Determination of pKa values of some antihypertensive drugs by liquid chromatography and simultaneous assay of lercanidipine and enalapril in their binary mixtures

In this study, pK_a values were determined using the dependence of the retention factor on the pH of the mobile phase for three ionizable substances, namely, enalapril, lercanidipine and ramipril (IS). The effect of the mobile phase composition on the ionization constant was studied by measuring the pK_a at different methanol-water mixtures, ranging between 50 and 65% (v/v), using LC-DAD method. Two simple, accurate, precise and fully validated analytical methods for the simultaneous determination of enalapril and lercanidipine in combined dosage forms have been developed. Separation was performed on an X-Terra RP-18 column (250 mm × 4.60 mm ID × 5 μm) at 40 °C with the mobile phase of methanol-water 55:45 (v/v) adjusted to pH 2.7 with 15 mM orthophosphoric acid. Isocratic elution was performed in less than 12 min with a flow rate of 1.2 mL min⁻¹. Good sensitivity for the analytes was observed with DAD detection. The LC method allowed quantitation over the 0.50-20.00 μg mL⁻¹ range for enalapril and lercanidipine. The second method depends on first derivative of the ratio-spectra by measurements of the amplitudes at 219.7 nm for enalapril and 233.0 nm for lercanidipine. Calibration graphs were established for 1-20 μg mL⁻¹ for enalapril and 1-16 μg mL⁻¹ lercanidipine, using first derivative of the ratio spectrophotometric method. Both methods have been extensively validated. These methods allow a number of cost and time saving benefits. The described methods can be readily utilized for analysis of pharmaceutical formulations. The methods have been applied, without any interference from excipients, for the simultaneous determination of these compounds in tablets. There was no significant difference between the performance of the proposed methods regarding the mean values and standard deviations.     

Flow injection determination of anisidine value in palm oil samples using a triiodide potentiometric detector

A flow injection analysis (FIA) procedure for the determination of anisidine value (AV) in palm olein using a triiodide detector is described. Undiluted oil sample and chloramine-T reagent were added to a reaction chamber, and reaction was accelerated by applying a short vortex action (typically for 30 s). After allowing the emulsified oil phase to be separated from the aqueous phase (bottom layer), an aliquot of the aqueous phase (containing unreacted chloramine-T) was aspirated into a carrier stream that contained I⁻ where the chloramine-T oxidized the I⁻ to form I₃⁻ which was finally detected by a flow-through triiodide potentiometric detector. Variables that affect the FIA signals such as size of the reaction chamber, oil and reagent flow rates, chloramine-T concentration, vortex time, time for phase separation, carrier stream pH and injected volume were studied. The optimized FIA procedure is linear over 1.0-23.0 AV. The method exhibits good repeatabililty (R.S.D. of ±3.16% (n = 4) for the determination of 5.0 AV) and a sampling rate of 40 samples per hour was achieved. Good correlation (r² = 0.996 (n = 4)) between the proposed method and the manual American Oil Chemists’ Society procedure was found when applied to the determination of twenty different types of palm olein samples.     

Fast gradient high performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection for simultaneous determination of seven angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors together with hydrochlorothiazide in pharmaceutical dosage forms and spiked human plasma and urine

The development of a reversed phase liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of seven angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors; five drugs namely benazepril HCl (BZL), enalapril maleate (ENL), fosinopril sodium (FSP), lisinopril (LSP) and ramipril (RMP) and two metabolites captopril disulfide (CPD) and enalaprilat (ENT) together with hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) is described. The method can serve as a substitute for many published papers for the analysis of the targeted compounds with or without hydrochloothiazide in pharmaceutical formulations as well as in spiked human plasma and urine samples. The method utilizes a simple gradient procedure for the separation in a 11 min run time using acetonitrile aqueous ammonia buffer (pH 9) solution and an Extend RP-C18 (25 μm particle size, 4.6 mm × 250 mm, Agilent) HPLC column. The effluent was monitored on a UV detector at 215 nm. The effect of pH, solvent strength and analysis time on the peak shape and quantification were carefully studied in order to optimize the method. Adopting the proposed procedure, the analytes produce well-shaped peaks with good linear relationship over the investigated concentration ranges. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) from standard drug solutions lie in the range of 17-64 and 56-212 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Correlation coefficient values (r) higher than 0.997 were obtained for all the studied drugs in spiked human plasma and urine samples. The intra-day and inter-day precision of the method was evaluated with relative standard deviation values being satisfactory for their purposed analysis. The method was validated with respect to specificity, recovery, accuracy, precision and linearity.     

Sensitive fluorimetric flow injection analysis for fluoride ion with a novel reagent, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein di-tert-butyldimethylsilyl ether

A novel reagent, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein di-tert-butyldimethylsilyl ether (FCl₂TBS), was synthesized for fluoride ion and used for a sensitive fluorimetric flow injection analysis by detecting the recovery of fluorescence due to cleavage of Si-O bond. Four kinds of fluorescein di-tert-butyldimethylsilyl ether (FTBS) analogues were synthesized and FCl₂TBS was the best. By introducing chlorine to FTBS, stability of the reagent, reactivity and the baseline signals were improved. The FIA system was three lines. The sample solution (aqua medium) was injected in the carrier solution (water) and merged with the reagent solution (2.0 × 10⁻⁵ M FCl₂TBS acetone solution), then mixed with phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.5). The fluorescence intensities were measured at λ_ex 503 nm and λ_em 527 nm. The calibration graph had linear relationship between (1.0-50.0) × 10⁻⁶ M and the determinable limit was 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ M. The relative standard deviation of 12 measurements with 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ M F⁻ solution was 1.0% and the sample throughput was 13 h⁻¹. The developed method was successfully applied to river and tap water samples.     

FIA-potentiometry in the sub-Nernstian response region for rapid and direct chloride assays in milk and in coconut water

A simple and reliable FIA-potentiometric system for rapid assays of chloride in certain food samples is described and evaluated. The system is constituted by an aquarium air pump to propel the carrier solution, a manually operated injector, a homemade dialysis flow cell, a solid-state chloride detector (Ag/AgCl), a reference electrode and a multimeter connected to a microcomputer for data acquisition. The dialysis unit enables direct analysis of liquid food samples without any other previous treatment. The principal novelties are the precision (R.S.D. of 1.2% for whole milk) and rapidity (90 determinations/h) of FIA measurements near and below the lower end of the linear (Nernstian) response region of the chloride ion-selective electrode (ISE), with an estimated detection limit (3 s) of 0.4 mg L⁻¹ Cl⁻ in the sample injected in donor stream. Data of peak potential versus sample chloride concentration (donor stream) was accurately fitted with a quadratic polynomial over the range between 4 and 1000 mg L⁻¹ (r² = 0.9999) and used as a calibration curve. The method was applied to the determination of chloride in milk and in coconut water samples. The validation of the results was done by comparison with a NIST reference material (milk) or by capillary electrophoresis (coconut water). For all analysis, no significant difference at a 95% confidence level was observed.     

Gas diffusion-flow injection determination of total inorganic carbon in water using tungsten oxide electrode

A novel gas diffusion-flow injection method has been developed for the rapid and sensitive determination of total inorganic carbon (TIC) in water. The method is based on the diffusion of CO₂ across gas permeable membrane from a donor stream containing 0.1 M HCl to an acceptor stream of sodium acetate (10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹ and pH 10). The CO₂ trapped in the acceptor stream passes through an electrochemical flow cell contains a tungsten oxide wire and a silver/silver chloride electrode, where it was sensitively detected. The parameters affecting the sensitivity of the electrode such as buffer concentration, pH, flow rate and injected volume were studied in detail. The electrode response was linear in the concentration range from 5 to 100 μg ml⁻¹ CO₃²⁻ with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.998. Precision (R.S.D.) was 1.42% for 20 μg ml⁻¹ standard solution of CO₃²⁻ (n=10). The detection limit was 0.20 μg ml⁻¹ CO₃²⁻. The method was evaluated by the injection of real natural water samples and an average recovery of 100.1% was obtained. The sampling rate was 30 samples h⁻¹. The method is simple, feasible with satisfactory accuracy and precision and thus could be used for monitoring TIC in water.     

Flow injection spectrophotometric determination of andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata

A simple flow injection colourimetric procedure for determining andrographolide was proposed. It is based on the reaction between andrographolide with 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid, resulting in an intense purplish red complex with a suitable absorption at 536 nm. A standard or sample solution was injected into the 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid stream (flow rate of 1.0 ml min⁻¹) which was then merged with potassium hydroxide stream with the same flow rate. Optimum conditions for determining andrographolide were investigated by univariate method. Under the optimum conditions, a linear calibration graph was obtained over the range 5.0-150.0 μg ml⁻¹ and the detection limit was 1.50 μg ml⁻¹ (3σ). The relatives standard deviation of the proposed method calculated from 10 replicate injections of 10.0 and 80.0 μg ml⁻¹ andrographolide were 0.66% and 1.64%, respectively. The sample throughput was 50 h⁻¹. The proposed method has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of andrographolide in herb plant samples.     

Microfluidic liquid-liquid extraction system based on stopped-flow technique and liquid core waveguide capillary

In this work, a miniaturized liquid-liquid extraction system under stopped-flow manipulation mode with spectrometric detection was developed. A Teflon AF liquid-core waveguide (LCW) capillary was used to serve as both extraction channel for organic solvent flow and adsorption detection flow cell. Gravity induced hydrostatic pressure was used to drive the organic and aqueous phases through the extraction channels. During extraction process, a stable organic and aqueous phase interface was formed at the outlet of the capillary, through which the analyte in the flowing aqueous stream was extracted into the stationary organic solvent in capillary. The absorbance of the analyte extracted into the organic solvent was measured in situ by a spectrometric detection system with light emitting diode (LED) as light source and photodiode as absorbance detector. The performance of the system was demonstrated in the determination of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extracted as an ion pair with methylene blue into chloroform. The precision of the measured absorbance for a 5 mg L⁻¹ SDS standard was 6.1% R.S.D. (n = 5). A linear response range of 1-10 mg L⁻¹ SDS was obtained with 5 min extraction period. The limit of detection (LOD) for SDS based on three times standard deviation of the blank response was 0.25 mg L⁻¹.     

Determination of bisphenol A, 4-n-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol by temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid-phase microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector

Present study described a simple, sensitive, and viable method for the determination of bisphenol A, 4-n-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol in water samples using temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid-phase microextraction coupled to high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector. In this experiment, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₈MIM][PF₆]) was used as the extraction solvent, and bisphenol A, 4-n-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol were selected as the model analytes. Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as the volume of [C₈MIM][PF₆], dissolving temperature, extraction time, sample pH, centrifuging time and salting-out effect have been investigated in detail. Under the optimized conditions, good linear relationship was found in the concentration range of 1.0-100 μg L⁻¹ for BPA, 1.5-150 μg L⁻¹ for 4-NP, and 3-300 μg L⁻¹ for 4-OP, respectively. Limits of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) were in the range of 0.23-0.48 μg L⁻¹. Intra day and inter day precisions (RSDs, n = 6) were in the range of 4.6-5.5% and 8.5-13.3%, respectively. This method has been also successfully applied to analyze the real water samples at two different spiked concentrations and excellent results were obtained.     

Simultaneous determination of ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan in human plasma using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan in human plasma. The solid-phase extraction technique was used for the extraction of ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan from human plasma. Trandolaprilat and hydrochlorothiazide were used as the internal standards (ISs). Chromatography was performed on a Hypurity C18, 5 μm, 50 mm × 4.6 mm column, with the mobile phase consisting of ammonium acetate and acetonitrile (in a 20:80 ratio), followed by detection using mass spectrometry. The method involves a simple reversed isocratic chromatography condition and mass spectrometry detection, which enables detection at sub-nanogram levels. The method was validated and the lower limit of quantification for ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan was found to be 0.1 ng mL⁻¹, 0.1 ng mL⁻¹ and 2 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The mean recovery for ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan ranged from 90.1 to 104.1%. This method increased the sensitivity and selectivity; resulting in high-throughput analysis of ramipril, ramiprilat and telmisartan using two different ISs in a single experiment for bioequivalence studies, with a chromatographic run time of 1.5 min only.     

Langmuir-Blodgett film of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene modified glassy carbon electrode as voltammetric sensor for the determination of Hg(II)

The π-A isotherms and UV-vis spectra of the transferred films suggested that the monolayer of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene can coordinate with Hg²⁺ at the air-water surface. From these observations, a glassy carbon electrode coated with Langmuir-Blodgett film of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4] arene as a new voltammetric sensor is designed for the determination of trace amounts of Hg²⁺. Compared with bare glassy carbon electrode and modified glassy carbon electrode using direct coating method, the Langmuir-Blodgett film-modified electrode can greatly improve the measuring sensitivity of Hg²⁺. Under the selected conditions, the Langmuir-Blodgett film-modified electrode in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ + 0.01 mol L⁻¹ KCl solution shows a linear voltammetric response for Hg²⁺ in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 2.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹. The proposed method was also applied to determine Hg²⁺ in water samples (tap, lake and river water). In addition, the fabricated electrode exhibited a distinct advantage of simple preparation, non-toxicity, good reproducibility and good stability.     

Sensitive determination of captopril by flow injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection based on the enhancement of the luminol reaction

This work reports a novel flow injection (FI) method for the determination of captopril, 1-[(2S)-3-mercapto-2-methylpropionyl]-l-proline (CPL), based on the enhancement CPL affords on the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide. For this purpose alkaline luminol and hydrogen peroxide solutions were mixed online, the sample containing CPL was injected into an aqueous carrier stream, mixed with the luminol-hydrogen peroxide stream and pumped into a glass flow cell positioned in front of a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The increase in the CL intensity was recorded in the form of FI peaks, the height of which was related to the CPL mass concentration in the sample. Different chemical and instrumental parameters affecting the CL response were investigated. Under the selected conditions, the log-log calibration curve was linear in the range 5-5000 μg l⁻¹ of CPL, the limit of detection was 2 μg l⁻¹ (at the 3σ level), the R.S.D., s_r was 3.1% at the 100 μg l⁻¹ level (n=8) and the sampling rate was 180 injections h⁻¹. The method was applied to the determination of CPL in pharmaceutical formulations with recoveries in the range 100±3%.     

Determination of carbon dioxide in gaseous samples by gas diffusion-flow injection

A gas diffusion-flow injection system was developed for the determination of carbon dioxide in gaseous samples. The calibration was based on the use of either gaseous carbon dioxide or aqueous sodium carbonate standards. Gaseous carbon dioxide samples and gaseous or aqueous standards were injected directly into a donor stream of 1.0×10⁻⁴ M H₂SO₄. In the gas diffusion unit, carbon dioxide diffused through a PTFE membrane into an acceptor stream containing a mixed acid/base indicator. The absorbance of the acceptor stream was monitored spectrophotometrically at 554 nm. The calibration plot was linear over the range of 5.00×10² to 1.27×10⁴ μl l⁻¹ with a sample throughput of 28 h⁻¹ and 3.2% R.S.D. ([CO₂]=2.37×10³ μl l⁻¹, n=12). The detection limit was determined as 2.50×10² μl l⁻¹. The flow system was successfully applied to the analysis of several natural gaseous samples and the headspace of milk containers during storage. The flow injection results were found to be statistically indistinguishable at the 95% confidence level from those obtained by gas chromatography using thermal conductivity detection.     

Determination of low level methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether and methyl tert-amyl ether in human urine by HS-SPME gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) are oxygenated compounds added to gasoline to enhance octane rating and to improve combustion. They may be found as pollutants of living and working environments. In this work a robotized method for the quantification of low level MTBE, ETBE and TAME in human urine was developed and validated. The analytes were sampled in the headspace of urine by SPME in the presence of MTBE-d12 as internal standard. Different fibers were compared for their linearity and extraction efficiency: carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane, polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene, and polydimethylsiloxane. The first, although highly efficient, was discarded due to deviation of linearity for competitive displacement, and the polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene fiber was chosen instead. The analysis was performed by GC/MS operating in the electron impact mode. The method is very specific, with range of linearity 30-4600 ng L⁻¹, within- and between-run precision, as coefficient of variation, <22 and <16%, accuracy within 20% the theoretical level, and limit of detection of 6 ng L⁻¹ for all the analytes. The influence of the matrix on the quantification of these ethers was evaluated analysing the specimens of seven traffic policemen exposed to autovehicular emissions: using the calibration curve and the method of standard additions comparable levels of MTBE (68-528 ng L⁻¹), ETBE (<6 ng L⁻¹), and TAME (<6 ng L⁻¹) were obtained.     

Determination of acetaldehyde in saliva by gas-diffusion flow injection analysis

The consumption of ethanol is known to increase the likelihood of oral cancer. In addition, there has been a growing concern about possible association between long term use of ethanol-containing mouthwashes and oral cancer. Acetaldehyde, known to be a carcinogen, is the first metabolite of ethanol and it can be produced in the oral cavity after consumption or exposure to ethanol. This paper reports on the development of a gas-diffusion flow injection method for the online determination of salivary acetaldehyde by its colour reaction with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) and ferric chloride. Acetaldehyde samples and standards (80 μL) were injected into the donor stream containing NaCl from which acetaldehyde diffused through the hydrophobic Teflon membrane of the gas-diffusion cell into the acceptor stream containing the two reagents mentioned above. The resultant intense green coloured dye was monitored spectrophotometrically at 600 nm. Under the optimum working conditions the method is characterized by a sampling rate of 9 h⁻¹, a linear calibration range of 0.5–15 mg L⁻¹ (absorbance = 5.40 × 10⁻² [acetaldehyde, mg L⁻¹], R² = 0.998), a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.90% (n = 10, acetaldehyde concentration of 2.5 mg L⁻¹), and a limit of detection (LOD) of 12.3 μg L⁻¹. The LOD and sampling rate of the proposed method are superior to those of the conventional gas chromatographic (GC) method (LOD = 93.0 μg L⁻¹ and sampling rate = 4 h⁻¹). The reliability of the proposed method was illustrated by the fact that spiked with acetaldehyde saliva samples yielded excellent recoveries (96.6–101.9%), comparable to those obtained by GC (96.4–102.3%) and there was no statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level between the two methods when non-spiked saliva samples were analysed.     

Determination of phosphate in natural water employing a monosegmented flow system with simultaneous multiple injection

A monosegmented flow system was employed for the determination of low contents of phosphate in natural water. In this approach, sample and reagents are simultaneously injected to a PTFE reaction coil where the homogenization of the mixture occurs while the monosegment is pumped forwards the photometric detector. The proposed system was evaluated by determining phosphate ion, based on the reaction of association between molybdophosphate and malachite green. It was evaluated individually the best concentration of the reagent solution in relation to blank signal (absorbance of the blank) and the sensitivity of the method. A factorial design was proposed to explain the contribution of each component on the formation of the ion association complex, evaluating the individual contributions as well as the synergistic and antagonistic effects. With the established conditions, phosphorous is determined in the concentration range of 5.0-75 μg P PO₄³⁻ l⁻¹ (r=0.9992), with a detection limit of 0.70 μg P PO₄³⁻ l⁻¹ and a relative standard deviation of 2% (20 μg P PO₄³⁻ l⁻¹, n=8). The proposed method has a sampling frequency of 72 h⁻¹.     

Rapid enzymatic chemiluminescent assay of glucose by means of a hybrid flow-injection/sequential-injection method

This work reports a hybrid flow-injection analysis (FIA)/sequential-injection analysis (SIA) method for the rapid enzymatic assay of glucose with soluble glucose oxidase (GOD). The method relies on the sequential injection of segments of the sample and of a solution of enzyme by means of a multi-port selection valve in a flowing water stream. As the two zones are swept downstream, they overlap and merge so that the glucose in the sample is enzymatically oxidised. The generated hydrogen peroxide is merged with an alkaline luminol solution and the chemiluminescence (CL) intensity is monitored and related to the glucose concentration in the sample. The linear range of the method for glucose determination is 0.01-1 mmol L⁻¹, the relative standard deviation is 3.9% at the 0.08 mmol L⁻¹ level (n = 8), the limit of detection at the 2σ level is 4 μmol L⁻¹ glucose and the injection rate is 80 h⁻¹. The method was applied to the analysis of energy drinks and honey with relative errors in glucose determination in the range 100 ± 4.3%. The advantages of the proposed method are the wide linear range, the simple instrumentation used, the low consumption of sample and reagents, the elimination of catalysts and immobilised enzymes and the high sample throughput.     

Sunflower leaves tissue-based bioelectrode with amperometric flow-injection system for glycolic acid determination in urine

A novel plant tissue-based bioelectrode obtained by incorporating sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) leaves tissue as a source of glycolate oxidase and peroxidase into a ferrocene-mediated carbon paste electrode for the determination of glycolic acid was developed. It was coupled with the flow-injection (FI) system and used as the basis to develop a novel FI amperometric procedure for glycolic acid determination. The flow-injection amperometric measurements were performed by injecting aliquot of glycolic acid solution into the flowing stream of 0.05 mol L⁻¹ of phosphate buffer solution having pH 8.0 with a flow rate of 0.3 mL min⁻¹. The bioelectrode consisted of 20% (w/w) of sunflower leaves tissue and 5% (w/w) of ferrocene at 0.00 V (vs Ag/AgCl). The bioelectrode exhibited a linear response from 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ up to 2.0 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ glycolic acid with a detection limit (S/N = 3) and a quantitation limit (S/N = 10) of 1 × 10⁻⁶ and 3.3 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹, respectively. The sampling rate of 12 h⁻¹ and a relative standard deviation of 1.67% (n = 15) were achieved. The bioelectrode response decreased to 70% of the original value within 90 continuous injections. The proposed bioelectrode was satisfactorily applied to glycolic acid determination in human urine samples after appropriate sample pretreatment. Results obtained by the FI method were compared favorably with those obtained by HPLC. It offers advantages, which included rapidity, high activity, limited stability, ease of preparation and low cost.     

Direct determination of Cu and Zn in fruit juices and bovine milk by thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

In the present work, thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS) was employed for Cu and Zn determination in bovine milk and fruit juice samples without any pretreatment. TS-FF-AAS system was optimized and a sample volume of 300 μl was injected into the carrier stream (0.014 mol l⁻¹ HNO₃ at a flow rate of 0.4 ml min⁻¹), and it was introduced into a hot Ni tube. The detection limits obtained for Cu and Zn in aqueous solution were 2.2 and 0.91 μg l⁻¹, respectively, and 3.2 μg l⁻¹ for Cu in a medium containing water-soluble tertiary amines. The relative standard deviations varied from 2.7 to 4.2% (n=12). Sample preparation was carried out by simple dilution in water or in water-soluble tertiary amines medium. Accuracy was checked by performing addition-recovery experiments as well as by using reference materials (whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, and infant formula). Recoveries varied from 97.7 to 105.3% for Cu and Zn. All results obtained for reference materials were in agreement with certified values at a 95% confidence level.     

Optical sensor materials for the detection of amines in organic solvents

A new optical polymer-based sensor was developed, which is able to recognize amines in organic solvents with high sensitivity. Thin polymer membranes were prepared and investigated, which contain a chromogenic functional dye (reactand) that shows a significant colour change during a reversible chemical reaction with the analyte. For that purpose the azo dye 4-trifluoroacetyl-4′-[N-(methacryloxyethyl)-N-(ethyl)amino]-azobenzene (CR-465) was synthesized, which contains a trifluoroacetyl moiety (receptor for interaction with amines) and in addition, a polymerizable methacrylate group. The methacrylate group links the dye covalently to the polymer matrix and the receptor recognizes the analyte via covalent binding. For immobilisation of the dye cross-linked methacrylate polymers with different composition were used. The highly cross-linked polymer network was stable against most organic solvents and exhibited enhanced stability against mechanical strain compared to plasticized PVC. The sensitivity of the reaction between the analyte and the dye was tailored by the choice of the solvent in which the analysis of the sensor layer was performed, with equilibrium constants for 1-butylamine ranging from 80 to 2000 M⁻¹ in chloroform and DMSO, respectively. In toluene as the solvent, sensor layers typically exhibited equilibrium constants of 100 M⁻¹ for 1-butylamine, 1300 M⁻¹ for 1,4-diaminobutane and 20,000 M⁻¹ for tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine. We have also investigated the cross-linked sensor layers with respect to molecular imprinting and did not find any enhancement in selectivity through imprinting in the presence of different analyte molecules.