Arsenic speciation in water samples containing high levels of copper: removal of copper interference affecting arsine generation by continuous flow solid phase chelation

A simple continuous flow method is proposed to eliminate copper interference in arsenic speciation by hydride generation, based on the selective retention of this interfering ion in an iminodiacetate chelating resin previous to the hydride generation process. The arsines generated were cold trapped and measured by ICP/OES. The proposed method allows about 98% of the copper present in the samples to be removed. Minor co-retention of As(V) was observed as a result of electrostatic interaction between the arsenate anion and the nitrogen of the iminodiacetate group of the chelating resin Muromac A-1, the charge distribution of which is modified when copper is chelated. The species As(III), MMA and DMA were not retained in the microcolumn, probably because these species are mainly in the molecular form at the working pH value (4.5). In synthetic samples containing 50 g l^–1 of each arsenic species together with 100 mg l^–1 copper, the recoveries obtained were: As(V) 97.6%, As(III) 100%, MMA 99.8%, and DMA 99.9%. The method was applied to arsenic speciation in river water samples containing high levels of copper.     

Flow-Injection Methods for Determining Europium in Mixtures of Lanthanides(III)

Possible approaches to the flow-injection determination of europium(III) in the presence of other lanthanides are studied. One of the approaches is based on the direct amperometric detection of europium(III) in a flow-injection system with a glassy-carbon electrode at a potential of –0.85 V (against a saturated calomel electrode). The linear calibration range is 5.0 × 10^–5–5.0 × 10^–4M of europium, and the limit of detection is 1.8 × 10^–5M (2.8 g/mL). The throughput capacity is 90 h^–1for a sample volume of 600 L. Another approach involves the online reduction of europium(III) to europium(II) in a flow Jones mini-reductor filled with amalgamated zinc, followed by the spectrophotometric detection of europium(II) using redox reactions between europium(II) and iron(III) in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline, molybdophosphoric acid, or Methylene Blue. In the latter case, the calibration curve is linear in the range 0–5.0 × 10^–6M europium(III), the limit of detection is 9.0 × 10^–8M (0.014 g/mL). The throughput capacity is 180 h^–1for a sample volume of 200 L. The performance parameters of the proposed flow-injection methods are estimated using the analysis of artificial mixtures and dissolved samples of samarium(III) oxide and lanthanum(III) fluoride containing europium impurities as an example.     

Differential pulse voltammetric methods for the simultaneous estimation of uranium-iron and uranium-cadmium mixtures in solution

Differential pulse voltammetric methods have been developed for the simultaneous estimation of the constituents of uranium-iron and uranium-cadmium mixtures in solution. A mixture of 1M H₃PO₄–1M KH₂PO₄ (with a pH1.5), was found to be the most ideal supporting electrolyte for both methods, among many that were evaluated for their suitability. In uranium-iron mixtures the calibration for iron was found to be linear up to 150 g ml^–1 (r²=0.9986), while that of uranium up to 500 g ml^–1 (r²=0.999). Iron at 6.7 g ml^–1 level could be determined in the presence of 800 fold uranium (wt/wt) without significant interference. Uranium at 21 g ml^–1 level could be analyzed with 5-fold iron (wt/wt). This upper limit of iron was due to the precipitation of iron as phosphate. In the case of uranium — cadmium mixtures, cadmium calibration for cadmium was found to be linear up to 1300 g ml^–1 (r²=0.9993). Concentration levels of 4.6 g ml^–1 Cd could be determined at a 500-fold excess (wt/wt) of uranium. Uranium calibration was linear up to 500 g ml^–1 (r²=0.999) and 21 g ml^–1 uranium could tolerate up to a 1000-fold excess of cadmium (wt/wt). Both procedures could tolerate 10 g ml^–1 levels of metal ions, such as chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum and vanadium.     

Application of Multivariate Calibration Techniques to HPLC Data for Quantitative Analysis of a Binary Mixture of Hydrochlorathiazide and Losartan in Tablets

New multivariate approaches have been applied to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with multiwavelength photodiode-array (PDA) detection. Multivariate calibration techniques such as partial least squares (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), classical least squares (CLS), and inverse least squares (ILS) was subjected to HPLC data for simultaneous quantitative analysis of synthetic binary mixtures and a commercial tablet formulation containing hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) and losartan potassium (LST). The combined use of HPLC and multivariate calibrations has been denoted HPLC–CLS, HPLC–ILS, HPLC–PCR, and HPLC–PLS. Successful chromatographic separation of the two active compounds and enalapril maleate, used as internal standard (IS), was accomplished by means of a 4.6 mm i.d. × 250 mm, 5 m particle, Waters Symmetry C₁₈ reversed-phase column and a mobile phase consisting of 60:40 acetate buffer (0.2 M, pH 4.8)–acetonitrile (v/v, 60:40). HPLC data based on the ratio of analyte peak areas to IS peak area were obtained by PDA detection at five-wavelengths (250, 255, 260, 265, and 270 nm). The HPLC–CLS, HPLC–ILS, HPLC–PCR, and HPLC–PLS calibration plots for hydrochlorothiazide and losartan potassium were constructed separately by using the peak-area ratios corresponding to the concentrations of each active compound. The HPLC multivariate calibrations obtained were tested for different synthetic mixtures containing HCT and LST in the presence of the IS. These multivariate chromatographic methods were also applied to a commercial pharmaceutical dosage form containing HCT and LST. The results obtained from the multivariate calibrations were compared with those obtained by use of another, classical HPLC method using single-wavelength detection.Revised: 29 September 2004 and 4 January 2005     

Simultaneous determination of chromium(VI) and chromium(III) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with a chelating ion-exchange flow injection system

Summary Simultaneous Determination of Chromium(VI) and Chromium(III) by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with a Chelating Ion-Exchange Flow Injection System A simple method is described for the simultaneous determination of chromium(VI) and chromium(III) in a flow injection system comprising chelating ion-exchange and flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Sampling rates for 2001 and 1 ml sample volumes were 120 and 60 h^–1 (240 and 120 speciations per hour), respectively. Typical relative standard deviations were 0.52% for Cr(VI) (0.50g ml^–1 and 0.67% for Cr(III) (0.10,g ml^–1) and the corresponding limits of detection were 85 ng ml^–1, and 16 ng ml^–1, respectively.On leave from University of Belgrade.     

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: Application to the determination of arsenic species

The application of ion-pair reversed phase chromatography (HPLC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to the determination of six species of arsenic is described: arsenious acid (As^III), arsenic acid (As^V), monomethylarsinic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), arsenocholine (AsC) and arsenobetaine (AsB) in marine biota and in natural fresh water. The coupling conditions of HPLC-ICP-MS are given and also the evaluation of the extraction procedure applied to determine these species in marine organisms. The limits of detection are between 6 and 25 g.l^–1.     

Catalytic-fluorimetric determination of EDTA and iron(III) by flow injection analysis

Summary In this paper the authors report on several methods for the direct determination of EDTA and indirect determination of iron(III), based on the inhibition effect of EDTA on the catalytic action of copper (II) on the oxidation of 2,2-dipyridyl ketone hydrazone by hydrogen peroxide and on the decrease of this inhibition effect in the presence of Fe(III), respectively. These methods allow the determination of EDTA in the ranges of 0.4–2.0 g · ml^–1 and 0.2–1.0 g · ml^–1 for the normal and reversed FIA modes, respectively, and of 40–240 ng · ml^–1 for Fe(III) by reversed FIA.

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Katalytisch-fluorimetrische Bestimmung von EDTA und Eisen(III) durch FließinjektionsanalyseInhibitionsmethoden

Zusammenfassung Verfahren zur direkten Bestimmung von EDTA sowie zur indirekten Bestimmung von Eisen(III) werden beschrieben. Sie beruhen auf der Inhibitorwirkung von EDTA auf den katalytischen Effekt von Kupfer(II) bei der Oxidation von 2,2-Dipyridylketonhydrazon mit Wasserstoffperoxid bzw. auf der Schwächung dieser Inhibitorwirkung in Gegenwart von Eisen(III). Es ist mit diesen Methoden möglich, EDTA im Bereich von 0,4–2,0 g/ml (normale FIA) bzw. 0,2–1,0 g/ml (umgekehrte FIA) und Eisen im Bereich von 40–240 ng/ml (umgekehrte FIA) zu bestimmen.

     

Diode array detectors in flow injection analysis. Simultaneous determination of rare earth metals with Arsenazo III

Summary A flow injection spectrophotometric procedure for the simultaneous determination of rare earths with Arsenazo III is reported. The spectrum of the sample is recorded by using a diode array detector and the mixed spectra are resolved with the aid of a multicomponent analysis program based on a least-squares fitting algorithm. Binary mixtures of tervalent cations at concentrations between 0.5 and 2.5 g/g and uranyl in the range 1.4–4.3 g/g were accurately resolved by univariate calibration. The presence of thorium (2.8–7.0 /g) required the use of multivariate calibration in order to obtain accurate results. Tervalent cations were globally determined as lanthanum. The sampling rate was about 60 samples/h. The results obtained in the analysis of U and Th in a pitchblende agree well with the certified values.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic and selenium in biological samples by HG-AFS

A new method is proposed for simultaneous determination of traces of arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in biological samples by hydride-generation double-channel non-dispersive atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) from tartaric acid media. The effects of analytical conditions on fluorescence signal intensity were investigated and optimized. Interferences from coexisting ions were evaluated. Under optimum conditions linear response ranges above 20 g L^–1 for As and 32 g L^–1 for Se were obtained with detection limits of 0.13 and 0.12 g L^–1, respectively. The precision for elevenfold determination of As at the 4 g L^–1 level and of Se at the 8 g L^–1 level were 2.7 and 1.9% (RSD), respectively. Recoveries of 92.5–95.5% for As and 101.2–108.4% for Se were obtained for four biological samples and two certified biological reference materials. The proposed method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, and high efficiency; it was successfully used for simultaneous determination of As and Se in biological samples.     

Platinum concentration in silicone breast implant material and capsular tissue by ICP-MS

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the concentration of platinum (Pt) in silicone breast implant gel (range, 0.26–48.90 g g^–1 Pt; n=15), elastomer (range, 3.05–28.78 g g^–1 Pt; n=7), double lumen (range, 5.79–125.27 g g^–1 Pt; n=7), foam (range, 5.79–8.36 g g^–1 Pt; n=2), and capsular tissue (range, 0.003–0.272 g g^–1 Pt; n=15). The results show that very high levels of Pt are present in the encasing elastomer, double lumen, and foam envelope materials. Silicone breast implants can be a source of significant Pt exposure for individuals with these implants.     

Arsenic speciation in aqueous samples using a selective As(III)/As(V) preconcentration in combination with an automatable cryotrapping hydride generation procedure for monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid

Differentiation between As(III) and As(V) is accomplished using earlier developed selective preconcentration methods (carbamate and molybdate mediated (co)precipitation of As(III) and As(V) respectively) follewed by AAS detection of the (co)precipitates. Apart from this, separation of methylated arsenic species is performed by an automatable system comprising a continuous flow hydride generation unit in which monomethylarsonic acid (MMAA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA) are converted into their corresponding volatile methylarsines, monomethylarsine (MMA) and dimethylarsine (DMA) respectively. These species are cryogenically trapped in a Teflon-line stainless stell U-tube packed with a gas chromatographic solid-phase and subsequently separated by selective volatilization. A novel gas drying technique by means of a Perma Pure dryer was applied successfully prior to trapping. Detection is by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). MMAA and DMAA are determined with absolute limits of detection of 0.2 and 0.5 ng, respectively. Investigation of the behaviour of the methylarsines in the system was conducted with synthesized⁷³As labeled methylated arsenic species. It was found that MMA is taken through the system quantitatively whereas DMA is recovered for about 85%. The opumized system combined with selective As(III)/As(V) preconcentration has been tested out for arsenic speciation of sediment interstitial water from the Chemiehaven at Rotterdam. The obtained concentrations are 28.5, 26.8 and 0.60 ng·ml^–1 for As(III), As(V) and MMAA, respectively, whereas the DMAA concentration was below 0.16 ng·ml^–1.     

Chromogenic reaction of bromopyrogallol red with tri- and hexavalent chromium in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and its application in Cr speciation

The coordination reactions of bromopyrogallol red (BPR) with tri- and hexavalent chromium in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) have been studied by absorption spectrometry. Results show that the reactions of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) with BPR in the absence or presence of CTAB have different temperature dependences. The reaction mechanism of Cr(VI) is that Cr(VI) is first reduced by BPR to Cr(III) and then the Cr(III) produced reacts with BPR. Based on the study on the coordination reactions and the effects of surfactants upon them, a simple, rapid, sensitive and accurate method for Cr speciation has been developed. Over the range of 0–8 g Cr(VI) or 0–12g Cr(III) per 25ml final volume, the calibration curve is linear with a detection limit of 3.5 × 10^–7 mol/1 for Cr(VI) or 4.4 × 10^–7 mol/1 for Cr(III).     

Spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(IV) in the presence of vanadium(V) using Br-PADAP

In the present paper, a simple and sensitive method is proposed for vanadium(IV) determination in the presence of vanadium(V). This is based on the oxidation of vanadium(IV) present in the sample to vanadium(V) by addition of iron(III) cation, followed by a complexation reaction of iron(II) with the spectrophotometric reagent 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Br-PADAP). The iron(II) reacts with Br-PADAP immediately, forming a stable complex with a large molar absorptivity. The vanadium(IV) determination is possible, with a calibration sensitivity of 0.549 g ml^–1, for an analytical curve of 18.8 ng ml^–1 to 2.40 g ml^–1, molar absorptivity of 2.80 × 10⁴ 1 mole^–1 cm^–1 and a detection limit of 5.5 ng ml^–1. Selectivity was increased with the use of EDTA as a masking agent. The proposed method was applied for the vanadium(IV) determination in the presence of several amounts of vanadium(V). The results revealed that 200 g of vanadium(V) do not interfere with determination of 5.00 g of vanadium(IV). The precision and the accuracy obtained were satisfactory (R. S. D.<2%).     

Rapid Determination of Mercury in Water by Stripping Voltammetry at a Gold-Modified Carbon Electrode

A procedure was developed for determining mercury in natural water by stripping voltammetry on a gold-modified carbon electrode. The concentration dependence of the anodic stripping current of mercury is linear in the range 0.02–5 g/L Hg(II). The interference of Fe(III), Cu(II), Cl^–, Br^–, I^–, and F^– ions with the determination of mercury was studied. Ozonation was used for rapid sample preparation. The detection limit for mercury was 0.02 g/L at an electrolysis time of 5 min.     

Determination of Triphenyltin and Its Metabolite Diphenyltin in Culture Medium by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV detection

A method for the determination of triphenyltin and diphenyltin was developed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Triphenyltin and diphenyltin were separated using a reversed-phase Symmetry C₁₈ column (150 × 3.9 mm, 5 m) with tetrahydrofuran-water-acetonitrile-glacial acetic acid (13:25:5:7, v/v) containing 0.05% triethylamine and 1.0% sodium acetate as mobile phase at 0.50 mL min^–1 and detection at 257 nm. The calibration curves were linear from 0.26 mol L^–1 to 1100 mol L^–1 for triphenyltin with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 (n=12) and from 0.60 mol L^–1 to 1200 mol L^–1 for diphenyltin with a correlation coefficient of 0.9991 (n=12), respectively. The detection limits of triphenyltin and diphenyltin were 0.2 mol L^–1 and 0.4 mol L^–1, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of triphenyltin and its metabolite diphenyltin in culture medium. The recoveries of triphenyltin and diphenyltin were in the ranges of 97.7% to 103.3% and 85.5% to 91.6%, respectively.     

Indirekte Bestimmung leichter Elemente durch R?ntgenfluorescenzanalyse

Zusammenfassung Es wird über eine röntgenfluorescenzanalytisehe Methode zur quantitativen Bestimmung leichter Elemente in Mikrogramm-Mengen berichtet, die durch Verwendung eines Bezugsstandards auf eine quantitative Überführung und reproduzierbare Verteilung von Niederschlägen auf Filtern verzichten kann. Das zu bestimmende leichte Element wird zusammen mit einem Bezugsstandard, der mit der Röntgenfluorescenz gut meßbar sein muß, durch ein mit der Röntgenfluorescenz ebenfalls gut meßbares Fällungsreagens ausgefällt. Das Niederschlagsgemisch wird direkt auf dem Filter vermessen. Aus den Intensitätsverhältnissen des Fällungsreagens zum Bezugsstandard werden Eichkurven erstellt und Analysenergebnisse ermittelt. Die Methode wird an Bestimmungen von Cl^– (0,7 g–4 mg), SCN^– (6 g–1mg), CN^– (10–100 g) und P0₄ ^3– (1–10 mg) demonstriert.

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Indirect determination of light elements by X-ray fluorescence analysisI. Determination of chloride, thiocyanate, cyanide and phosphate using a dependent reference standard

Because of the coprecipitation of the light element and an heavier reference element by a suitable precipitant a quantitative transfer and a reproducible distribution of the precipitate is not needed. The precipitated mixture is measured directly on the filter. From the intensity ratios of the reagent to the reference standard calibration curves are established and results are calculated. The method is demonstrated by the determination of Cl^– (0.7 g–4 mg), SCN^– (6 g–1 mg), CN^– (10–100 g) and P0₄ ^3– (1–10 mg).

     

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of dioxouranium(VI) with the sodium salt of hexamethyleneiminecarbodithioate

The optimum conditions for the extractive spectrophotometric determination of dioxouranium(VI) with hexamethyleneiminecarbodithioate(HMICdt) have been established. Dioxouranium(VI) reacts with this ligand at pH 4.5 to form a yellowish-orange uncharged 12 metal-ligand complex which can be extracted by chloroform. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 1–20 g ml^–1 of dioxouranium(VI) at 335 nm. The molar absorptivity of the extracted species is 5.952×10³ l mol^–1 cm^–1 with Sandell's sensitivity of 0.04 g cm^–2. The average of 10 determinations of dioxouranium was 49.75 g for the samples containing 50 g of U(VI) and the variation from the mean at 95% confidence limit was 49.75±0.5955.     

Fourth-derivative spectrophotometric determination of neodymium in mixed rare earths with methyl thymol blue and cetylpyridinium chloride

A sensitive and selective method is described for the determination of neodymium in mixed rare earths using fourth-derivative spectrophotometry. The method is based on the absorption spectra of 4f electron transitions of the complex of neodymium with methyl thymol blue and cetylpyridinium chloride. The influence of various instrumental parameters and reaction conditions for maximum colour development are investigated. The calibration curve is linear over the range 0–3.5 g ml^–1 neodymium. The relative standard deviation for determination of 1.4 g ml^–1 neodymium (n = 7) is 1.6%. The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) is 0.2 g ml^–1.     

Determination of palladium, platinum and gold by first derivative spectrophotometry

Summary The application of first-derivative spectrometry to the simultaneous determination of palladium(II), platinum(IV) and gold(III) is described. Light absorption of stable chlorocomplexes formed in 1 mol/l hydrochloric acid provides the basis of their determinations. A difference in the derivative amplitudes between two first-derivative zero crossing points of one metal A is read, corrected for the contribution of metal B and used for quantitation of metal C. Palladium (0.48–20 g ml^–1), platinum (0.16–24 g ml^–1) and gold (0.32–24 g ml^–1) have been determined with good precision and accuracy without any separations. Results are also presented for the simultaneous determination of the three precious metals in the presence of several major constituents.