Spectrophotometric determination of acid volatile sulfide in river sediments by sequential injection analysis exploiting the methylene blue reaction

This paper demonstrates the application of sequential injection analysis to perform sulfide determination using the methylene blue chemistry, based on two reagents: 3.63 mmol l(-1)N,N dimethyl-p-phenylene diamine hydrochloride in 1.1 mol l(-1) HCl solution and 19 mmol l(-1) FeCl(3), also in 1.1 mol l(-1) HCl. These solutions are aspirated inside the holding coil of the sequential injection system as two reagent zones sandwiching the sample zone. Under optimized conditions, the detection limit was calculated at 40 mug l(-1) S(2-), with a linear dynamic range from 0.05 to 2 mg l(-1) S(2-). This linear range can be extended up to 32 mg l(-1) using in-line dilution for sulfide concentrations greater than 2 mg l(-1). The robust characteristic of the SI system with syringe pump leads to very stable analytical curves (precision of 4%), minimizing the laborious preparation of sulfide standards. The method was applied in the determination of acid volatile sulfide in river sediments.     

Modification of iodometric determination of total and reactive sulfide in environmental samples

In iodometric determination of sulfide two reactions are taking place when alkaline solution is added to HCl acid-iodine. The main oxidation reaction (1), H(2)S+I(2)=2HI+S; and side reaction of sulfide (2), S(-2)+4I(2)+8OH(-)=SO(4)(2-)+8I(-)+4H(2)O. Preference of reaction (2) over (1) is dependent on pH increasing to >7. When sulfide solution of pH 9 was mixed with HCl acid-iodine, the recovery exceeded 120%, but the recovery of a solution with a pH of 13 exceeded 200%. To eliminate the side reaction in iodometric titration, the sulfide solution must be acidic when it is mixed with HCl-iodine. To avoid the side reaction (2), the pH of sulfide solutions were adjusted with acetic acid to pH 5.5, mixed with HCl-iodine solution and then titrated with standard thiosulfate with precision and accuracy <+/-3%.     

Application of sequential injection-monosegmented flow analysis (SI-MSFA) to spectrophotometric determination of sulfide in simulated waters samples

This paper describes the coupling of sequential injection with monosegmented flow analysis (SI-MSFA) for determination of sulfide at typical concentrations in wastewaters. The method was based on the reaction of sulfide with 19 mmol l⁻¹ Fe³⁺ and 3.63 mmol l⁻¹N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylene diamine hydrochloride in medium of 1.1 mol l⁻¹ HCl, forming the dye methylene blue. The analytical curves were constructed by in-line dilution of a single stock standard solution. The robustness of the proposed method was checked constructing analytical curves in different working days and comparing the slopes, which had a relative standard deviation of 5.2% (n=5) for a concentration range between 0.17 and 1.0 mg l⁻¹ S²⁻. The analytical throughput was 38 samples per h and the limit of detection was 0.040 mg l⁻¹. The feasibility of the SI-MSFA approach to perform standard additions for S²⁻ determination was also described. Simulated samples spiked with known amounts of sulfide were analyzed by the proposed method, presenting recoveries between 70 and 115%. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the SI-MSFA method to perform in situ analysis of S²⁻ in automatic monitoring stations.     

On‐line concentration by field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for the analysis of coumarins from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum

In this work, a simple, reproducible and sensitive micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed for the separation and determination of three coumarins, imperatorin (IM), isoimperatorin (IO) and osthole (OS) from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum. Field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles was used for on‐line concentration of the coumarins. The optimum buffer contained 50 mM H₃PO₄, 160 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 20% acetonitrile and 15% 2‐propanol, and the pH of buffer was 2.0. The sample solution was diluted with water containing 5 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and injected for 15 s with ?8 kV after injection of 2 s water plug. The effects of concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate and organic modifier, the sample matrix, the injection time of water plug, the injection voltage and injection time of sample on the separation and stacking efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were well separated and by optimizing the stacking conditions, about 93, 195 and 136 fold improvement in the detection sensitivity was obtained for IM, IO and OS. The contents of three coumarins in Angelica dahurica Benth, Radix Angelicae Pubescentis and Fructus Cnidii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. The possibilities of using this method for the determination of three coumarins in spiked human serum were also tested. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectrophotometric method for determination of sulfide with iron(III) and nitrilotriacetic acid by flow injection

A manual colorimetric method for determination of sulfide has been adapted to flow injection, systematically optimized, and more fully characterized. Its intended application is for measurement of sodium sulfide reagent strength in pulp process streams, and sulfide contamination in effluent from Kraft pulp mills. In the flow-injection method developed, a sample solution containing sulfide is reacted with a mixture of iron(III) and nitrilotriacetic acid under ammoniacal conditions. The absorbance of the intensely-colored green product of this reaction is measured at 636 nm. Excess sulfite is present as a color stabilizer. A linear dynamic range of 20-100 ppm sulfide is readily achieved; the relative standard deviation is less than 1.2% (n = 10) throughout this range, and 0.37% (n = 10) midrange at 60 ppm. The usable dynamic range is 8-250 ppm sulfide. Long-term stability of the method is ensured by periodically performing an automatic cleaning cycle using a hydrochloric acid wash solution. This prevents tube discoloration and removes any precipitates which are formed under strongly alkaline conditions. The sample throuhput rate is at least 30/hr, given alternate acid wash cycles.     

Ion chromatographic determination of bromate in drinking water by post-column reaction with fuchsin.

Bromate deriving from ozonation treatment of bromide containing waters are analyzed by ion-exchange chromatography with spectrophotometric detection after post-column reaction with fuchsin in low pH medium. An anion-exchange column was used with 2.7 mM carbonate-0.3 mM hydrogencarbonate eluent. The eluent from the column was then allowed to react with a SO2-reduced fuchsin solution and then with a diluted HCl solution at 65 degrees C. The developed colour of the final product was measured spectrophotometrically at 530 nm. Linearity was checked up to 50 micrograms/l with a 200-microliter injection loop (r2 = 0.9997) and up to 100 micrograms/l of bromate with 100 microliters loop (r2 = 0.9939). Nitrate, sulfate, bromide, phosphate, fluoride did not interfere at 100 mg/l concentration level; only nitrite at concentration levels greater than 3 mg/l caused partial overlapping with bromate peak, but this value is not likely to occur in common drinking water. The detection limit (3 sigma) is 0.1 microgram/l (1 microgram/l propagation error approach).     

A multisyringe flow injection method for the automated determination of sulfide in waters using a miniaturised optical fiber spectrophotometer

In this paper, a fully software-controlled multisyringe flow injection (MSFIA) spectrophotometric system is proposed for the determination of sulfide in environmental and waste waters. The implementation of ancillary solenoid valves into the flow network allows a multitude of injection modalities to be explored, the selected modality being directly dependent on the aim of the assays. The multicommuted sandwich-type approach is introduced in this work as an efficient means to warrant high sensitivity for the particular assay with excellent repeatabilities and a considerable reagent saving. Moreover, a high injection frequency may be easily attained by carrying out a multiple injection modality during a single forward displacement of the piston driver bar. The interfacing of the robust and versatile multisyringe piston pump with an optical fiber plug-in spectrophotometer furnished with a light emitting diode enables the miniaturization of the flow analyzer, which is thus readily adaptable to in-situ and real-time monitoring schemes. The flow method is based on the coupling Fischer’s reaction of sulfide with N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the presence of Fe(III) as oxidizing reagent in a 0.7 M HCl medium. Careful selection of the physical and chemical variables enabled coefficients of variations better than 1.5% (n = 10) at the 1 mg l⁻¹ level for both injection modalities. Dynamic working ranges of 0.2–2.0 and 0.5–5 mg l⁻¹ sulfide for sandwich and multiple injection techniques, and detection limits of 0.09 and 0.15 mg l⁻¹, respectively, were obtained. Furthermore, the sandwich modality featured an average slope of 0.43 ± 0.02 l mg⁻¹ calculated from 10 day-to-day calibration plots. This result reveals better sensitivity than other flowing stream methods described in the literature. The multiple injection technique allowed an improvement of the injection throughput up to 80 h⁻¹, although a decrease of sensitivity was concomitantly observed (average slope of 0.17 ± 0.01 l mg⁻¹).

The multisyringe flow method was successfully applied to the determination of sulfide in different spiked water matrices (namely, mineral, tap, freshwater, seawater and wastewater) with recoveries ranging from 96 to 104%. Good agreement was also found in water samples between the MSFIA results and those of the batch APHA-standard method.     

等离子体发射光谱法测定矿山水样中硫酸盐的研究

水质中硫酸盐的测定方法很多,但对于成分复杂且盐分很高的矿山水样,传统方法操作繁琐且不环保,本文建立了等离子体发射光谱法测定矿山水样中硫酸盐的方法,样品采用硝酸和盐酸进行加热消解后既可去除硫化物,降低水质的黏度,又可实现多元素同时测定。该方法检出限为0.03mg/L,相对标准偏差为0.1～0.4%(n=6),方法具有方便,快捷,检出限低,精密度、准确度高且线性范围广的优点。     

A flow injection method for biamperometric determination of dipyrone in pharmaceuticals

A flow-injection method for determination of dipyrone (novalgin, metamizol) in pharmaceutical tablets with biamperometric detection is described. Flow-parameters such as flow rate, coil length and sample injection volume were optimized. The calibration graph was linear (r=0.9997) within the range of 10-50 mg l⁻¹ in a 1-mmol l⁻¹ HCl carrier solution for an applied potential of 100 mV between the two platinum wire electrodes. Two indicating redox systems were studied, namely Fe(III)/Fe(II) and I₂/I⁻. The former proved to be well suited as a selective and sensitive biamperometric indicating system for dipyrone in the presence of ingredients commonly accompanying the drug. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of dipyrone in several commercial pharmaceutical preparations. The sampling rate was 71 samples per hour with a rsd of 1.6% (eight injections of a 14-mg l⁻¹ dipyrone solution). Recoveries close to 100% demonstrated the reliability of the proposed method.     

Direct Enantiomeric Purity Determination of Acetyl-L-carnitine by LC with a Ligand-Exchange Chiral Stationary Phase

A direct HPLC method for the determination of acetyl-D-carnitine in acetyl-L-carnitine was investigated. The enantiomers were successfully separated on a SUMICHIRAL OA-6100 column, which has a ligand-exchange type of chiral moiety. The mobile phase consisted of an aqueous solution of copper (II) sulfate and sodium perchlorate. Successful enantioseparation seems to be achieved through the formation of not only the complex with copper (II) ion but also by ion-pairing with the perchlorate ion, because no enantioseparation was observed with the usual copper (II) mobile phase alone. Employing 2 mM aqueous CuSO₄ solution containing 500 mM NaClO₄, the enantiomers of acetylcarnitine eluted in the order of D- and L-forms within 15 min with R _s = 1.92 and α = 1.11. The obtained LOQ and LOD values were 0.15 and 0.1%, respectively. The validated results were satisfactory for a practical quality control method for the enantiomeric purity determination of acetyl-L-carnitine.     

On the volumetric determination of hydrogen sulfide and soluble sulfides

Two procedures for the determination of sulfides are compared. In one, the sulfide, contained in a weakly alkaline cadmium acetate solution, is added to a neutral solution containing potassium iodide and potassium iodate, which is then acidified. It is shown that, when this order is followed, errors are introduced, which are probably due to the partial oxidation of sulfide to sulfate instead of to elemental sulfur. In the other method the sulfide in the cadmium acetate solution is added first to an acid solution, followed by the addition of the potassium iodide-iodate solution. The theoretical yield was obtained.     

Simultaneous determination of digoxin and digitoxin by micellar electrokinetic chromatography and application to drug formulations

A simple micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method is described for simultaneous determination of digoxin and digitoxin. The simultaneous analysis of digoxin and digitoxin was performed in Tris buffer (10 mM; pH 9) with 90 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 10% isopropyl alcohol as an anionic surfactant and organic modifier. Under these conditions, good separation with high efficiency is achieved in short analysis times. Several parameters affecting the separation of the drugs were studied, including the pH and concentrations of the Tris buffer and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The linear range of the method for the determination of digoxin and digitoxin was over 0.01–0.3 mg/mL; the detection limit (signal to noise ratio = 3; injection 3.5 kPa 3 s) was 4 and 6 μg/mL, respectively. Application of the proposed method to the determination of digoxin in commercial tablets and in injections proved to be feasible.     

Ultrasound-assisted analyte extraction for the determination of sulfate and elemental sulfur in zinc sulfide by different liquid chromatography techniques

The speciation and determination of sulfate (SO4(2-)) and elemental sulfur (S degree) in zinc sulfide (ZnS) using ion-chromatography (IC) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) respectively is described. Three sample pretreatment approaches were employed with the aim of determining sulfate: (i) conventional water extraction of the analyte; (ii) solid-liquid aqueous extraction with an ultrasonic probe; and (iii) elimination of the zinc sulfide matrix via ion-exchange dissolution (IED). The separation of sulfate was carried out by an anion-exchange column (IonPac AS17), followed by suppressed conductivity detection. Elemental sulfur was extracted ultrasonically from the acid treated sample solution into chloroform and separated on a reversed phase HPLC column equipped with a diode array detector (DAD) at 264 nm. The achievable solid detection limits for sulfate and sulfur were 35 and 10 microg g(-1) respectively.     

Fluorescence and terbium-sensitised luminescence determination of garenoxacin in human urine and serum

Fluorescence and terbium-sensitised luminescence properties of new quinolone garenoxacin have been studied. The fluorimetric method allows the determination of 0.060-0.600 μg ml⁻¹ of garenoxacin in aqueous solution containing HCl/KCl buffer (pH 1.5) with λ_exc=282 nm and λ_em=421 nm. Micellar-enhanced fluorescence was also studied, leading to a higher than 400% increase in analytical signal in presence of 12 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), allowing the determination of 0.020-0.750 μg ml⁻¹ of garenoxacin. The terbium-sensitised luminescence method allows the determination of 0.100-1.500 μg ml⁻¹ of garenoxacin in 12 mM SDS solution containing 0.08 M acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer (pH 4.1) and 7.5 mM Na₂SO₃ (chemical deoxygenation agent), with λ_exc=281 nm and λ_em=546 nm. Relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) values for the three methods were in the range 1.0-2.0%. The proposed procedures have been applied to the determination of garenoxacin in spiked human urine and serum.     

Micelle to trapping solution stacking in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

An analytical strategy micelle to trapping solution stacking (MSS) was developed in acidic buffer in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The stacking mechanism is based on the transport, release, capturing of molecules bound to micelle carriers that are made to collapse into trapping solution (TS) to serve as the medium to contain and stacking the analytes. Tetrandrine and fangchinoline were selected as model mixture using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles as carrier to demonstrate this stacking method. The experiments by MSS-MEKC were carried out and further compared with those by normal MEKC. The results reveal that 113–123-fold improvements in the detection sensitivity was obtained for the analytes, and separation and determination of tetrandrine and fangchinoline in Stephaniae tetrandrae S. Moore and Fengtongan capsules were finished under optimum conditions using the sample matrix containing 8.0 mM SDS and TS containing 50 mM H₃PO₄–55% (v/v) ethanol.     

Analysis of amino acids and biogenic amines in breast cancer cells by capillary electrophoresis using polymer solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate

We describe simultaneous analysis of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)-amino acid and NDA-biogenic amine derivatives by CE in conjunction with light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). After sample injection, via EOF 0.1% PEO prepared in 100 mM TB solution (pH 9.0) containing 30 mM SDS entered a capillary filled with 0.5 M TB solution (pH 10.2) containing 40 mM SDS. Under this condition, 14 NDA-amino acid and NDA-amine derivatives were separated within 16 min, with high efficiency ((1.0–3.2) × 10⁵ theoretical plates) and sensitivity (LODs at S/N = 3 ranging from 2.06 to 19.17 nM). In the presence of SDS and PEO, analytes adsorption on the capillary wall was suppressed, leading to high efficiency and reproducibility. The intraday analysis RSD values (n = 3) of the mobilities for the analytes are less than 0.52%. We have validated the practicality of this approach by quantitative determination of 9 amino acids in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and 10 amino acids in normal epithelial cells (H184B5F5/M10). The concentrations of Tau and Gln in the MCF-7 cells were different than those in the H184B5F5/M10 cells, respectively. Our results show the potential of this approach for cancer study.     

Stabilization of sulfide and sulfite and ion-pair chromatography of mixtures of sulfide, sulfite, sulfate and thiosulfate

Ion chromatography of sulfide, sulfite, sulfate and thiosulfate in a mixture is often difficult because of instability of sulfide and sulfite, poor separation of sulfide from common anions such as bromide or nitrate and similar elution-times for sulfite and sulfate. An ion-pair chromatographic method for the determination of these sulfur anions has been established by stoichiometric conversion of sulfide and sulfite into stable thiocyanate and sulfate, respectively, prior to the chromatographic run. Sulfate, thiosulfate and thiocyanate were resolved on an octadecylsilica column with an acetonitrile-water mobile phase containing tetrapropylammonium salt (TPA) as an ion-paring reagent, and thiosulfate and thiocyanate in the effluent could be measured with a photometric detector (220 nm) and sulfate with a suppressed conductivity detector. When an acetonitrile-water (6:94, v/v) mobile phase (pH 5.0) containing 15 mM TPA and small amounts of acetic acid was used at a flow-rate of 0.6 ml min(-1), the three anions could be eluted within 32 min. Calibration plots of peak height versus concentration for sulfide (detected as thiocyanate) and thiosulfate gave straight lines up to 35 and 60 microM, respectively. The calibration plot for sulfide coincided with that obtained by using thiocyanate. A calibration plot for sulfite, measured as sulfate, was also linear up to 135 microM and was in accord with that of sulfate. Each calibration plot gave a correlation coefficient greater than 0.999. For six replicates obtained for a mixture of 30.0 microM sulfide, 50.0 microM sulfite, 50.0 microM sulfate and 20.0 microM thiosulfate, the proposed method gave a mean value of 30.1 microM with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.77 microM and a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.6% for sulfide, 101 microM (SD = 3.5 microM, RSD = 3.5%) for the total of sulfite and sulfate and 20.1 microM (SD = 0.44 microM, RSD = 2.2%) for thiosulfate. Recoveries for sulfide, sulfite plus sulfate, and thiosulfate in hot-spring water samples using the proposed method were found to be quantitative.     

Determination of endo- and exogenous corticosteroids by cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography with the use of on-line preconcentration

A method was proposed for the simultaneous determination of steroids of the endo- and exogeneous origin with the use of micellar electrokinetic chromatography, which provides the determination of residual medicines in biological fluids and the control of medication efficiency at different steroidogenesis abnormalities. The introduction of a macrocyclic addition of β-cyclodextrin (from 1 to 6 mM) into a buffer electrolyte solution (25 mM phosphoric acid, 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 4.5 mM urea, pH 2.5) or into a sample solution decreases the detection limit by a factor of 20–200.     

Separation of selenite,sulkate and iron by cation-exchange resin

Selenite, sulfate and iron(III) are separated by cation-exchange resin. Microgram amounts of selenite in iron(III) sulfate solution at pH 2 are completely adsorbed on the resin together with the large excess of iron(III). while sulfate passes through. Selenite is eluted with 0.5 N hydrochloric acid, leaving iron(III) in the resin. The procedure is applied to the determination of these elements in natural iron sulfides.     

Flow-through optical fiber sensor for automatic sulfide determination in waters by multisyringe flow injection analysis using solid-phase reflectometry

A software-controlled flow-through optical fiber diffuse reflectance sensor capitalized on the implementation of disk-based solid-phase pre-concentration schemes in a multisyringe flow injection analysis (MSFIA) set-up is proposed for the trace determination of sulfide in environmental waters and wastewaters. The fully automated flowing methodology is based on Fischer's coupling reaction of sulfide with N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD) in the presence of Fe(iii) as oxidizing reagent in a 0.5 M HCl medium. The on-line generated methylene blue dye is subsequently delivered downstream to a dedicated optode cell furnished with an octadecyl-chemically modified (C(18)) disk, while continuously recording the diffuse reflectance spectrum of the pre-concentrated compound. A double regeneration protocol is finally executed to warrant minimum background noise and negligible baseline. Under the optimized chemical and hydrodynamic conditions, the optosensing MSFIA method features coefficients of variation better than 0.7%(n= 10) at 50 microg l(-1) concentration, a linear working range of 20-200 microg l(-1) sulfide, a 3sigma(blank) detection limit of 2.9 microg l(-1) sulfide and an injection throughput of 8 h(-1) for a pre-concentration sample volume of 2.9 ml. The interfacing of the robust and versatile multisyringe flow injection-based optode with a plug-in spectrophotometer furnished with a light emitting diode assures the miniaturization of the overall flow analyzer, which is, thus, readily adaptable to real-time monitoring schemes. The potential of the multisyringe flow method was assessed via the determination of sulfide traces in water samples of different complexity (namely, freshwater, seawater and wastewater).