A Highly Sensitive Method for Determination of Copper (II) in Water Samples for Field Screening

Abstract

A new method has been developed for field screening of copper (II) in water samples, which is based on an enzyme inhibition reaction between copper (II) and nitrate reductase. The concentration of copper (II) was acquired by indirect determination the reaction product (nitrite) with a mini optical reflection sensor. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graph was linear in the range of 5.0–50 ng mL^?1. The limit of detection was 0.5 ng mL^?1. This method has been used for the field screening of copper (II) with satisfactory results.     

Determination of copper,nickel, manganese and cadmium ions in aqueous samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after simultaneous coprecipitation with Co(OH)2

A separation-preconcentration procedure was developed for the determination of trace amounts of copper, nickel, manganese and cadmium ions in water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after coprecipitation by Co(OH)₂ as a carrier without a chelating agent. The influence of the various analytical parameters such as pH, amount of carrier reagent, standing time, centrifugation rate and time, sample volume and matrix effects on the recovery of the analyte ions was studied. Under the specified experimental conditions the calibration curves for Ni(II) and Cu(II) were linear from 0.5 to 200 ng mL^?1 and for Mn(II) and Cd(II) from 0.5 to 250 and 0.3 to 80 ng mL^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviations for seven replicate determinations of a mixture of 40.0 ng mL^?1 of Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and 20 ng mL^?1 of Cd(II) in the original solution were 1.9%, 1.7%, 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively. The detection limits based on 3S_b/m for Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Cd(II) in the original solution were 0.2, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.07 ng mL^?1, respectively. The limits of quantification based on 10S_b/m for Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Cd(II) in the original solution were 6.7, 6.7, 10.0 and 2.3 ng mL^?1, respectively. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of trace amounts of the analyte ions in two certified reference materials (the National Institute for Environment Studies (NIES) No. 1 Pepperbush and NIES No. 7 Tea Leaves) and water samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Solid phase extraction of trace amounts of Pb(II) in opium, heroin, lipstick, plants and water samples using modified magnetite nanoparticles prior to its atomic absorption determination

A new, simple, fast and reliable solid-phase extraction method has been developed for separation/preconcentration of trace amounts of Pb(II) using dithizone/sodium dodecyl sulfate-immobilized on alumina-coated magnetite nanoparticles, and its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after eluting with 4.0?mol?L^?1 HNO₃. Optimal experimental conditions including pH, sample volume, eluent concentration and volume, and co-existing ions have been studied and established. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the preconcentration factor, detection limit, linear range and relative standard deviation of Pb(II) using FAAS technique were 280 (for 560?mL of sample solution), 0.28?ng?mL^?1, 1.4?C70?ng?mL^?1 and 4.6% (for 10?ng?mL^?1, n?=?10), respectively. These analytical parameters using GFAAS technique were 300 (for 600?mL of sample solution), 0.002?ng?mL^?1, 0.006?C13.2?ng?mL^?1 and 3.1% (for 5?ng?mL^?1, n?=?10), respectively. The presented procedure was successfully applied for determination of Pb(II) content in opium, heroin, lipstick, plants and water samples.     

Determination of manganese(VII) as 3,3′-Dianisole-4,4′-bis(3,5-diphenyltetrazolium chloride) complex and its application

A simple, rapid, selective and sensitive spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of trace amounts of manganese using Blue tetrazolium chloride as a chromogenic reagent. The method is based on the formation of ion-associate complex between manganese(VII) and the cation of ditetrazolium salt, having an absorption maximum at 255 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the range of 0.1–1.6 μg mL^?1. The molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity were found to be 4.97 × 10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1 and 1.11 × 10^?3 μg cm^?2, respectively. Limit of deterction is 6.86 ng mL^?1 Mn(VII) and limit of quantitation is 22.8 ng mL^?1 Mn(VII). Optimum reaction conditions were evaluated. The effect of interfering ions on the determination is described. The extraction, distribution and association constants, and the recovery factor have been calculated.     

Kinetic Spectrophotometric Determination of Nanogram Levels of Manganese (II) Based on its Catalytic Effect on the Oxidation of an Azo Compound with Potassium Periodate in the Presence of 1, 10-Phenanthroline

ABSTRACT

The catalytic effect of manganese (II) on the oxidation of Diphenylamine-4-azo-benzen-4'-sulfonic acid potassium salt with potassium periodate in the presence of 1, 10-phenanthroline in weakly acidic media was studied. A catalytic kinetic spectrophotometric method for determination of manganese (II) in the range 0.05 – 2.5 ng ml-^?1 can be determined by the fixed-time method with a detection limit of 0.017 ng ml-^?1. The method was applied successfully to the determination of manganese (II) in tap water and human urine.     

Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Uranium(VI) in Presence of N‐Phenylanthranilic Acid

N‐Phenylanthranilic acid was used as a complexing agent for determination of uranium(VI) by adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry. Under the optimal experimental conditions of the experimental parameters, the peak current was proportional to the concentration of U(VI) in the range 0.75–30 ng mL^?1 and the detection limit was 0.036 ng mL^?1. The influence of possible interferences was investigated. The method was applied for determination of uranium in waste water from uranium conversion facility and natural water samples. Application of the method for simultaneous determination of U(VI) and Cu(II) showed that these ions could be simultaneously determined in a single scan at relatively wide concentration range.     

Highly Selective Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Uranium in the Presence of Pyromellitic Acid

A very sensitive and selective adsorptive cathodic stripping procedure for trace measurement of uranium is presented. The method is based on adsorptive accumulation of the uranium‐pyromellitic acid (benzene‐1,2,4,5‐tetracarboxylic acid) complex onto a hanging mercury drop electrode, followed by reduction of the adsorbed species by voltammetric scan using differential pulse modulation. Influences of effective parameters such as pH, concentration of pyromellitic acid, accumulation potential and accumulation time on the sensitivity were studied. The peak current was proportional to the concentration of U(IV) up to 40 ng mL^?1 with a limit of detection of 0.136 ng mL^?1 with an accumulation time of 120 s. The range of linearity enhanced to 71.4 ng mL^?1and the detection limit improved to 0.058 ng mL^?1with accumulation times of 60 s and 300 s respectively. The relative standard deviation for 10 replicate determination of 4.76 ng mL^?1 U(IV) was equal to 2.7%. The possible interference by major cations and anions are investigated. The method was applied to the determination of uranium in some analytical grade salts, seawater and in synthetic samples corresponding to some uranium alloys with satisfactory results.     

Rapid Low-Cost Determination of Lead(II) in Cassava by an iPod-Based Digital Imaging Colorimeter

An iPod-based digital image colorimeter was developed for the determination of lead(II) in cassava. The method is based on the color values of a lead(II) solution following its reaction with dithizone. Lead(II) from cassava was extracted using an ultraviolet-digestion unit followed by the color-forming reaction and image capture using the ColorConc application operated on an iPod touch. The concentration was predicted by comparing the color values with those collected in a database. The time needed for complete digestion was 30?min. The determined concentrations of lead(II) were from 0.10 to 1.00?µg mL^?1. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.0120 and 0.0399?µg mL^?1, respectively. The recovery values were 105?±?7.07% and 109?±?6.61% at 0.2?µg mL^?1 and 0.4?µg mL^?1 lead(II) (n?=?5). The reported method was demonstrated to be simple, accurate, rapid, precise, and low cost.     

Determination of Imidacloprid Based on the Development of a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Reduced Graphene Oxide and Manganese (II) Phthalocyanine

An electrochemical sensor of glassy carbon electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide and manganese (II) phthalocyanine (GCE/rGO/MnPc) was developed as an effective alternative in the determination of imidacloprid in honey samples. The peak current variation obtained with the proposed sensor, in the presence of imidacloprid, was higher compared to the bare GCE. The followed experimental conditions were optimized: reduced graphene oxide concentration (2.0 mg mL^?1), manganese (II) phthalocyanine concentration (1.5 mg mL^?1), electrolyte pH (6.5) and electrolyte concentration (1,50 mol L^?1). The study also showed that the process of reduction of imidacloprid is irreversible and diffusion‐controlled, with a single reduction peak of approximately ?0.9 V corresponding to the reduction of the nitro group (?NO2) present in the structure, generating a derived from hydroxylamine, in a process involving about four electrons. The determination of imidacloprid in honey samples exhibited recovery values within the EPA range (between 90.5 and 101.9 %). The proposed sensor GCE/rGO/MnPc can be used as an effective alternative in the determination of imidacloprid in honey samples.     

Simple and rapid surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy assay for safranine T and its application in highly sensitive determination of mercury (Ⅱ)

A simple and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the detection of safranine T (ST) and Hg²⁺ using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as substrate was developed. ST can absorb on the surface of AgNPs through electrostatic interaction, the electromagnetic effect combined with chemical adsorption effect give a notable Raman enhancement for ST. The presence of Hg²⁺ well decreased the absorbed ST molecules on AgNPs, leading to a significant decrease of SERS signals thus enabling to detect Hg²⁺. The determination conditions for SERS, including the amount of AgNPs, the concentration of NaCl, the concentration of HCl, the concentration of ST and the reaction time, were optimised. Under the optimised experimental conditions, good linear responses were obtained for ST and Hg²⁺ in the concentration ranges of 0.01–4.0 μmol L^?1 (3.5–1403.4 ng mL^?1) and 0.01–2.0 μmol L^?1 (2.0–401.2 ng mL^?1), the limit of detection were 3.0 nmol L^?1 (1.1 ng mL^?1) and 2.0 nmol L^?1 (0.4 ng mL^?1), respectively. The present method was subsequently applied to the determination of ST in tomato sauces and Hg²⁺ in environmental waters, the recoveries of ST and Hg²⁺ in spiked samples are 95.5–107.8% and 91.4–110.8 %, respectively.     

Ultra-trace determination of Pb(II) and Cd(II) in drinking water and alcoholic beverages using homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The determination of Pb(II) and Cd(II) in different sample matrices, including drinking water, distilled spirits and fruit wine, was carried out by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) after pre-concentration using homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction (HLLE). First, the HLLE method was optimised with lead diethyldithiocarbamate (Pb-DDTC) complex which was extracted with a perfluorooctanoate anion (PFOA^?) dissolved in lithium hydroxide under acidic conditions. The optimum extraction conditions, using 0.01 M DDTC, 0.05 M PFOA^?, 3 M HCl and 1 mL of 30 vol. % acetone, were obtained. The Pb-DDTC complex in the nitric acid digest of the samples (50–150 mL) was extracted quantitatively into a drop of 100 μL of sediment phase. The sediment phase dissolved in 1 vol. % HNO₃ with at least 3–5 mL of the final volume was then determined by FAAS, affording a pre-concentration factor of 10–50. Hence, the HLLE method afforded an increase in both sensitivity and selectivity for the metal determination by conventional FAAS, resulting in ultra-trace level detection of Pb(II) in all samples analysed (drinking water, 9.2–23 ng mL^?1; distilled spirits, 23–50 ng mL^?1; fruit wine, 24–53 ng mL^?1). In addition, the proposed method could successfully be applied to Cd(II) determination in these samples.     

Catalytic Square-Wave Voltammetric Determination of Acrylamide in Potato Chips

Abstract

Square-wave voltammetry is a fast technique used for determination of trace amounts of acrylamide. When cobalt(II) ions were added to the acrylamide solution, a catalytic peak at about ?1.35 V vs. Ag/AgCl was observed, which was proportional to acrylamide concentration. The calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 200–800 ng mL^?1 of acrylamide with a regression coefficient of 0.9989. The limit of detection of the method was 3.52 ng mL^?1, and the relative standard deviations for concentrations of 300 ng mL^?1 and 700 ng mL^?1 were 99.8% × 10^?2 and 79.7% × 10^?2, respectively.     

Investigation of electrochemical hydride generation coupled to microwave plasma torch optical emission spectrometry for the determination of arsenic: analytical figures of merit,interference studies and applications to environmentally relevant samples

A continuous flow thin layer electrolysis cell with a Pt cathode in combination with a microwave plasma torch operated with Ar as working gas was used for the optical emission spectrometric determination of As with the hydride technique. Under the optimised conditions the limit of detection (3σ) in the case of the As(I) 228.81 nm emission line was 81 ng mL^?1. Especially the influence of the transition metals Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II), of the hydride forming elements Sb(III), Se(IV) and Sn(II) and of Na on the determination of As was studied. Cu(II) was found to be the strongest interferent, as in the presence of 100 µg mL^?1 of Cu(II) the signal for 3 µg mL^?1 of As was reduced to 4% of the signal without interferent. Sn(II) and Sb(III) were found to yield an increase of the signal for As. L-cysteine and KI/ascorbic acid (1 : 1) at a concentration of 2% were found effective to reduce the interferences of Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II). For a solution containing 3 µg mL^?1 of As and 100 µg mL^?1 of Ni(II) it was shown that in the presence of L-cysteine or KI/ascorbic acid the signal for As was 99% and 94% of the one without interferent, whereas it was only 43% without masking reagents. The procedure could be used for the determination of As in a digested coal fly ash standard reference material (NIST SRM 1633a®) with a certified value of 145 ± 15 µg g^?1 for As. A concentration of 131 ± 15 µg g^?1 was found. Additionally, As could be determined in two process water samples from a copper refinery. It was found that the amount of As determined with ECHG-MPT-OES agrees well with the values determined by FAAS and ICP-OES at the 0.02 and 1.6 g L^?1 level, respectively.     

Application of β-cyclodextrin in polymeric solid phase for separation and determination of lead in different environmental matrices

Immobilization of β-cyclodextrin on Dowex resin as an insoluble polymeric matrix by covalent bond presents a new solid-phase medium for preconcentration of Pb (II) at trace level in environmental samples prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination. The method is based on the sorption of lead after passing on modified Dowex sorbent in a column. The effect of several parameters such as pH, flow rate of sample, eluent kind and volume was investigated. The sorption capacity of the matrix has been found to be 0.4996?mg?g^?1 of adsorbent with the preconcentration factor of 250 for Pb (II). Nitric acid (3 M) as an eluent was sufficient to obtain quantitative recovery (>95%) for Pb (II). The optimum flow rate was 10?ml?min ^?1. The calibration curve was linear in the range of (3–250?ng?mL^?1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995. The limit of detection (LOD) based on three times the standard deviation of the blank was 1.37?ng?mL^?1. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for determination of 10?ng?mL^?1 and 100?ngmL^?1 of Pb (II) was 3.00 % and 0.58 % (n?=?10), respectively. The method was successfully applied to determination of lead in some environmental samples such as tap water, river water, soil and rice.     

Electrochemical Enzyme‐Linked Immunoassay for the Determination of Estriol Using Methyl Red as Substrate

Abstract

A new electrochemical substrate for horseradish peroxidase, methyl red, is reported. In this reaction system, horseradish peroxidase can catalyze the redox reaction of methyl red and H₂O₂. Methyl red exhibits a sensitive voltammetric peak at?0.51 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode, the decrease of the peak current of methyl red is in proportion to the concentration of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The linear range for determination of horseradish peroxidase is 5.0×10^?8～5.0×10^?7 g mL^?1 and the detection limit is 1.8×10^?8 g mL^?1. The relative standard deviation is 3.3% when 2.0×10^?7 g mL^?1 HRP was sequentially determined 11 times. A voltammetric enzyme‐linked immunoassay method for the determination of estriol was developed, based on this electrochemical system. The linear range for determination of estriol is 1.0～1000.0 ng mL^?1, and the detection limit is 0.33 ng mL^?1. The relative standard deviation for 11 parallel determinations with 200 ng mL^?1 estriol is 4.8%. Some pregnancy serum samples were analyzed with satisfactory results.     

Catalytic Spectrophotometric Determination of Titanium(IV) Using Methylene Blue‐Ascorbic Acid Redox Reaction

A highly selective and sensitive catalytic method for the determination of trace amounts of titanium(IV) was developed. The method is based on the catalytic effect of titanium(IV) on the methylene blue‐ascorbic acid redox reaction. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the change in absorbance of methylene blue at 665 nm, 5 minutes after the initiation of the reaction. In this study experimental parameters were optimized and the effect of the presence of various cations and some anions on the determination of titanium(IV) was examined. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 3‐25 ng mL^?1 of titanium(IV). The relative standard deviation for the determination of 10 and 20 ng mL^?1 of titanium(IV) were 2.64% and 1.51%, respectively (n = 8). The detection limit calculated from three times of standard deviation of blank 3S_b was 0.6 ng mL^?1. The method was successfully applied to the determination of titanium(IV) in tap water and ore samples.     

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Zinc and Nickel in Water Samples by Mean Centering of Ratio Kinetic Profiles

The mean centering of ratio kinetic profiles method was used for the simultaneous determination of binary mixtures of Ni(II) and Zn(II) in water samples, without prior separation steps. The method is based on the difference in the rate of the reaction of Ni(II) and Zn(II) with xylenol orange at pH 5.3. The method allows rapid and accurate determination of Ni(II) and Zn(II). The analytical characteristics of the methods for the simultaneous determination of binary mixtures of Ni(II) and Zn(II) were calculated. The linear range was 0.025‐2.400 μg mL^?1 and 0.025‐2.20 μg mL^?1 for Zn(II) and Ni(II), respectively. Interference effects of common anions and cations were studied, and the method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of Zn(II) and Ni(II) in water samples.     

Study of the solid phase extraction and spectrophotometric determination of nickel using 5-(4′-chlorophenylazo)-6-hydroxypyrimidine-2,4-dione in environmental samples

A rapid, sensitive and selective method for the determination of nickel based on the rapid reaction of nickel(II) with 5-(4′-chlorophenylazo)-6-hydroxypyrimidine-2,4-dione (CPAHPD) and the solid phase extraction of the Ni(II)–CPAHPD complex with C18 membrane disks has been developed. In the presence of pH 6.8 buffer solution and cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) medium, CPAHPD reacts with nickel to form a red complex of a molar ratio of 1:1 (nickel to CPAHPD). This complex was enriched by solid phase extraction (SPE) with C18 membrane disks. An enrichment factor of 100 was obtained by elution of the complex from the disks with the minimal amount of isopentyl alcohol. The molar absorptivity and Sandell sensitivity of the complex was 3.11 × 10⁵ L mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.0189 ng cm^?2, respectively at 549 nm in the measured solution. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 0.01–0.37 μg mL^?1, while that obtained by Ringbom plot was in the range of 0.025–0.35 μg mL^?1. The detection and quantification limits were calculated and found to be 0.003 and 0.01 μg mL^?1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of nickel in water, food, biological and soil samples with good results.     

Construction and Application of an Electrochemical Sensor for Simultaneous Determination of Cd(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) in Water and Foodstuff Samples

By incorporation of synthesized magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) coated with a new Schiff base into carbon paste electrode, a novel modified electrode was constructed for simultaneous determination of ultra trace amounts of Cd(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II). The complexation reaction of Schiff base with metal ions was studied spectrophotometrically. Under optimal conditions a detection limit of 0.20, 0.90 and 1.00 ng mL^?1 for Cd(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II), respectively, was obtained. We take the advantages of the proposed method for simple, rapid, sensitive and selective simultaneous determination of trace amounts of hazardous Cd(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) in water and foodstuff samples.     

Application of modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid sorbent for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of manganese ions

In this work, the potential of modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of manganese ion is studied. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes were oxidized with concentrated HNO₃ and then modified with loading 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphtol. Mn(II) ions could be quantitatively retained by modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the pH range of 8–9.5. Elution of the adsorbed manganese was carried out with 5.0 mL of 0.1 mol L^?1 HNO₃. Detection limit is 0.058 ng mL^?1 and analytical curve is linear in the range of 0.1 ng mL^?1–5.0 μg mL^?1 in the initial solution with a correlation coefficient 0.9977 and the preconcentration factor is 100. Relative standard deviation for eight replicate determination of 0.5 μg mL^?1 of manganese in the final solution is 0.41%. The effects of the experimental parameters, including the sample pH, flow rates of sample and eluent solution, eluent type, breakthrough volume and interference ions, were studied for preconcentration of Mn(II) ions in detail to optimize the conditions. The method was successfully applied for separation, preconcentration and determination of manganese in different samples.