Binary and ternary uranium(VI) humate complexes studied by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

The complexation of U(VI) with humic acid (HA) in aqueous solution has been investigated at an ionic strength of 0.1 M (NaCl) in the pH range between pH 2 and 10 at different carbonate concentrations by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. For the first time, the formation of binary and ternary U(VI) humate complexes was directly verified by in situ spectroscopic measurements. The complex formation constants for the binary U(VI) humate complex (UO(2)HA(II)) and for the ternary U(VI) mono hydroxo humate complex (UO(2)(OH)HA(I)) as well as the ternary U(VI) dicarbonato humate complex (UO(2)(CO(3))(2)HA(II)(4-)) determined from the spectroscopic data amount to log β(0.1 M) = 6.70 ± 0.25, log β(0.1 M) = 15.14 ± 0.25 and log β(0.1 M) = 24.47 ± 0.70, respectively, and verify literature data.     

Sensor applications of attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy

Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is one of the most powerful methods for recording infrared spectra of biological materials in general, and of biological membranes in particular. It is fast, yields a strong signal with only a few micrograms of sample and recent ATR devices allow the recording of nanogram quantities. Importantly, it allows information about the orientation of various parts of the molecules under study to be evaluated in an oriented system. While mid-infrared radiation has been most used for fundamental research on molecular structure, it is becoming an interesting alternative for sensor research. In addition to the usual sensor response, one of its advantages is its sensitivity to molecular conformation. In turn, the binding of a drug onto a receptor may be monitored as for other detection methods but in addition the evaluation of the structural response of the receptor to this binding is likely to bring invaluable information on the mechanism of action of the drug. The present review focuses only on the ATR-mid IR spectroscopy with a special interest for proteins and biological membranes.     

Molecular orientation of rigid‐rod polyimide films characterized by polarized attenuated total reflection/fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

The variations in the molecular orientation of uniaxially drawn rigid‐rod polyimide films were systematically characterized in all three dimensions with polarized attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The second‐order orientation coefficients were directly deduced from the anisotropy in IR absorptions of particular bands. With the draw ratio increasing, the state of the molecular orientation changed from being nearly planar to completely uniaxial via biaxial orientation, and the degree of orientation was much larger than that of a semirigid polyimide having an ether linkage at the same draw ratio, which originated from the rigid‐rod structure. In addition, the imide planes were rotationally oriented to the out‐of‐plane direction of the film geometry. Furthermore, the relationship between the molecular chain orientation and the in‐plane birefringence in the biaxial orientation state was examined. The intrinsic birefringence was estimated from biaxial orientation films to be 0.33 at a wavelength of 1307 nm. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 418–428, 2003     

Quantitative determination of prednisone in tablets by infrared attenuated total reflection and Raman spectroscopy

The quantification of prednisone in tablets was performed using partial least squares (PLS) models based on FTIR-attenuated total reflection (ATR) and FT-Raman spectra. To compare the predictive ability of these models, the relative standard error of prediction (RSEP) values were calculated. In the case of prednisone determination from the FT-Raman data, RSEP values of 3.1 and 3.2% for the calibration and validation data sets were obtained. For FTIR-ATR models, which were constructed using five spectra for each sample, these errors amounted to 2.6 and 2.9%, respectively. Four commercial products containing 1, 5, 10, and 20 mg prednisone/tablet were quantified. Concentrations derived from the elaborated models correlated strongly with the results of reference analyses and with the declared values (in parentheses). The analyses gave recoveries of 100.0-101.6% (100.1-103.0%) and 98.1-103.2% (100.4-102.9%) for FTIR-ATR and FT-Raman data, respectively. A successful quantification of prednisolone in tablets containing 5 mg active ingredient/tablet was also performed using the PLS model, which was based on FTIR-ATR spectra, with a recovery of 99.8 (98.8%). Both reported spectroscopic techniques can be used as fast and convenient alternatives to the standard pharmacopeial methods of prednisone and prednisolone quantification in solid dosage forms. However, in the case of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, it is necessary to repeat measurements several times to obtain sufficiently low quantification errors.     

Exploring catalytic solid/liquid interfaces by in situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy

In situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectroscopy has gained considerable attention as a powerful tool for exploring processes occurring at solid/liquid and solid/liquid/gas interfaces as encountered in heterogeneous catalysis and electrochemistry. Understanding of the molecular interactions occurring at the surface of a catalyst is not only of fundamental interest but constitutes the basis for a rational design of heterogeneous catalytic systems. Infrared spectroscopy has the exceptional advantage to provide information about structure and environment of molecules. In the last decade, in situ ATR-FT-IR has been developed rapidly and successfully applied for unraveling processes occurring at solid/liquid interfaces. Additionally, the kinetics of complex reactions can be followed by quantifying the concentration of products and reactants simultaneously in a non-destructive way. In this tutorial review we discuss some key aspects which have to be taken into account for successful application of in situ ATR-FT-IR to examine solid/liquid catalytic interfaces, including different experimental aspects concerned with the internal reflection element, catalyst deposition, cell design, and advanced experimental methods and spectrum analysis. Some of these aspects are illustrated using recent examples from our research. Finally, the potential and some limitations of ATR will be elucidated.     

Ex-vivo determination of blood glucose by microdialysis in combination with infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy

Several biosensors have been developed for continuous monitoring of human blood glucose, which is desirable for insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Developments in the field of quantitative assays using infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy allow the determination of metabolites at low concentrations. The microdialysis technique can provide a continuous sampling of extracellular body fluids. As only compounds of low molecular weight are passed on, infrared spectrometric quantitation is eased considerably. Samples were obtained by microdialysis of human blood plasma and aqueous glucose solutions. Multivariate calibration by partial least-squares was evaluated for its analytical performance in ex-vivo blood glucose monitoring. Mean squared prediction errors obtained by cross validation were 5.4 mg/dL for dialysate samples from different patients and 1.3 mg/ dL for dialysates from glucose solutions. Further investigations were carried out to achieve miniaturization of the measuring and detection device. Received: 5 December 1996 / Revised: 20 March 1997 / Accepted: 29 March 1997     

Ex-vivo determination of blood glucose by microdialysis in combination with infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy

Several biosensors have been developed for continuous monitoring of human blood glucose, which is desirable for insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Developments in the field of quantitative assays using infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy allow the determination of metabolites at low concentrations. The microdialysis technique can provide a continuous sampling of extracellular body fluids. As only compounds of low molecular weight are passed on, infrared spectrometric quantitation is eased considerably. Samples were obtained by microdialysis of human blood plasma and aqueous glucose solutions. Multivariate calibration by partial least-squares was evaluated for its analytical performance in ex-vivo blood glucose monitoring. Mean squared prediction errors obtained by cross validation were 5.4 mg/dL for dialysate samples from different patients and 1.3 mg/ dL for dialysates from glucose solutions. Further investigations were carried out to achieve miniaturization of the measuring and detection device.     

PH-dependent coordination of metal-lisinopril complex investigated by attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

In order to simulate the in vivo binding behavior of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to the zinc-containing active center of ACE, the in vitro interaction between lisinopril and zinc or nickel ions was investigated in aqueous solutions of different pH by using attenuated total reflection (ATR)/Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy with second-derivative IR spectral analysis. The results indicated that the lisinopril dissociation process occurred in a stepwise fashion during increase in pH. The IR peaks at 1642 cm(-1) (carbonyl stretching of tertiary amide) and at 1582 cm(-1) (asymmetric COO- stretching) for lisinopril in solution at pH 3.5 shifted to 1606 and 1586 cm(-1) after addition of Ni2+ ions, respectively, but there was no marked changes in IR spectra of lisinopril after addition of Zn2+ ions. When the Zn2+ ions were added to lisinopril solution at pH 5.0, the peak at 1642 cm(-1) also shifted to 1604 cm(-1) and the peak at 1582 cm(-1) shifted to 1586 cm(-1), similar to the changes at pH 3.5 after adding Ni2+ ions. However, the peaks at 1582 and 1642 cm(-1) both shifted to 1599 cm(-1) after addition of Ni2+ ions at pH 5.0 or at pH 7.3. The peak at 1576 cm(-1) also shifted to 1599 cm(-1) after addition of Zn2+ ions to lisinopril solution at pH 7.3. Different coordination sites or types (chelating, bridging or pseudounidentate complex) between lisinopril and Zn2+ or Ni2+ ions were proposed, based on the separation value between v(as) (COO-) and v(s) (COO-), and the shifting of carbonyl groups. Coordination of the secondary amine in lisinopril to metal ions was also evidenced.     

In situ monitoring of the DNA hybridization by attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

In situ monitoring of DNA hybridization kinetics is achieved via an attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) technique using a sandwich assay structure. The synergistic enhancement effect gives this ATR-SEIRAS-based detection strategy promise to be a convenient and unique platform for bioanalysis.     

Rapid determination of total trans fat content--an attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy international collaborative study

Interest in trans fat labeling has prompted efforts to develop new, more efficient methods for rapidly and accurately determining trans fat content of foods. A novel and rapid (5 min) attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopic procedure was recently developed and applied to food products. This procedure was voted official method AOCS Cd 14d-99 by the American Oil Chemists' Society in 1999 after testing in a 12 laboratory international collaborative study. The results of the study are described in this paper. Analytical ATR-FTIR results exhibited high accuracy in the range 5-40% trans; results tended to have <2% high bias relative to the gravimetrically determined values. The precision of this internal reflection method was found to be superior to the precision of transmission infrared official methods. It is recommended that the applicability of the ATR-FTIR method be limited to trans levels of >5% (as percent of total fat).     

Hygrothermal degradation of (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane films studied by neutron and X-ray reflectivity and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy

Thin films of organosilanes have great technological importance in the areas of adhesion promotion, durability, and corrosion resistance. However, it is well-known that water can degrade organosilane films, particularly at elevated temperatures. In this work, X-ray and neutron reflectivity (XR and NR) were combined with attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy to study the chemical and structural changes within thin films of (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPS) after exposure for various periods of time to air saturated with either D2O or H2O at 80 degrees C. For NR and XR, ultrathin (approximately 100 A) films were prepared by spin-coating. Both D2O and H2O provide neutron scattering contrast with GPS. Variations in the neutron scattering length density (SLD) profiles (a function of mass density and atomic composition) with conditioning time were measured after drying the samples out and also swelled with H2O or D2O vapor at room temperature. For samples that were dried out prior to measurement, little or no change was observed for H2O conditioning up to 3.5 days, but large changes were observed after 30 days of conditioning. The range of conditioning time for this structural change was narrowed to between 4 and 10 days with XR. The SLD profiles indicated that the top portion of the GPS film was transformed into a thick low-density layer after conditioning, but the bottom portion showed little structural change. A previous NR study of as-prepared GPS films involving swelling with deuterated nitrobenzene showed that the central portion of the film has much lower cross-link density than the region nearest the substrate. The present data show that the central portion also swells to a much greater extent with water and hydrolyzes more rapidly. The chemical degradation mechanism was identified by IR as hydrolysis of siloxane bonds. For ATR-IR, GPS films were prepared by dip-coating, which resulted in a greater and more variable thickness than for the spin-coated samples. The IR spectra revealed an increase in vicinal silanol generation over the first 3 days of conditioning followed by geminal silanol generation. Thus, the structural change detected by NR and XR roughly coincided with the onset of geminal silanol generation. Finally, little change in the reflectivity data was observed for films conditioned with D2O at 80 degrees C for 1 month. This indicates that hydrolysis of Si-O-Si is much slower with D2O than with H2O.     

CO adsorption and oxidation at the catalyst-water interface: an investigation by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy

Adsorption of carbon monoxide and oxidation of preadsorbed carbon monoxide from gas and aqueous phases were studied on a platinum catalyst deposited on a ZnSe internal reflection element (IRE) using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. The results of this study convincingly show that it is possible to prepare platinum metal layers strongly attached to an IRE, which are stable for over 3 days in aqueous-phase experiments. It is shown that ATR-IR spectroscopy is a suitable technique to study adsorption and catalytic reactions occurring at the interface of a solid catalyst in an aqueous reaction mixture, even with an extreme low-surface-area catalyst. Clearly, ATR-IR spectroscopy allows for a direct comparison of reactions on a catalytic surface in gas and liquid phases on the same sample. CO was found to adsorb both linearly and bridged on the platinum metal layer when adsorbed from the gas phase, but only linear CO was detected in aqueous solution, although with 5 times higher intensity. Oxidation of preadsorbed CO on platinum occurs in both gas phase, wetted gas, and aqueous media and was found to be 2 times faster in the aqueous phase compared to gas-phase oxidation because of a promoting effect of water. Moreover, during oxidation at room temperature, CO2 adsorbed on Pt/ZnSe was detected in both gas and aqueous phases.     

Rheo-optical Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of polymers

Rheo-optical FTIR spectroscopy has been applied to monitor the onset, progress and decay of strain-induced crystallization in loading-unloading cycles of sulfur-crosslinked natural rubber at 300 K and 343 K. From the short-time spectroscopic data conclusions were also drawn with respect to the orientation of the average polymer and the polymer chains in the strain-induced crystal phase.     

Photoassisted decomposition of malonic acid on TiO2 studied by in situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy

The photoassisted mineralization, i.e., conversion to CO2 and water, of malonic acid over P25 TiO2 was investigated by in situ attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy in a small volume flow-through cell. Reassignment of the vibrational bands of adsorbed malonic acid, assisted by deuterium labeling, reveals two dissimilar carboxylate groups within the molecule. This indicates adsorption via both carboxylate groups, one in a bridging or bidentate and the other in monodentate coordination. During irradiation the coverage of malonic acid strongly decreases, and oxalate is observed on the surface in at least two different adsorption modes. The major oxalate species observed during irradiation is characterized by monodentate coordination of both carboxylate groups. In the dark, however, part of these species adopts another adsorption mode, possibly interacting only with one carboxylate group. During band gap illumination a large fraction of the surface is not covered by acid. Oxalate is a major intermediate in the mineralization of malonic acid. However, the observed transient kinetics of adsorbed malonic and oxalic acid indicates additional pathways not involving oxalate. The rate constant for oxalate decomposition is slightly larger than the one for oxalate formation from malonic acid. As the oxalate is desorbing slowly from the surface its concentration in the liquid phase is small, despite the fact that it is a major intermediate in the mineralization of malonic acid.     

The mid-infrared (attenuated total reflection) spectroscopy of ethylene carbonate in water.

Ethylene carbonate (EC) and water solution compositions ranging from pure water to 60 mass% EC have been examined using infrared (attenuated total reflection) spectroscopy. The fundamental vibrational modes of EC in the mid-infrared between 2050 and 1000 cm(-1) were fitted to mixed Lorentzian-Gaussian bandshapes. The spectral data for EC bands between 1000 and 650 cm(-1) are also shown but were not curve-fitted due to baseline distortions from water librational modes. The results of the band analysis have provided information regarding the molecular structure of these solutions, and the fact that the structure is also concentration dependent. The Fermi resonance coupling between the v2 and 2v7 vibrations of EC have been analysed using a standard perturbation model.     

In situ monitoring of protein adsorption on a nanoparticulated gold film by attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

In situ surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) with an attenuated total reflection (ATR) configuration has been used to monitor the adsorption kinetics of bovine hemoglobin (BHb) on a Au nanoparticle (NP) film. The IR absorbance for BHb molecules on a gold nanoparticle film deposited on a Si hemispherical optical window is about 58 times higher than that on a bare Si optical window and the detection sensitivity has been improved by 3 orders of magnitude. From the IR signal as a function of adsorption time, the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics can be explored in situ. It is found that both the electrostatic interaction and the coordination bonds between BHb residues and Au NP film surface affect the adsorption kinetics. The maximum adsorption can be obtained in solution pH 7.0 (close to the isoelectric point of the protein) due to the electrostatic interaction among proteins. In addition, the isotherm of BHb adsorption follows well the Freundlich adsorption model.     

Convenient multigram synthesis of monodisperse oligo(ethylene glycols): effective reaction monitoring by infrared spectroscopy using an attenuated total reflection fibre optic probe

A convenient approach for the synthesis of monodisperse oligo(ethylene glycols) up to 12 units is described. A novel cleavage protocol replacing laborious hydrogenolysis is introduced to achieve a fast, inexpensive and widely applicable procedure. In addition to the synthetic part, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using a fibre optic attenuated total reflection (ATR) sensor was applied to monitor the formation of sensitive key intermediates, resulting in optimized reaction times. By applying this in-line technique, the possibility of real-time analysis under inert conditions was impressively demonstrated.     

On-line attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy combined with advanced chemometrics for investigating the synthesis process of 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole

The synthesis process of 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole (DAT) was investigated by on-line attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy combined with advanced chemometrics method. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyze the IR spectra matrix, which was in order to obtain orthonormal column and the number of principal components. Then the pure IR spectrum of every substance was obtained by mutual information least dependent component analysis (MILCA). The possible synthesis mechanism of DAT was deducted based on the changes of functional groups in the IR spectra. The geometric configurations of intermediates were optimized with the density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-311G*(d, p) level, and the vibrational frequencies were calculated simultaneously. The results by MILCA method agree well with quantum chemical calculation method, thus which demonstrated the reliability of MILCA. The present study proves that on-line ATR-IR spectroscopy combined with advanced chemometrics method can be applied to study the chemical synthesis mechanism and provide a strong technical support for the research and development of process analytical technology (PAT).     

Aqueous foam drainage characterized by terahertz spectroscopy

Aqueous foam drainage has been studied using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Water is highly absorbing of THz radiation, allowing drainage to be determined based on water content at respective foam height. These drainage profiles were validated using a model constructed from published equations and tailored to this specific study. In addition, a slow-draining foam was scanned to produce a two-dimensional foam image.