A two-jet plasmatron for the spectrochemical analysis of geological samples

The analytical possibilities with a two-jet plasmatron with non-consumable electrodes have been investigated. Large amounts of easily ionised additives present in the plasma enhance atom line intensities of trace elements, the effect being greater the lower the ionisation potential of the element but the effect on ion line intensities is not significant. The temperature of the plasma is only slightly affected by the ionisation potential of the substance introduced into the plasma.Analytical errors caused by variations in the matrix and mineralogical composition of samples are of the same order as the random error of analysis. The analysis of different types of rock samples can be made using a single standard procedure giving a relative standard deviation of 4–6 % and detection limits between 10^?5 and 10^?7 %. A feature of the analytical method is the direct analysis of solid samples.     

Determination of Tryptophan in Pharmaceutical Formulations Using a Sequential Injection–Zone Fluidic–Chemiluminescence Tubular Reactor

Tryptophan is an important amino acid for humans with a significant role in cell metabolism. Depletion of tryptophan in the human body may contribute to diseases and development of disorders among the human population. It is, therefore, very important to have a reliable, stable, sustainable, and cost-effective analytical method for the determination of tryptophan. Tryptophan was determined using sequential injection–zone fluidics analysis with luminol–hydrogen peroxide and the Firefly with its unique liquid core waveguide flow-cell design as chemiluminescence tubular reactor with a high-sensitivity photomultiplier tube. This was based on an intense chemiluminescence formation of tryptophan in luminol–hydrogen peroxide inside the tubular reactor for measurement. The chemiluminescence intensity was linear with tryptophan in the range of 1.0?×?10^?6 to 1.0?×?10^?3?mol/L, and the limit of detection was 7.5?×?10^?7?mol/L. The precision for the method was 3.6% (relative standard deviation) for six measurements of 1.0?×?10^?4?mol/L tryptophan. The proposed method has been used to determine tryptophan in pharmaceutical formulations. The system is relatively fast for online assays. Eighty seconds are required to complete one cycle providing a throughput of 45 samples/h. The proposed sequential injection analysis–zone fluidics–chemiluminescence system for the assay of tryptophan in certain specific pharmaceutical capsules is simple, reliable, sustainable, and convenient with relatively low-cost consumption of reagents.     

Atomic emission spectrographic determination of trace elements in environmental objects using a two-jet argon arc plasmatron

The effect of the main components (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe) on the atomic and ionic emission of trace elements Sr, Lu, V, Sc, Ti, Cr, Pb, Sn, Ni, Co, Bi, Mn, Pd, Zn, Be, Ba, Zr, Y, and La in atomic emission spectrometry with a two-jet argon arc plasmatron was studied to improve the accuracy of the quantitative multielement analysis of natural objects. It was shown that all of the studied macro elements to a certain extent enhance the analytical signal. The maximum enhancement was 2.5-fold. The effect of the matrix composition of the material is not strong and can easily be controlled by properly selecting the operational conditions of the formation of a plasma jet and bufferation, and also samples and reference elements. It was shown that a wide spectrum of trace elements can be quantitatively determined in various rocks, soils, and plant ashes with a relative standard deviation of 6–15% and detection limit of n × 10^?4 to n × 10^?6% using unified reference samples prepared synthetically.     

Investigation of a “Plasmatron” as a tool for spectrochemical analysis of powdered samples of complex composition

A plasma jet produced by a plasmatron with non-consumed electrodes has been developed into a promising analytical tool. The temperature of the plasma does not depend on the chemical composition of the sample. The presence of an excess of an easily ionized element in the plasma results in the intensification of the lines of analyte elements. The main cause of the effect of sample composition on the intensity of spectral lines is a change in the electron pressure.The evaporation conditions were optimized. Analysis of samples of widely varying composition may be performed using a single set of reference samples with an accuracy meeting the requirements of quantitative analysis. The errors caused by the grain size of the samples are eliminated by grinding the samples to a particle size of 0·01 mm.Under optimum conditions of excitation the detection limits of elements are in a range between 10^?5 and 10^?7%. Many elements may be determined simultaneously.     

Static and Hydrodynamic Monitoring of Citalopram Based on its Electro-oxidation Behavior at a Glassy-Carbon Surface

Abstract

The electrooxidative behavior of citalopram (CTL) in aqueous media was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV) at a glassy-carbon electrode. The electrochemical behaviour of CTL involves two electrons and two protons in the irreversible and diffusion controlled oxidation of the tertiary amine group. The maximum analytical signal was obtained in a phosphate buffer (pH = 8.2). For analytical purposes, an SWV method and a flow-injection analysis (FIA) system with amperometric detection were developed. The optimised SWV method showed a linear range between 1.10 × 10^?5–1.20 × 10^?4 mol L^?1, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 9.5 × 10^?6 mol L^?1. Using the FIA method, a linear range between 2.00 × 10^?6–9.00 × 10^?5 mol L^?1 and an LOD of 1.9 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 were obtained. The validation of both methods revealed good performance characteristics confirming applicability for the quantification of CTL in several pharmaceutical products.     

Electrooxidation of dextromethorphan on a carbon nanotube–carbon microparticle–ionic liquid composite: applied to determination in pharmaceutical forms

The electrooxidation of dextromethorphan on a composite constructed with carbon nanotube–ionic liquid–carbon microparticles was investigated by cyclic voltammetry in a 100 mM phosphate buffer solution, pH 7.40. In the voltammograms, an irreversible diffusion-controlled anodic peak appeared. The diffusion coefficient of dextromethorphan, the electron-transfer coefficient, and the standard rate constant of the electrooxidation process were found to be 3.45?×?10^?6 cm² s^?1, 0.65, and 1.67?×?10^?3 cm s^?1, respectively. A sensitive and timesaving determination procedure was developed for the analysis of dextromethorphan, and the corresponding analytical parameters were reported. Using this method, dextromethorphan was determined with an LOD and LOQ of 8.81 and 29.36 μM in a linear range of 2.5?×?10^?4 to 3.3?×?10^?3 M, respectively. The proposed amperometric method was successfully applied to the analysis of commercial pharmaceutical products (syrup and oral drop), and the results were in good agreement with the declared values.     

Automated flow-injection procedures for glycerol and triglycerides

An automated flow-injection manifold with stopped flow and merging zones is reported for the determination of triglycerides (50–250 mg dl^?1) and glycerol (5.0 × 10^?6?1.0 × 10^?2 M). In each case, a single reagent cocktain (20 μl) is synchronously merged with sample (20 μl) and the rate of formation of NADH monitored spectrophotometrically at 340 nm. For glycerol, the reagent contains glycerol dehydrogenase and NAD in Tris buffer, pH 8.0; for triglycerides, lipase in also included. The correlation coefficient for triglycerides over the range 50–250 mg dl^?1 was 0.971.     

Simultaneous Determination of Levodopa and Its Metabolite in Human Blood by Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser‐induced Fluorescence Detection

A rapid, sensitive and reproducible method is described for the analysis of levodopa and its metabolite dopamine (DA) in human blood. The influence of carbidopa as the inhibitor againist the decarboxylase activity on the metabolism has been also studied. After derivatization in a dark pulsator for 12 h at room temperature, the fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) derivative of levodopa and other components were separated by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) within 13 min and detected with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Under the optimum analysis conditions, the linear range is 3.0×10^－8—4.0×10^－6 mol/L and 1.0×10^－8—2.0×10^－6 mol/L for levodopa and DA, respectively. The detection limits of levodopa and DA were 7.8×10^－9 mol/L (39.0 amol) and 3.1×10^－9 mol/L (15.5 amol), respectively. The method was successfully applied to monitoring the levodopa and DA in human blood after one took tablets orally.     

Simultaneous Analysis of Sugars and Polyphenols in Tobacco by CZE with Amperometric Detection Based on a Cu2O/MWCNT-COOH Composite Electrode

A composite electrode was fabricated from Cu₂O powder, carboxyl-functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH), and paraffin oil in the proportions 51:17:32 (w/w). This composite electrode was used for amperometric detection (CZE–AD) in simultaneous capillary zone electrophoretic analysis of chlorogenic acid, rutin, sucrose, glucose, mannose, and fructose in tobacco samples. Under the optimum conditions, the six analytes could be separated in 100 mmol L^?1 NaOH buffer within 30 min. Good linearity was achieved in the range 1 × 10^?7–1 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 for the two polyphenols and 5 × 10^?6–1 × 10^?3 mol L^?1 for the four sugars. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for the polyphenols and sugars were as low as 10^?8 mol L^?1 and 10^?6 mol L^?1, respectively.     

Simultaneous Determination of Neuroactive Amino Acids in Serum by CZE Coupled with Amperometric Detection

A quantitative determination of six neuroactive amino acids (NAAs) was performed by capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection (CZE-AD). This CZE-AD method utilized two electrolytes: the borate solution flowing in a capillary has the NAAs-separation effects, and the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution filled in the detection reservoir for the amperometric analysis of NAAs. The following experimental parameters were optimized: the working electrode potential, the pH value, the component, and the concentration of running buffer, the separation voltage, and the injection time on CZE-AD. Then, under the optimum conditions, the six NAAs could be completely separated in 30 min and had well-shaped AD responses at 0.75 V (versus SCE) on a copper electrode. The linear calibration range of NAAs was from 5 × 10^?4 to 5 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 with the limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 10^?6 to 10^?7 mol L^?1 (signal-to-noise ratio = 3), and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the migration time and peak area were 0.45–0.55 and 3.8–6.3 %, respectively. Moreover, this method has succeeded in human serum analysis, and the determined contents of the six NAAs in human serum were in an average recovery range of 85.3–117.9 %, which confirmed the validity and practicability of this method.     

Kinetic fluorometric methods for the determination of phosphates at the nanogram level using a lead(II)-catalyzed pyridoxal 2-pyridylhydrazone-hydrogen peroxide reaction

Fluorometric methods for the determination of phosphate (1.5 × 10^?6–3.1 × 10^?6M), diphosphate (7.0 × 10^?7–2.0 × 10^?6M), and triphosphate (2.0 × 10^?7–2.7 × 10^?6M) are described. The analytical procedure is based on the inhibition of polyphosphate ions on the oxidation of pyridoxal 2-pyridylhydrazone (PPH) by hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by low concentrations of lead(II) ions. The reactions are followed by means of the rate of appearance of the fluorescence (λ_ex = 355 nm, λ_em = 425 nm). The effect of the variables is studied. The kinetic parameters of the reactions are reported and rate equations are suggested. The results are interpreted according to the discernment of the chemistry of complex formations.     

Electrochemical investigation and determination of ceftazidime in pharmaceutical dosage forms and human urine

A voltammetric study of the oxidation of Ceftazidime (CEFT) has been carried out at the glassy carbon electrode by cyclic, differential pulse (DPV) and square wave (SWV) voltammetry. The oxidation of CEFT was irreversible and exhibited diffusion controlled process depending on pH. The oxidation mechanism was proposed and discussed. According to the linear relationship between the peak current and concentration, DPV and SWV voltammetric methods for CEFT assay in pharmaceutical dosage forms and human urine were developed. For analytical purposes, a well resolved diffusion controlled voltammetric peak was obtained in 0.1 M H₂SO₄ at 1.00 and 1.02 V for differential pulse and square wave voltammetric techniques, respectively. The linear response was obtained within the range of 4 × 10^?6?8 × 10^?5 M with a detection limit of 6 × 10^?7 M for differential pulse and 4 × 10^?6–2 × 10^?4 M with a detection limit of 1 × 10^?6 M for square wave voltammetric technique. The determination of CEFT in 0.1 M H₂SO₄ was possible over the 2 × 10^?6–1 × 10^?4 M range in urine sample for both techniques. The standard addition method was used for the recovery studies.     

Determination of Nanomolar Concentrations of Pb(II) Using Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Zirconium Phosphated Amorphous Silica

A sensitive and selective method for the determination of Pb(II) with a zirconium phosphated silica gel (SiZrPH) modified carbon paste electrode has been developed. The measurements were carried out in three steps including an open circuit accumulation following by electrolysis of accumulated Pb(II) at the modified carbon paste electrode and differential pulse voltammetric determination. The analytical performance was evaluated with respect to the carbon paste composition, pH of solution at the accumulation step, pH and concentration of supporting electrolyte, electrolysis potential, accumulation time and electrolysis time. Two linear calibration graphs were obtained in the concentration ranges 2.5×10^?9 mol L^?1–5.0×10^?8 mol L^?1 and 5.0×10^?8 mol L^?1–5.0×10^?6 mol L^?1 with an accumulation time of 120 s. The detection limit was found to be 3.5×10^?10 mol L^?1. The effects of potential interfering ions were studied, and it was found that the proposed procedure is free from interferences of common interfering ions such as tin, thallium and etc. The developed method was applied to Pb(II) determination in a wastewater sample.     

Immobilization of Horseradish Peroxidase on a Biocompatible Titania Layer–Modified Gold Electrode for the Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract

A procedure for fabricating an enzyme electrode has been described based on the effective immobilization of horseradish peroxidase to an ultrathin titania layer–modified self‐assembled gold electrode. The resulting electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytical activity to hydrogen peroxide in the presence of hydroquinone as a mediator. The analytical conditions were studied in detail by using an amperometric method. Under the optimized conditions, a detection limit of 7.1×10^?7 mol l^?1 and a linear response to hydrogen peroxide that ranged from 1×10^?6 mol l^?1 to 7.6×10^?4 mol l^?1 were obtained. The reproducibility and stability were examined with satisfactory results.     

Features of the Current Sustainment in a Low-Current Discharge in Airflow

The paper relates to the investigations of a low-current discharge in a vortex airflow with the electrode configuration corresponding to classical coaxial plasmatron. The gas flow rate is varied from 0.1 to 0.3 g/s at an inner diameter of the plasmatron nozzle of 5 mm. The discharge is powered by dc voltage via a ballast resistor. Typical averaged current is changed from 0.06 to 0.15 A so that a maximum averaged power dissipated in the discharge amounts to 160 W. In these conditions, a luminous gas region at the plasmatron exit, which in most publications is associated with a plasma jet, is observed. The method for the jet diagnostics based on a usage of the additional electrodes at the plasmatron exit has been proposed. The main idea of the experiments is the elucidation of the problem whether the jet actually represents the plasma area or we have to apply the term “plasma” with care. In particular, in the case under discussion the main charged particles in the jet are electrons that are emitted from a plasma column located in the plasmatron nozzle. The model that describes the formation of electron flow in the jet has been proposed. Typical electron density in the jet estimated with a usage of the model is at a level of 10⁹ cm^?3.

     

Determination of Butylated Hydroxyanisole by Briggs‐Rauscher Oscillating Reaction Catalyzed by a Macrocyclic Nickel (II) Complex

A novel analytical approach for quantitative measurement of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is dis‐ cussed in this paper. Such a method depends on the inhibitory effect of BHA on a Briggs‐Rauscher (B‐R) oscillating reaction. Unlike the classical B‐R system which involves Mn²⁺ as the catalyst, such a B‐R sys‐ tem is catalyzed by a macrocyclic nickel (II) complex [NiL](ClO₄)₂, where L in the complex is an unsatu‐ rated ligand 5,7,7,12,14,14‐hexemethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetraazacyclotetradeca‐4,11‐diene. By perturbation of BHA on the system, the oscillation was inhibited in the presence trace amounts of BHA and the inhibition time was found to be proportional to the concentration of BHA over the range 1.00×10^?7–1.20×10^?4 mol/L. Two calibration curves were obtained: the first linear regression is over the range of 1.00×10^?7–2.00×10^?6 mol/L, and the second linear regression is over the range between 2.00×10^?6 and 1.20×10^?4 mol/L, with a lowest limit of detection of 4.00×10^?8 mol/L. UV spectra measurements were employed to clarify the possible perturbation mechanism caused by BHA on the B‐R oscillating reaction.     

Highly Sensitive Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Detecting Ranitidine Based On Chemically Modifying Microenvironment of the Chemiluminescence Reaction

Using a graphite electrode modified with vaseline and NiO, ranitidine showed a strongly ECL enhancing effect for the weak ECL signal of electrooxidation of luminol. Based on this finding, a more sensitive ECL method for ranitidine was firstly proposed. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the ranitidine hydrochloride concentration in the range of 3.0×10^?8–9.0×10^?6 mol/L was proportional to the enhancing ECL signal and offered a 9×10^?9 mol/L detection limit for ranitidine hydrochloride. At the same time, based on the investigation on this ECL reaction mechanism, a new concept, to improve the suitable ECL reaction micro‐environment with chemically modified electrode technique for the better analytical performances of ECL analysis was also firstly proposed.     

Electrocatalytic Oxidation and Voltammetric Determination of Hydrazine on the Tetrabromo‐p‐Benzoquinone Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

The electrochemical properties of hydrazine studied at the surface of a carbon paste electrode spiked with p‐bromanil (tetrabromo‐p‐benzoquinone) using cyclic voltammetry (CV), double potential‐step chronoamperometry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in aqueous media. The results show this quinone derivative modified carbon paste electrode, can catalyze the hydrazine oxidation in an aqueous buffered solution. It has been found that under the optimum conditions (pH 10.00), the oxidation of hydrazine at the surface of this carbon paste modified electrode occurs at a potential of about 550 mV less positive than that of a bar carbon paste electrode. The electrocatalytic oxidation peak current of hydrazine showed a linear dependent on the hydrazine concentrations and linear analytical curves were obtained in the ranges of 6.00×10^?5 M–8.00×10^?3 M and 7.00×10^?6 M–8.00×10^?4 M of hydrazine concentration with CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods, respectively. The detection limits (3σ) were determined as 3.6×10^?5 M and 5.2×10^?6 M by CV and DPV methods. This method was also used for the determination of hydrazine in the real sample (waste water of the Mazandaran wood and paper factory) by standard addition method.     

Electrocatalytic Determination of Ascorbic Acid at the Surface of 2,7‐Bis(ferrocenyl ethyl)fluoren‐9‐one Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

A chemically modified carbon paste electrode with 2,7‐bis(ferrocenyl ethyl)fluoren‐9‐one (2,7‐BFEFMCPE) was employed to study the electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid in aqueous solution using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The diffusion coefficient (D=1.89×10^?5 cm² s^?1), and the kinetic parameter such as the electron transfer coefficient, α (=0.42) of ascorbic acid oxidation at the surface of 2,7‐BFEFMCPE was determined using electrochemical approaches. It has been found that under an optimum condition (pH 7.00), the oxidation of ascorbic acid at the surface of such an electrode occurs at a potential about 300 mV less positive than that of an unmodified carbon paste electrode. The catalytic oxidation peak currents show a linear dependence on the ascorbic acid concentration and linear analytical curves were obtained in the ranges of 8.0×10^?5 M–2.0×10^?3 M and 3.1×10^?5 M–3.3×10^?3 M of ascorbic acid with correlation coefficients of 0.9980 and 0.9976 in cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry, respectively. The detection limits (2δ) were determined to be 2.9×10^?5 M and 9.0×10^?6 M with cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry, respectively. This method was also examined for determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Simultaneous Determination of Epinephrine, Noradrenaline and Dopamine in Human Serum Samples by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Chemiluminescence Detection

A simple, rapid and accurate high performance liquid chromatographic （HPLC） technique coupled with chemiluminescence （CL） detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of epinephrine （E）, noradrenaline （NA） and dopamine （DA）. It was based on the analyte enhancement effect on the CL reaction between luminol and potassium ferricyanide. The effects of various parameters, such as potassium ferricyanide concentration, luminol concentration, pH value and component of the mobile phase on chromatographic behaviors of the analytes （E, NA and DA） were investigated. The separation was carded out on C18 column using the mobile phase of 0.01 mol/L potassium hydrogen phthalate solution and methanol （92 ： 8, V/V）. Under the optimum condi- tions, E, NA and DA showed good linear relationships in the range of 1 × 10^-8 -5 × 10^-6, 5.0× 10^-9 -1.0× 10^-6 and 5.0×10^-9-1.0× 10^-6 g]mL respectively. The detection limits for E, NA and DA were 4.0×10^-9, 1.0× 10^-9 and 8.0 × 10^-10 g/mL. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the analysis of E, NA and DA in human serum samples.