Sorption of uranium on lead hydroxyapatite

The uranium sorption from diluted aqueous solution onto lead hydroxyapatite was studied by using a batch-mode technique and the fluorimetric determination of uranium mass concentration. Partially crystallised lead hydroxyapatite [Pb₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂] was obtained by direct precipitation and mild heating. This material presents very high specific surface, which is the key factor in the sorption of uranium from diluted solution. This material has a high ability to remove uranium (K _d,max from 5,661 to 18,833 ml/g, at 4 and 60 °C, respectively) in the chosen setup conditions (initial concentration of uranium 5 × 10^?6 M and pH 5.65).     

Cathodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Tellurium(IV) with in situ Plated Bismuth-Film Electrode

Abstract

A very sensitive and reliable method is proposed for the determination of tellurium(IV) [Te(IV)] by Osteryoung square-wave cathodic stripping voltammetry. This method is based on the reduction of Te(IV) with bismuth(III) onto an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite electrode, followed by a cathodic potential scan. The reduced Te gave a well-defined catalytic hydrogen wave at ?1200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. The peak height of the catalytic wave was directly proportional to the initial Te(IV) concentration in the concentration ranges of 0.01–0.10 and 0.1–1.0 µg L^?1 with 30 s deposition time. A 3σ detection limit of 1.0 ng L^?1 Te(IV) was obtained with the same deposition time. The relative standard deviation was 3% on replicate runs (n = 5) for the determination of 0.1 µg L^?1 Te(IV). Analytical results of natural water samples demonstrate that the proposed method is applicable to the determination of traces of Te(IV).     

Anodic Stripping Voltammetry: Arsenic Determination in Ancient Bone Samples

Abstract

A highly sensitive method for the determination of arsenic (As) content in ancient bone samples was studied using a gold tipped rotating disc electrode and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. Factors affecting sensitivity and precision, including electrolyte concentration, deposition potential, deposition time, and rotation rate were investigated. Electroinactive As(V) was reduced to As(III) by HCl 30% w/v prior to electroanalytical measurements. For a deposition time of 120 sec, the lowest detection limit (LOD) for arsenic was 1.078 µg/L. Optimized working conditions are defined as a deposition potential of ?1200 mV with a deposition time of 120 sec, 10 M HCl as the supporting electrolyte, and a rotation rate of 2000 rpm. Results of electroanalytial measurements in ancient bone samples are compared with those obtained from the hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy (HG‐FAAS) analysis. Analytical relevancy of the two methods was then compared with the aid of statistical data treatment.     

Determination of Ultra Trace Amounts of Uranium (VI) by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry Using L-3-(3, 4-dihydroxy phenyl) Alanine as a Selective Complexing Agent

Abstract

The spectrophotometric behavior of uranium (VI) with L-3-(3, 4-dihydroxy phenyl) alanine (LDOPA) reagent revealed that the uranium can form a ML₂ complex with LDOPA in solution. Thus a highly sensitive adsorptive stripping voltammetric protocol for measuring of trace uranium, in which the preconcentration was achieved by adsorption of the uranium-LDOPA complex at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), is described. Optimal conditions were found to be a 0.02 M ammonium buffer (pH 9.5) containing 2.0 × 10^?5 M (LDOPA), an accumulation potential of ? 0.1 V (versus Ag/AgCl) and an accumulation time of 120 sec.

The peak current and concentration of uranium accorded with linear relationship in the range of 0.5–300 ng ml^?1. The relative standard deviation (at 10 ng ml^?1) is 3.6% and the detection limit is 0.27 ng ml^?1. The interference of some common ions was studied. Applicability to different real samples is illustrated. The attractive behavior of this reagent holds great promise for routine environmental and industrial monitoring of uranium.     

Determination of trace uranium (VI) using its self-assembly with a tetradentate–monodentate ditopic ligand by resonance light scattering

We describe here a resonance light scattering (RLS) method for uranium (VI) detection by using phosphorylethanol-amido-salophen (PAS) as optical probe. PAS is a tetradentate–monodentate ditopic ligand in which the tetradentate and monodentate ligands are salophen moiety and phosphate group, respectively. PAS can chelate uranyl with its salophen moiety. The chelated uranyl can connect phosphate group in another PAS through coordination reaction. This causes the self-assembly of PAS with uranyl to form a metallo-supramolecular polymer, resulting in a production of strong RLS signal. The RLS method was established based on the self-assemble. The RLS intensity is linearly related to the concentration of uranium (VI) in the 0.8–32 ng mL^?1 range, with a detection limit of 0.24 ng mL^?1 detection limit under optimal conditions. The method was successfully applied to determine uranium (VI) in environmental water samples with the recoveries between 97.1% and 102.6%.     

Uranium electrodeposition for alpha spectrometric source preparation

In this paper a simple method was used to design and set up an electrodeposition device for uranium source preparation for alpha spectrometry measurements. The aim of this work is to find the optimal parameters to be used to achieve uranium alpha sources with good spectral properties and maximum yield of the electrodeposition process. Samples with specific uranium activity were prepared from aqueous solution of uranyl nitrate hexahydrate (UO₂ (NO₃)₂·6H₂O). A series of preliminary experiments was conducted to establish the main parameters that have a significant influence on the deposition efficiency. Among these, the electrodeposition time was studied and the optimum time was found to be 1 h, in the case of our home-made deposition cell. It was also shown that a current of 1,500 mA, plating time of 60 min and pH range of 2–2.2 are the best conditions for deposition of uranium. The alpha spectrometry results show a good spectral resolution for the uranium sources obtained by the electrodeposition using the optimal parameters.     

Determination of trace uranyl ions in aquatic medium by a useful and simple method

Determination of trace uranyl ions was performed by using mixed micellar system and spectrophotometric determination. The method is based on cloud point extraction of uranyl ions after formation of an ion-association complex in the presence of Celestine Blue and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Then, the formed complex was extracted to non-ionic surfactant phase of Triton X-114 at pH 8.0. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions (e.g. concentrations and types of surfactants, concentration of complex forming agent, incubation conditions) were studied and analytical characteristics of the method (e.g. limit of detection, linear range, pre-concentration factor) were obtained by experimental studies. Linearity was obeyed in the range of 50–1,500 ng mL^?1 for uranium(VI) ion and the detection limit of is 14.20 ng mL^?1. The interference effects of common ions were also tested and validation studies were performed by using recovery test. The method was applied to the determination of uranium(VI) in several real samples.     

Study of uranium isotopic composition in groundwater and deviation from secular equilibrium condition

Uranium concentration in groundwater reflect both redox conditions and uranium content in host rock. In the present study an attempt has been made to study the uranium concentration and activity ratios of uranium isotopes to present the geochemical conditions of the groundwater in Malwa region of Punjab state, India and the reason for high uranium levels and variation of activity ratios from secular equilibrium conditions. Uranium concentration in groundwater samples was found to be in the range of 13.9 ± 1.2 to 172.8 ± 12.3 μg/l with an average value of 72.9 μg/l which is higher than the national and international guideline values. On the basis of uranium concentration, the groundwater of the study region may be classified as oxidized aquifer on normal uranium content strata (20 %) or oxidized aquifer on enhanced uranium content strata (80 %). The ²³⁸U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁴U isotopic concentration in groundwater samples was found to be in the range of 89.2–1534.5, 4.4–68.5, and 76.4–1386.2 mBq/l, respectively. Activity ratios of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U varies from 0.94 to 1.85 with a mean value of 1.11 which is close to unity that shows secular equilibrium condition. High value of ²³⁴U isotope than ²³⁸U may be due to alpha recoil phenomenon. The plot of AR of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U against the total uranium content in log scale reveals that the groundwaters of the study region either belongs to stable accumulation or normal oxidized aquifer.     

Uranium determination in water samples by liquid scintillation counting after cloud point extraction

The aim of this study is the radiometric determination of uranium in waters by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) after pre-concentration of the element by cloud point extraction (CPE). For CPE, tributyl phosphate (TBP) is used as the complexing agent and (1,1,3,3-Tetramethylbutyl)phenyl-polyethylene glycol (Triton X-114) as the surfactant. The measurement is performed after phase separation by mixing of the surfactant phase with the liquid scintillation cocktail. The effect of experimental conditions such as pH, reactant ratio (e.g. m(TBP)/m(Triton), ionic strength (e.g. [NaCl]) and the presence of other chemical species (e.g. Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions as well as humic acid and silica colloids) on CPE has been investigated. According to the experimental results the total method efficiency is (13 ± 2)% and the chemical recovery (50 ± 10)% at pH 4 and reactant ratio (V(TBP)/V(Triton) = 0.1). Regarding the other parameters, generally Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions as well as the presence of colloidal species in solution (even at low concentrations) results in significant decrease of the chemical recovery of uranium. On the other hand increasing NaCl concentration leads to enhancement of chemical recovery. The detection limit under optimum experimental conditions has been found to be 0.5 Bq L^?1 indicating that the method could be applied only to waters samples with increased uranium concentration. Moreover, the negative effect of the chemical species found in natural waters limits the applicability of the method with the respect to environmental radioactivity measurements.     

Determination of Ultra-Trace Amouris of Uranium by Icp-Aes Technique

Abstract

An Atomic Emission Spectrometric method based on the use of Inductively coupled argon Plasma source has been developed for the determination of ultra trace concentrations of uranium in aqueous solutions. Using the optimised experimental conditions for the ICP source, uranium can be determined at 0.05 μg/ml concentration in 0.3M HNO₃ solutions with either of the two analytical lines viz. 3859.6 Å or 4090.1 Å. The precision of determinations at the lowest detection limit is better than 2% R.S.D. The uranium estimation has been corrected for the interference due to the presence of eighteen metallic elements using an inter-element correction procedure. A number of spiked samples and NBL reference samples with concomitant impurities have been analysed using the standardised procedure and good agreement has been observed with their certified values.     

Electrochemiluminescence Detection of Clarithromycin in Biological Fluids after Capillary Electrophoresis Separation

Abstract

A sensitive analytical method for the determination of clarithromycin in biological fluids with electrochemiluminescence detection after capillary electrophoresis separation was proposed in this paper, based on the enhancing effect of clarithromycin on electrochemiluminescence of tris(2,2-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)₃ ²⁺). Various factors influencing the separation and detection of clarithromycin were examined to establish the detection system. Under the optimized conditions, the electrochemiluminescence intensity is proportional with the concentration of the analyte over the range of 0.1–10 µM with a detection limit of 30 nM (S/N = 3). The proposed method has been successfully applied for clarithromycin content determination in spiked human plasma and urine samples.     

Determination of uranium concentration in urine of workers in an Iraqi phosphate mine and fertilizer plants

Precise determination of uranium concentration in human urine is quite important in assessment of occupational and public exposure to uranium. In the present work, a pulsed dye nitrogen laser-induced kinetic phosphorescence analysis (KPA) was used to determine uranium in urine of Iraqi phosphate mine and fertilizer plant workers and in the population living near the mining region. A total of 92 urine samples were collected from workers of the Akashat phosphate mine, the Al-Qaim fertilizer complex, and the Akashat residential region. Uranium concentration in urine of all samples ranged between 0.49 to 5.26 μg L^?1 with a total average of 1.47 ± 0.01 μg L^?1. For comparison, all samples were also analyzed using a completely different technique; the nuclear fission track analysis using CR-39 SSNTD. Both techniques were capable of such measurements, although not with an equal degree of uncertainty. KPA technique is found to be more suitable for analysis of urine samples having high concentrations of uranium.     

Application of the Bismuth Film Electrode for Catalytic Adsorptive Stripping Potentiometric Determination of Cobalt in Dimethylglyoxime‐Nitrite System

Abstract

The application of bismuth film electrodes to the determination of cobalt by constant current adsorptive stripping potentiometry with exploitation of a catalytic effect is presented. The addition of NaNO₂ to the solution containing ammonia buffer and dimethylglyoxime results in a 25‐fold enhancement of the adsorptive stripping potentiometric cobalt signal. Several key parameters of the potentiometric stripping mode were optimized, including the composition of the supporting electrolyte, the stripping current, the accumulation potential, and the accumulation time. The optimized procedure yields favorable and highly stable stripping responses with good precision (RSD=1.4% for a Co concentration of 2 µg L^?1), low detection limit (0.07 µg L^?1), and good linearity (up to 10 µg L^?1, R²=0.998) with a deposition time of 60 s and a stripping current of 10 µA. The method enables the determination of Co in the presence of high excesses of Ni or Zn.     

Optimization of operating parameters and rate of uranium bioleaching from a low-grade ore

In this study the bioleaching of a low-grade uranium ore containing 480 ppm uranium has been reported. The studies involved extraction of uranium using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans derived from the uranium mine samples. The maximum specific growth rate (µ ^max) and doubling time (t _d) were obtained 0.08 h^?1 and 8.66 h, respectively. Parameters such as Fe²⁺ concentration, particle size, temperature and pH were optimized. The effect of pulp density (PD) was also studied. Maximum uranium bio-dissolution of 100 ± 5 % was achieved under the conditions of pH 2.0, 5 % PD and 35 °C in 48 h with the particles of d ₈₀ = 100 μm. The optimum concentration of supplementary Fe²⁺ was dependent to the PD. This value was 0 and 10 g of FeSO₄·7H₂O/l at the PD of 5 and 15 %, respectively. The effects of time, pH and PD on the bioleaching process were studied using central composite design. New rate equation was improved for the uranium leaching rate. The rate of leaching is controlled with the concentrations of ferric and ferrous ions in solution. This study shows that uranium bioleaching may be an important process for the Saghand U mine at Yazd (Iran).     

Rapid Flow-Injection Method for the Determination of Colistin by Sensitized Chemiluminescence Using the Acidic Permanganate–Sulfite System

Abstract

A simple, rapid, and sensitive chemiluminescence method for the determination of colistin (Polymyxin E), a cyclic polypeptide with antibiotic effect produced by certain strains of Bacillus polymyxa, has been developed by combining a flow-injection technique and the bacteria's sensitizing effect on the chemiluminescence reaction between sulfite and acidic permanganate. The optimum conditions for chemiluminescence emission were established. The chemiluminescence was proportional to the log of concentration of colistin over the range 4–100 µg mL^?1 (3.5–87 µM). The detection limit was 1.2 µg mL^?1 (1.0 µM) of colistin. The method has been satisfactorily used for the determination of colistin in pharmaceuticals.     

Chemiluminometric Determination of the Pesticide Pirimicarb by a Flow Injection Analysis Assembly

Abstract

A flow injection (FI) method is described for the determination of pirimicarb. It was found that an enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) signal is obtained when employing the luminol–H₂O₂–horseradish peroxidase (HRP) system. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the enhanced CL intensity was linear with the concentration 4.25–30.75 ng mL^?1 (r = 0.997, n = 8) with a relative standard deviation of 0.99%, containing 12.75 ng mL^?1 (n = 8). The limit of detection of the investigated compound was 0.12 ng mL^?1. The method shows a moderate selectivity against other pesticides (Amitrole, Atrazine, 2,4,5-T, Dichlorprop, and Metamidophos).The proposed method was sensitive, simple, rapid, and successfully applied to the determination of pirimicarb when it is applied in freshwater; the mean recoveries were 98.3–118.5%.     

Determination of Cysteine in the Presence of Copper in Diluted Alkaline Electrolyte by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry at the Mercury Film Electrode

Abstract

A stripping method for the determination of cysteine in the presence of copper at the submicromolar concentration levels is described. The method is based on controlled adsorptive accumulation of cysteine at mercury film electrode followed by linear cyclic voltammetry scan measurement of the surface species. Optimum experimental conditions were found to be the use of a 1×10^?3 M NaOH solution, an accumulation potential of ?0.50 V and a scan rate of 200 mV. s^?1. The response of cysteine is linear over the concentration range 0.04–0.20 ppm. For an accumulation time of 15 minutes, the detection limit was found to be 0.9 ppb (7.4×10^?9 M). The more convenient relation to measuring the cysteine in presence of metals, and others amino acids were also investigated. The utility of the method is demonstrated by presence of casein and ATP.     

Flow Injection Chemiluminescence Determination of Difenidol Hydrochloride Using N-Chlorosuccinimide-Dichlorofluorescein Reaction

Abstract

A flow injection method combined with chemiluminescence detection was described for the determination of difenidol hydrochloride. Strong chemiluminescence was recorded when difenidol hydrochloride was added into the reaction mixture of N-chlorosuccinimide with dichlorofluorescein in alkaline medium. The experimental conditions that affected the chemiluminescence signal, including the concentrations of reactants, the reaction medium, and the instrumental parameters, were carefully optimized. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the enhanced chemiluminescence intensity was linear related to the concentration of difenidol hydrochloride in the range of 4.0 × 10^?9 to 4.0 × 10^?7 g/ml. The detection limit for difenidol hydrochloride was 7 × 10^?10 g/ml, and the sample throughput was 90/h. The relative standard deviation was 2.5% for 5.0 × 10^?8 g/ml difenidol hydrochloride solution (n = 11). The interference of common inorganic ions, excipients, and additives used in pharmaceutical preparation was studied, which showed the method has higher tolerance limit for these substances and has good selectivity. As a preliminary application, the method was applied to the determination of difenidol hydrochloride in tablets, and the satisfactory results were achieved.     

Ultratrace Xanthine Determination in Diluted Alkaline Electrolyte by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry at the Mercury Film Electrode

Abstract

A stripping method for the determination of xanthine at the submicromolar concentration level is described. The method is based on controlled adsorptive accumulation of xanthine at a thin-film mercury electrode followed by a linear scan voltammetry measurement of the surface species. Optimum experimental conditions were found to be the use of a 5.0 × 10^?3 M NaOH solution, an accumulation potential of 0.00 V, and a scan rate of 20 mV s^?1. The response of xanthine is linear over the concentration range 20–140 ppb. For an accumulation time of 30 min, the detection limit was found to be 36 ppt (2.3 × 10^?10 M). The more convenient relations for measuring xanthine in the presence of the metals, hypoxanthine, amino acids, and other nitrogenated bases were also investigated. The utility of the method is demonstrated by the presence of xanthine in adenosine-5′-triphosphate or DNA.     

Histidine Determination in the Presence of Copper in Diluted Alkaline Electrolyte by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry at the Mercury Film Electrode

Abstract

A stripping method for the determination of histidine at the submicromolar concentration levels is described. The method is based on controlled adsorptive accumulation of histidine-copper complex at mercury film electrode followed by linear cyclic scan voltammetry measurement of the surface species. Optimum experimental conditions were found to be the use of a 1.0 × 10^?3 M NaOH solution, an accumulation potential of ? 0.20 V, and a linear scan rate of 200 mV sec^?1. The response of histidine is linear over the concentration range 0.02–0.12 ppm. For an accumulation time of 20 min, the detection limit was found to be 0.5 ppb (3.2 × 10^?9 M). The more convenient relation to measuring the histidine in the presence of metals, cysteine, tyrosine, and other amino acids was also investigated. The utility of the method is demonstrated by presence of casein, ATP, and ss DNA.