Determination of Cr(III) in urine, blood serum and hair using flow injection chemiluminescence analysis

A flow injection (FI) chemiluminescence method for the determination of Cr(III) in blood serum, urine and hair samples is reported. It is based on the chromium-catalyzed light emission from the luminol oxidation by hydrogen peroxide. The apparatus consists of an FI system with a flow cell formed by a coiled transparent tube suitable for chemiluminescence detection. The specificity of the method is achieved in presence of EDTA. The detection limit under optimum conditions is 0.01 μg L^–1 of Cr(III). Precision and accuracy were evaluated by determining Cr(III) concentrations in urine standards from the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST).     

Chemiluminescence determination of chromium(III) and total chromium in water samples using the periodate-lucigenin reaction

A new chemiluminescence (CL) method combined with flow injection technique is described for the determination of Cr(III) and total Cr. It is found that a strong CL signal is generated from the reaction of Cr(III), lucigenin and KIO₄ in alkaline condition. The determination of total Cr is performed by pre-reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by using H₂SO₃. The CL intensity is linearly related to the concentration of Cr in the range 4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰–1.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹. The detection limit (3s _b) is 1 × 10⁻¹⁰ g mL⁻¹ Cr and the relative standard deviation is 1.9% (5.0 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ of Cr(III) solution, n = 11). The method was applied to the determination of Cr(III) and total Cr in water samples and compared satisfactorily with the official method.     

Rapid determination of subnanogram urapidil using flow injection enhancement chemiluminescence

A sensitive flow-injection (FI) chemiluminescence (CL) for the determination of urapidil is described in this paper. It is based on the enhancement effect of urapidil on the CL reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide. The increment of CL intensity is proportional to the concentration of urapidil in the range 0.1−10 ng/mL (R ²=0.9986), with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.03 ng/mL. The whole process, at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min, including sampling and washing, could be completed in 0.5 min, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) at the concentration of 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 ng/mL was less than 3.0% (n = 5). The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of urapidil in pharmaceutical preparation, human urine, and serum. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Flow injection atomic absorption spectrometric determination of iodide using an on-line preconcentration technique

A continuous flow atomic absorption spectrometric system was used to develop an efficient on-line preconcentration-elution procedure for the determination of iodide traces. Chromium (VI) is introduced into the flow system and is reduced to chromium (III) in acid medium proportionally to the iodide present in the sample. The Cr(III) reduced by iodide is retained on a minicolumn packed with a poly(aminophosphonic acid) chelating resin, while unreduced Cr(VI) is not retained. Reduced Cr(III) is preconcentrated by passing the sample containing iodide through the system during 3 min, and is then eluted with 0.5 mol L^–1 hydrochloric acid and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The detection limit (3σ) obtained is 2.5 μg L^–1. Other ions typically present in waters do not interfere. The proposed method allows the determination of iodide in the range 6–220 μg L^–1 with a relative standard deviation of 2.7% at a rate of 17 samples h^–1. The method has been applied to the determination of iodide in tap and sea waters. Received: 16 September 1999 / Revised: 15 November 1999 / Accepted: 19 November 1999     

A novel flow injection chemiluminescence determination of Cr(VI) with Dichlorotris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II)

A selective novel reverse flow injection system with chemiluminescence detection (rFI-CL) for the determination of Cr(VI) in presence of Cr(III) with Dichlorotris (1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II), (Ru(phen)₃Cl₂), is described in this work. This new method is based on the oxidation capacity of Cr(VI) in H₂SO₄ media. First, the Ruthenium(II) complex is oxidized to Ruthenium(III) complex by Cr(VI) and afterwards it is reduced to the excited state of the Ruthenium(II) complex by a sodium oxalate solution, emitting light inside the detector. The intensity of chemiluminescence (CL) is proportional to the concentration of Cr(VI) and, under optimum conditions, it can be determined over the range of 3-300 μg L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.9 μg L⁻¹. The RSD was 8.4% and 1.5% at 5 and 50 μg L⁻¹, respectively. For the rFI-CL method various analytical parameters were optimized: flow rate (1 mL min⁻¹), H₂SO₄ carrier concentration (20% w/V), Ru(phen)₃Cl₂ concentration (5 mM) and sodium oxalate concentration (0.1 M). The effect of Cr(III), Fe(III), Al(III), Cd(II), Zn(II), Hg(II), Pb(II), Ca(II) and Mg(II), was studied. The method is highly sensitive and selective, allowing a fast, on-line determination of Cr(VI) in the presence of Cr(III). Finally, the method was tested in four different water samples (tap, reservoir, well and mineral), with good recovery percentage.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of medazepam

A new flow injection chemiluminescence method for the assay of medazepam is explored. The method involves the use of permanganate in sulfuric acid for the oxidation of medazepam with the emission of chemiluminescence detected by a photomultiplier tube. A simplex procedure was employed for optimising the conditions for high sensitivity detection, which were found to be 1.03 × 10^–3 mol L^–1 permanganate, 0.153 mol L^–1 sulfuric acid and 3.43 mL min^–1 flow rate. The linear calibration range was 3.7 × 10^–5 to 1.7 × 10^–3 mol L^–1. The detection limit (3σ) and the sample throughput were 1.85 × 10^–5 mol L^–1 and 100 per hour, respectively. The relative standard deviation for 5 replicate determinations of 1.9 × 10^–4 mol L^–1 medazepam was 0.15%. Common excipients (starch, glucose, maltose, lactose) used in pharmaceutical preparations had no effect. Received: 2 February 1998 / Revised: 20 May 1998 / Accepted: 25 May 1998     

A critical evaluation of the graphite furnace conditions for the direct determination of chromium in urine

A critical study of the conditions for the direct determination of Cr in urine using GFAAS was carried out. A chemometric approach showed that the most important parameters that influence the efficiency of atomic Cr cloud formation were the atomization from the tube wall and the proper implementation of a pyrolysis step. The established procedure does not require any sample pre-treatment thus minimizing the risk of contamination. The Cr content in urine was determined using a calibration curve prepared with Cr spiked urine, easily correcting all potential matrix interferences. The heating program proposed took 68 s for a 30 μL urine sample. The procedure was applied for the determination of Cr in urine to investigate the absorption rate of Cr picolinate. The limit of detection and the characteristic mass for a 30 μL urine sample were 0.18 μg/L and 5.4 pg, respectively. Received: 22 June 1998 / Revised: 13 January 1999 / Accepted: 18 January 1999     

Quantitative Monitoring of Rutin in Human Urine by Flow Injection‐Chemiluminescence Analysis

In this paper, a rapid and sensitive flow injection‐chemiluminescence (FI‐CL ) method is proposed for the quantitative determination of rutin based on the inhibitory effect of rutin on the chemiluminescence intensity from the luminol–chymotrypsin (CT ) system. The decrease of CL intensity was found to be proportional to the logarithm of rutin concentration in the range 0.1–30.0 ng/mL . A method for the quantification of rutin is proposed, with the limit of detection (LOD ) of 0.03 ng/mL (3σ). A complete analytical process including sampling and washing for rutin determination, which was conducted at a flow rate of 2.0 mL /min, could be performed completely within 30 s, yielding a sample efficiency of 120 h⁻¹. The proposed procedure was successfully applied for the determination of rutin in human urine after oral intake, with recoveries varying from 93.9 to 108.1% and relative standard derivation <4.0% (n = 5). Results showed that urine reached the maximum concentration at ~2.5 h, and the total excretion ratios were (83.5 ± 0.6) and (86.8 ± 0.7)%, respectively, for two volunteers in 8 h. The pharmacokinetic parameters, including the half‐life (1.05 ± 0.02 h), absorption rate constant (1.18 ± 0.01 h⁻¹), and elimination rate constant (0.70 ± 0.01 h⁻¹), were obtained. The possible CL mechanism of the luminol–CT –rutin reaction is discussed by FI‐CL , fluorescence, and molecular docking methods.     

FI automatic method for the determination of copper(II) based on coproporphyrin I-Cu(II)/TCPO/H(2)O(2) chemiluminescence reaction for the screening of waters

In this paper, an automatic method for the screening of water samples containing Cu(II) was proposed, based on peryoxalate chemiluminescence reaction using coproporphyrin I as fluorophor compound to provide selectivity and a simple flow injection (FI) chemiluminescence detector (CLD). FI system conditions were chosen in order to distinguish samples over or under legislation limit established (50 μg l⁻¹) with high reliability. The detection limit found was 9 μg l⁻¹ and the linear dynamic range was 15-125 μg l⁻¹ of Cu(II). Repeatibility and reproducibility studies gave good precision and accuracy with recovery near 100%. Under these conditions, the method resulted selective and only Fe(II), Fe(III) and Pb(II) could interfere, but at a concentration level higher than their normal concentration in waters. The proposed method was found to be highly reliable for screening purposes and it was successfully applied to the screening of a variety of real water samples.     

Chromatographic determination of phenylarsenic compounds

Urinary arsenic speciation is considered to be an effective procedure to differentiate between toxic inorganic and less toxic organic arsenic exposure. The aim of the present work was to develop a new method for the simultaneous determination of the main arsenic species so far detected in urine: arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)), methylarsonic acid (MA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and arsenobetaine (AsB). The method is based on anion exchange HPLC coupled on-line to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for element specific detection. Experimental parameters, such as column type and composition of the mobile phases were optimized in order to get best separation, little matrix interferences, lowest detection limits, and short total times of analyses. Best chromatographic conditions were obtained by using a Dionex AS14 anion exchange column and a gradient elution with tetramethylammonium hydroxide and ammonium carbonate as eluting compounds. The detection limits (3 σ) were found to be in the sub μg L^–1 range. The method was applied to analyze different urine samples from persons with and without consumption of seafood. To avoid significant matrix influences, samples (24 h urine) had to be diluted 1 : 5 with water and were filtered through a 0.45 μm filter prior to analyses. Special attention was focused on the validation of the method according to the regulations of the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (DFG) for the analyses of hazardous substances in biological materials. Received: 22 December 1997 / Revised: 18 February 1998 / Accepted: 22 February 1998     

Influence of water sample storage protocols in chemiluminescence detection of trace elements

This paper shows the influence of different sample storage protocols, on the chemiluminescence signal of some metal ions. The storage protocols studied were: acid addition (HCl or HNO(3)) and no reagent addition to filtered and refrigerated (T=4 degrees C) samples. Light emission was produced for the chemiluminescence reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide in buffer carbonate conditions (pH 10.8) catalysed by Cr(III), Co(II) and Cu(II). Batch and/or flow modes in different conditions were tested. Fe(II), Fe(III), Ni(II) and Mn(II) did not give chemiluminescence in the studied conditions. A parallel study of sensitivity and selectivity was performed. Then the presence or absence of the masking agent EDTA, added to samples or used in the carrier stream, is assayed. If the samples are acidified with HNO(3), a previous neutralisation is needed using batch mode. The determination of Cr(III) is independent of storage protocol by flow injection (FI) method; however, the determination of Co(II) or Cu(II) or total determination of three metals requires the conditioning of standards. Detection limits achieved are ranged between 0.5 and 2 mug l(-1). For batch mode, detection limits are better for unacidified samples and worse for carbonate-neutralised samples. The influence of storage protocols was validated using standard metal mixtures and calibration solutions. The use of standard reference material (SRM(c) 1640) (Trace elements in natural water) corroborates the previous statements and validates the accuracy of the different approaches underlined. This paper demonstrates that it is possible to determine Cr(III) selectively in natural waters.     

Selective voltammetric determination of chromium (VI) with DTPA and nitrate

A voltammetric determination of Cr(VI) in a flow system is described based on the selective accumulation of the reduction product of Cr(VI) on an HMDE, its complexation with DTPA and subsequent reduction of the complex in presence of nitrate. The calibration graphs were linear up to 100 and 5 nmol/L for deposition times 120 and 600 s, respectively. The relative standard deviation was 2.8% (n = 5) for Cr(VI) concentrations of 5 × 10^–8 mol/L. The detection limits (3 σ) for Cr(VI) were 1.0 and 0.12 nmol/L at deposition times of 120 and 600 s, respectively. Typical interferences derived from real water samples are discussed. The method has been applied for the determination of Cr(VI) in spiked natural water samples. Received: 18 June 1998 / Revised: 28 September 1998 / Accepted: 5 October 1998     

Determination of Total Chromium in Biological Samples by Automated Reagent Injection Chemiluminescence Analysis

A sensitive method for the determination of total chromium in real samples by flow injection–chemiluminescence (FI–CL) analysis was proposed. It was found that the CL intensity from luminol–lysozyme reaction could be markedly quenched, and the decrease of CL intensity was linear with the logarithm of Cr(III) concentrations over the range of 5.0 to 4000 pg mL^?1 with a detection limit of 2.0 pg mL^?1 (3σ) and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 3.0, 2.6, and 2.0% for 10, 100, and 1000 pg mL^?1 Cr(III) (n = 7), respectively. At a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^?1, the whole process including sampling and washing could be accomplished within 36 s. The proposed CL method was successfully applied to the determination of total chromium in pharmaceutical capsules, a dietary supplement, and spiked human serum samples, with recoveries from 92.2 to 108.4% and RSDs of less than 4.0%. Using the homemade FI–CL model, the binding constant (K = 4.38 × 10⁶ L mol^?1) and the binding sites (n ≈ 1) of Cr(III) to lysozyme were given.     

Speciation of chromium in water using crosslinked chitosan-bound FeC nanoparticles as solid-phase extractant, and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Crosslinked chitosan-bound FeC nanoparticles (CCBFeCNP) were prepared, and the adsorptive behavior of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) on CCBFeCNP were assessed. At pH 6.0–10.0, CCBFeCNP is selective towards Cr(III) but hardly selective towards Cr(VI). The retained Cr(III) is subsequently eluted with 0.5 mol L⁻¹ HCl. Total chromium is determined after reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by ascorbic acid. A new method of flow injection using a micro-column packed with CCBFeCNP as solid phase extractant has been developed for speciation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in water samples, followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The effects of pH, sample flow rate and volume, elution solution and interfering ions on the recoveries of Cr(III) were systematically investigated. Under optimum conditions, the adsorption capacity of CCBFeCNP for Cr(III) is 10.5 mg g⁻¹ at pH 7.5. The procedure presented was applied to chromium speciation in water samples, and the results were satisfactory.     

Sequential flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) and iron(III) by copper(II)-catalyzed reaction with Tiron

A flow injection method for the sequential determination of iron(II) and iron(III) was developed. It is based on the differential reaction kinetics of iron(II) and iron(III) with Tiron in a double-injection FI system. The proposed method employs the accelerating action of copper(II) for the oxidation of iron(II) in the presence of Tiron. A linear calibration graph is obtained for iron (II) and iron(III) in the concentration range 1.8 × 10^–5– 1.8 × 10^–4 mol/L; the throughput of samples is 30 injections/h. Received: 22 October 1996 / Revised: 4 December 1996 / Accepted: 10 December 1996     

Determination of ATP via the photochemical generation of hydrogen peroxide using flow injection luminol chemiluminescence detection

The determination of ATP using the coupling between a photochemical reaction and a chemiluminescence reaction in a flow injection (FI) system is described. The method is based on the reaction of glucose with ATP catalyzed by hexokinase and Mg²⁺ ions. The glucose that is not consumed by ATP is subsequently photooxidized using 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate as a sensitizer. The hydrogen peroxide produced in the photochemical reaction is monitored through the chemiluminescence reaction with luminol catalyzed by hematine. There is a linear relationship between the decrease in the chemiluminescence response and the ATP concentration at a constant concentration of glucose. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graph is linear in the range 0.20–50.5 mg L^–1 with a throughput of 25 samples per hour and relative standard deviations between ±0.62 and ±1.42%. The limit of detection is 0.07 mg L^–1. The method was used for the determination of ATP in pharmaceuticals, milk, and soils.     

Cr(III)/Cr(VI) determination in waste water by ICP/AES with on-line HPLC (HHPN) sample introduction

Using hydraulic high-pressure nebulization (HHPN) for sample introduction, an on-line high-pressure flow system (HPLC system) becomes a functional component of the ICP spectrometer. By placing additionally an HPLC column between the sample valve and the high-pressure injection/nebulization nozzle, an improved species analysis is attained. An example is given by on-line separation and determination of Cr(III)/Cr(VI) in real waste water samples with ICP/AES. The detection limit of each Cr oxidation state is 4 μg L^–1 with an analysis cycle time of 5 min. In comparison to conventional coupling of HPLC and ICP spectrometry a considerably higher sensitivity is achieved. Using spiked samples the recovery of HHPN-ICP/AES was on an average better than 98% in contrast to only 79% for Cr(VI) determination with a UV photometric reference method. Due to chromatographic separation of Cr(VI) from matrix components and Cr (III), the technique no longer shows the typical spectral interferences caused by Ca (267.716 nm Cr line) and Fe (283.563 nm Cr line). Received: 2 August 1997 / Revised: 11 October 1997 / Accepted: 21 October 1997     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of isoniazid with electrogenerated hypochlorite

A flow-injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of isoniazid based on the sensitizing effect of isoniazid on the chemiluminescence generating luminol-hypochlorite reaction is described. The hypochlorite was electrogenerated on-line by constant current electrolysis, thus, eliminating instability of hypochlorite solution prepared from commercially available sodium hypochlorite. The calibration graph is linear in the range 1 × 10^–8 to 1 × 10^–6 g mL^–1, and the detection limit is 6 × 10^–9 g mL^–1. The relative standard deviation for determination of 5 × 10^–8 g mL^–1 is 2.8%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of isoniazid in pharmaceutical preparations. Reveived: 2 May 1998 / Revised: 27 July 1998 / Accepted: 7 August 1998     

Evaluation of a commercially available microbore anion exchange column for chromium speciation with detection by ICP-mass spectrometry and hyphenation with microconcentric nebulization

The potential of a new commercially available microbore anion exchange column for chromium speciation (Cetac ANX-3202) was evaluated and its characteristics were studied. Nitric acid was used as mobile phase, making the technique ideal for coupling with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Because of the low operating flow rate of the column, a microconcentric nebulizer was used as an interface between the microbore column and the ICP-mass spectrometer. Co was added to the mobile phase and its signal intensity was continuously monitored and used as an internal standard to correct for signal drift and instrumental instability. Excellent results were obtained in terms of repeatability. Detection limits for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) are less than 1 μg · L^–1, using either ⁵²Cr or ⁵³Cr. The accuracy was determined by analyzing a certified reference material (BCR CRM 544). The concentrations found were in good agreement with those certified. The occurrence of C- and Cl-based molecular ions was studied and their influence on the determination of chromium was evaluated. Received: 8 August 1998 / Revised: 2 November 1998 / Accepted: 5 November 1998     

Determination of total iron in ground waters and multivitamin tablets using a solid-phase reactor with tiron immobilised on amberlite ion-exchange resin in a flow injection system

A method is described for the flow injection determination of total iron as Fe(III) using a solid-phase reactor containing disodium-1,2-dihydroxybenzene-3,5-disulphonate (tiron) as substrate. The iron(III) reacted with tiron to form a complex which absorbs strongly at 667 nm, where it was measured spectrophotometrically. The system has a linear range of 1 to 50 mg L^–1 with a detection limit of 0.67 mg L^–1. It is suitable for the determination of total iron in multivitamin tablets and iron-rich ground waters, with a relative standard deviation of better than 1.1%. The results obtained compared favourably with the certified values and a standard ICP-AES method. Received: 12 November 1997 / Revised: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 15 March 1998