.7 μm) of natural aqueous samples.     

A simplified procedure for the determination of butyltin species in water

A method is described for the analysis of solutions containing inorganic tin and butyltin compounds. It can be used to determine total tin at a concentration of 20 ng dm^?3 using a 5 dm³ sample. The method is based on solvent extraction with dichloromethane containing tropolone and determination of the tin as inorganic tin by atomic absorption spectroscopy using electrothermal atomization. The extracted butyltin compounds can be separated by paper chromatography and the tin content of the individual spot determined as above. Observations on the stability of butyltin compounds in water at the ～2 mg dm^?3 (Sn) are included.     

Electronic spectral characteristics of some phenolsulphonphthaleins

The visible electronic spectral characteristics of some phenolsulphonphthaleins were investigated in terms of medium and compound molecular structure effects. It was identified that in dilute solutions, the compounds studied exist in acid-base equilibria of the type HI⁻ = I⁻⁻ + H⁺. The recorded two visible absorption bands for dilute solutions of these compounds are assigned to transitions involving the whole molecule associated with charge delocalization which is liable to occur in the HI⁻ and I⁻⁻ forms. Effects of compound molecular structure, concentration and medium on the acid-base equilibrium are investigated and discussed. It is concluded that the solvent basicity as well as the possible stabilization of the dianion conjugate base I⁻⁻ by hydrogen-bond donation from the amphiprotic solvent play an important role in the extent of ionization of such compounds.     

Preparative separation of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin from Capsicum frutescens by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin are two main bioactive components of Capsicum frutescens and are widely used as food additives and drugs in China and India. Due to their similarity in structures, isolation of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin with traditional methods such as silica gel column chromatography, normal‐phase thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) becomes difficult. This study involves separating capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin with sufficient purity and recovery using high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) with a solvent system composed of n‐hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water–acetic acid (20:20:20:20:2, v/v/v/v/v). Separation parameters such as sample volume, and sample concentration were first optimized on analytical HSCCC, and then scaled up to preparative HSCCC. 0.65 g capsaicin and 0.28 g dihydrocapsaicin were obtained from 1.2 g crude extract and their purities were 98.5 and 97.8%, respectively. The recoveries of the two compounds were 86.3 and 85.4%, respectively. The purity of the isolated compounds was analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and their structures were identified by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ¹³C NMR analysis.