Cathodic Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry for Estimation of the Forest Area Pollution with Nickel and Cobalt

 Necessary conditions were established for simultaneous nickel and cobalt determination in environmental samples, such as oak wood and soil, based on cathodic adsorptive stripping voltammetry. Ni(II) and Co(II), complexed with dimethylglyoxime, were determined using a hanging mercury drop electrode. Optimum conditions were found to be: accumulation time 90 s, accumulation potential −0.80 V vs. SCE, supporting electrolyte 0.2 mol dm⁻³ ammonia-ammonium chloride buffer (pH = 9.4) + 0.05 mol dm⁻³ NaNO₂ and dimethylglyoxime 2 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³. A linear current-concentration relationship was observed up to 7.51×10 ⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ for Ni(II) and 7.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ for Co(II). Excess amounts of zinc(II) interfering with cobalt peaks were masked by complexation with EDTA. Wood and soils were mineralized by applying a microwave digestion system, using the mixtures H₂O₂ + HNO₃ or HNO₃ + HF, respectively. The developed procedure was tested by analysing international reference materials (BCR 62 Olive Leaves and GBW 08302 Tibet Soil). The developed procedure was used to determine pollution of oak stand with nickel and cobalt in different regions of Poland. Received August 10, 2000. Revision May 22, 2001.     

The aggregation of sodium dehydrocholate in water

 We used a battery of different methods to study the association in aqueous sodium dehydrocholate (NaDHC) solutions. This salt associates by a stepwise mechanism. Below (9.6 ± 4.2) × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ there is a molecular solution with some strongly insoluble dehydrocholic acid produced by hydrolysis. Between (9.6 ± 4.2) × 10⁻⁴ and (5.2 ± 2.2) × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³, an aggregate similar to acid soap (NaDHC.HDHC) appears and its amount and the aggregate's size increase with concentration. At =(2.20 ± 0.85) × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ the aggregates formed have properties usually associated with true micelles, such as solubilisation of water-insoluble dyes. These aggregates increase in size with concentration and change their shape at 8 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³, giving nonsymmetrical aggregates. The changes in the solution physicochemical properties at these concentrations may be misinterpreted and this explains the different values of the critical micelle concentration reported in the literature for substances with similar structure, such as bile salts. Received: 14 May 2001 Accepted: 10 August 2001     

Low-concentration aqueous solutions of undecenoic acid and sodium undecenoate

The behaviors of low-concentration aqueous solutions of 10-undecenoic acid and its sodium salt were studied by several techniques. The acid does not have a critical micelle concentration, but gives an emulsion of very small droplets at (0.8–1) ×  10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³. The emulsion was clearly visible by eye at 0.002 mol dm⁻³. The sodium salt has a stepwise aggregation process, giving premicellar aggregates at 0.023 ± 0.008 mol dm⁻³, which grow to form micelles at 0.117 ± 0.007 mol dm⁻³. The compositions of the solution and the micelles were also studied. Received: 25 February 1999 Accepted in revised form: 21 June 1999     

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of nitrite based on nano-alumina-modified electrode

Simple and sensitive electrochemical method for the determination of nitrite, based on a nano-alumina-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), is described. Nitrite yields a well-defined oxidation peak whose potential is 0.74 V at the nano-alumina-coated GCE in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer (pH 5.0). Compared with bare GCE, the nano-alumina-modified GCE has evident catalytic effect towards the oxidation of nitrite, and its peak current can be significantly enhanced. Some of the experimental parameters were optimized for the determination of nitrite. The oxidation peak current was proportional to nitrite concentration in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸–1.1 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹, and a detection limit of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ was obtained. This method has been successfully used to the determination of nitrite in sausage sample. Furthermore, results obtained by the method have been compared with spectrophotometric method.     

Kinetic Determination of Nanogram Levels of Manganese(II) by Naphthol Blue Black–Potassium Periodate–1,10-Phenanthroline System

 The catalytic effect of manganese(II) on the oxidation of Naphthol Blue Black, with potassium periodate in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline in weakly acidic media is studied. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in the absorbance of the dye at 618 nm. Under the optimum conditions (3 × 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³ Naphthol Blue Black, 6 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ potassium periodate, 1 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ 1,10-phenanthroline, 0.1 mol dm⁻³ acetate buffer – pH 4.0, 60 °C, 5 min) manganese(II) in the range 0.08–4 ng cm⁻³ can be determined by the fixed-time method with a detection limit of 0.025 ng cm⁻³. The influence of foreign ions on the accuracy of the results is investigated. The developed method is highly sensitive, selective, and simple. The method was applied successfully to the determination of manganese in cucumbers, garlic cloves and parsley leaves. Received June 12, 2000. Revision December 12, 2000.     

Simple sensor for simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers

A simple sensor based on bare carbon ionic liquid electrode was fabricated for simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.0). The oxidation peak potential of hydroquinone was about 0.136 V, catechol was about 0.240 V, and resorcinol 0.632 V by differential pulse voltammetric measurements, which indicated that the dihydroxybenzene isomers could be separated absolutely. The sensor showed wide linear behaviors in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁷–2.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ for hydroquinone and catechol, 3.5 × 10⁻⁶–1.535 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ for resorcinol, respectively. And the detection limits of the three dihydroxybenzene isomers were 5.0 × 10⁻⁸, 2.0 × 10⁻⁷, 5.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, respectively (S/N = 3). The proposed method could be applied to the determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers in artificial wastewater and the recovery was from 93.9% to 104.6%.     

Application of the catalytic properties of N-methylthiourea to the determination of In(III) at low levels by square wave voltammetry

Abstract  

This article proposes a simple and fast method of In(III) determination in the presence of Cd(II) and Pb(II). The catalytic activity of N-methylthiourea was used in the In(III) electroreduction, which also had a slight effect on the electroreduction process of Cd(II) and Pb(II). By applying square wave voltammetry it was possible to determine 3 × 10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ In(III) in the presence of 5 × 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³ Cd(II) and 1 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ Pb(II) in 5 mol dm⁻³ NaClO₄ at pH 2. The calibration curve for In(III) was linear from 3 × 10⁻⁷ to 5 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³. The relative standard deviation for In(III) determination was about 3.0%.     

Electrochemical behavior and determination of epinephrine at a mercaptoacetic acid self-assembled gold electrode

The electrochemical behavior of epinephrine (EP) at a mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) self-assembled monolayer modified gold electrode was studied. The MAA/Au electrode is demonstrated to promote the electrochemical response of epinephrine by cyclic voltammetry. The possible reaction mechanism is also discussed. The diffusion coefficient D of EP is 6.85 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹. In 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer (pH 7.20), a sensitive oxidation peak was observed at 0.177 V, and the peak current is proportional to the concentration of EP in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵–2.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁷–1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹. The detection limit is 5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. The modified electrode is highly stable and can be applied to the determination of EP in practical injection samples. The method is simple, quick, sensitive and accurate.     

Simultaneous Determination of Dopamine and Ascorbic Acid at a Triazole Self-Assembled Monolayer-Modified Gold Electrode

A 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (TA) self-assembled monolayer-modified gold electrode (TA SAM/Au) is characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, A.C. impedance, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and chronocoulometry. The TA SAM/Au exhibited good promotion of the electrochemical oxidation of dopamine. Some electrochemical parameters of dopamine such as electron transfer number, exchange current density, standard heterogeneous rate constant, diffusion coefficient, etc., were measured by different electrochemical methods. The peak currents of dopamine were linearly dependent on its concentration in the range of 1.5 × 10⁻⁶–1.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹. The oxidative peak potentials of dopamine and ascorbic acid were well separated at about 190 ± 10 mV in pH 2.0 BR buffers at TA SAM/Au, the oxidation peak current increases approximately linearly with increasing concentration of both dopamine and ascorbic acid in the concentration range of 9.98 × 10⁻⁶–4.54 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹. It can be used for simultaneous determination of dopamine and ascorbic acid.     

Kinetics and mechanism of interaction of hexaaquachromium(III) with <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Dopa in aqueous medium: comparative antiparkinsonian studies

The kinetics and mechanism of the substitution reaction between [Cr(H₂O)₆]³⁺ and l-Dopa in aqueous medium has been studied over the range 1.8 ≤ pH ≤ 2.6, 1.68 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ ≤ [Dopa] ≤ 5.04 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³, I = 0.1 mol dm⁻³ (KNO₃) at 50 °C. The reaction takes place via an outer sphere association between Cr³⁺ and l-Dopa followed by chelation. The product was characterized by physicochemical and infrared spectroscopic methods. The antiparkinsonian activity of the product was found to be higher than that of l-Dopa.     

Ultrasensitive Assay of Rhein in Medicine Based on its Enhanced Luminol-K3Fe(CN)6 Chemiluminescence Reaction Using the Flow Injection Technique

Determination of the effective components in traditional Chinese medicine is one of the key steps for its identification. In this paper a novel and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of rhein coupled with flow-injection analysis (FIA) is developed. It is based on the strong sensitizing effect on the weak CL reaction between luminol and ferricyanide in alkaline solution. Under optimal experimental conditions, the relative CL intensity is proportional to the concentration of rhein in the range of 7.0 × 10⁻¹²–7.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁹–4.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, the detection limit is 1.478 × 10⁻¹³ mol L⁻¹, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 9 parallel measurements of 1.408 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ rhein is 3.4%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of rhein in pharmaceutical preparations. The possible mechanism of CL is also briefly discussed.     

Ion specificity and viscosity of rutile dispersions

The isoelectric point (IEP) of rutile is shifted to higher pH values in the presence of greater than 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, and when a critical concentration (5 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ for Ba²⁺ and 1 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³ for Ca²⁺) is exceeded there is no IEP at all and the ζ potential is always positive. A common intersection point for the ζ-potential curves of the different concentrations of salt is found, but for the various salts the point is shifted from ζ = 0 mV for Mg²⁺ up to ζ = 20 mV for Ba²⁺. Between the IEP and the charge-reversal point a rheologically unstable region is discovered. The shear stress of rutile dispersions (2.5 g rutile + 4 g electrolyte solution) at shear rates of 116 s⁻¹ shows the same pH dependence irrespective of the concentration of alkaline-earth metal cations up to 10⁻² mol dm⁻³. The shear stress is less than 1 Pa below pH 3.8 and in the pH range 5–12 it assumes a value between 50 and 80 Pa at 116 s⁻¹ with some scatter; however, no systematic trend with concentration of alkaline-earth metal cations and a rather insignificant decrease with pH at pristine conditions are observed. The acidic branch of the yield stress (pH) and low shear rate viscosity (pH) curves is insensitive to the presence of alkaline-earth metal cations, and the same behaviour is found for the ζ potential. The alkaline-earth metal cations induce an increase in viscosity in the basic region and a shift in the pH of maximum viscosity to high pH values. It was also discovered that the effect different alkaline-earth metal cations have on the rheological properties at the same concentration is different from the effect induced by indifferent electrolytes. When the ζ potential increases the viscosity at high pH is increased in a series which follows the increase in size of the cation. Received: 9 September 1998 Accepted in revised form: 12 January 1999     

Voltammetric Analysis of the Novel Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Quetiapine in Human Serum and Urine

The electrooxidative behaviour and determination of quetiapine (QTP), a dibenzothiazepine derivative and antipsychotic agent, on a glassy carbon disc electrode was investigated using cyclic (CV), linear sweep (LSV), differential pulse (DPV) and Osteryoung square wave voltammetry (OSWV). Fully validated DP and SW voltammetric procedures are described for the determination of QTP. QTP in pH 3.5 acetate buffer solution presents a well-defined anodic response, studied by the proposed methods. This main response was due to the irreversible, diffusion-controlled, one-electron and one-proton oxidation of the aliphatic nitrogen of the piperazine ring. Under optimal conditions, a detection limit of 4.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ for DPV and 1.33 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ for OSWV, and a linear calibration graph in the range from 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ were obtained for both methods. The procedure was successfully applied to the determination of the drug in tablets, human serum and human urine with good recoveries. The detection limits were 6.20 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ and 5.92 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ in human serum and 1.44 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ and 1.31 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ in human urine, for the DPV and OSWV method, respectively.     

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers using a poly(acid chrome blue K)/carbon nanotube composite electrode

A novel modified electrode was fabricated by electropolymerization of acid chrome blue K at a multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode. The electrode developed was used for simultaneous determination of the isomers of dihydroxybenzene in environmental samples using first order linear sweep derivative voltammetry with background subtraction. A linear relationship between peak current and concentration of hydroquinone, catechol and resorcinol was obtained in the range of 1 × 10⁻⁶–1 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹, and the detection limits were estimated to be 1 × 10⁻⁷, 1 × 10⁻⁷ and 9 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹, respectively. The constructed electrode showed excellent reproducibility and stability. Real water samples were analyzed and satisfactory results were obtained. This method provides a new way of constructing electrodes for environmental and biological analysis.     

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of ascorbic acid and uric acid using a Nafion/multi-wall carbon nanotubes composite film-modified electrode

A Nafion/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) composite film-modified electrode was fabricated. The modified electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity toward ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) in 0.1-mol L⁻¹ NaCl medium (pH 6.5). Compared to the bare electrode that only displayed a broad and overlapped oxidation peak, the Nafion/MWNT film-modified electrode not only remarkably enhanced the anodic peak currents of AA and UA but also avoided the overlapping of the anodic peaks of AA and UA with a 320-mV separation of both peaks. Under the optimized conditions, the peak currents of AA and UA were proportional to their concentration at the ranges of 8.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 6.0 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ and 6.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 8.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, respectively. The proposed method was used for the detection of AA and UA in real samples with satisfactory results.     

Sensitive fluorescent probes for determination of hydrogen peroxide and glucose based on enzyme-immobilized magnetite/silica nanoparticles

Sensitive fluorescent probes for the determination of hydrogen peroxide and glucose were developed by immobilizing enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ magnetic core–shell nanoparticles in the presence of glutaraldehyde. Besides its excellent catalytic activity, the immobilized enzyme could be easily and completely recovered by a magnetic separation, and the recovered HRP-immobilized Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ nanoparticles were able to be used repeatedly as catalysts without deactivation. The HRP-immobilized nanoparticles were able to activate hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), which oxidized non-fluorescent 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid to a fluorescent product with an emission maximum at 409 nm. Under optimized conditions, a linear calibration curve was obtained over the H₂O₂ concentrations ranging from 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 2.1 × 10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹. By simultaneously using glucose oxidase and HRP-immobilized Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ nanoparticles, a sensitive and selective analytical method for the glucose detection was established. The fluorescence intensity of the product responded well linearly to glucose concentration in the range from 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 5.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.8 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of glucose in human serum sample.     

Solid state voltammetric characterization of iron hexacyanoferrate encapsulated in silica

We describe a sol-gel approach by which iron hexacyanoferrate is immobilized in silica in a manner suited to investigation by electrochemistry in the absence of a contacting liquid phase. Such physicochemical parameters as concentration of redox sites (C _o) and apparent (effective) diffusion coefficient (D _app) are estimated by performing cyclic voltammetric and potential step experiments in two time regimes, which are characterized by linear and spherical diffusional patterns, respectively. Values of D _app and C _o thereby obtained are 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹ and 1.4 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³. The D _app value is larger than expected for a typical solid redox-conducting material. Analogous measurements done in iron(III) hexacyanoferrate(III) solutions of comparable concentrations, 1.0 × 10⁻² and 5.0 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³, yield D _app on the level of 5–6 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹. Thus, the dynamics of charge propagation in this sol-gel material is almost as high as in the liquid phase. The residual water in the silica, along with the pore structure, are important to the overall mechanism of charge transport, which apparently is limited by physical diffusion rather than electron self-exchange. Under conditions of a solid state voltammetric experiment which utilizes an ultramicroelectrode, encapsulated iron hexacyanoferrate redox centers seem to be in the dispersed colloidal state rather than in a form of the rigid polymeric film. Received: 8 April 1999 / Accepted: 13 August 1999     

Covalent Modification of Glassy Carbon Electrode with L-Cysteine for the Determination of Acetaminophen

A novel L-cysteine film modified electrode has been fabricated by means of an electrochemical oxidation procedure, and it was successfully applied to the electrochemical determination of acetaminophen. This method utilizes the electrooxidation of amines to their analogous cation radicals to form a chemically stable covalent linkage between the nitrogen atom of the amine and edge plane sites at the glassy carbon electrode surface. The electrochemical behaviour of acetaminophen at the film electrode was investigated in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer (pH 6.20). It was found that the redox peak current of acetaminophen was enhanced greatly on the film electrode. Linearity between the oxidation peak current and the acetaminophen concentration was obtained in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁴–2.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. For seven parallel detections of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ acetaminophen, the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.46%, suggesting that the film electrode has excellent reproducibility. Application to the determination of acetaminophen in drug tablets and human urine demonstrated that the film electrode has good stability and high sensitivity.     

Polarographic Catalytic Wave of Prednisone in the Presence of Persulfate and its Application

 A polarographic catalytic wave of prednisone in the presence of K₂S₂O₈ was observed. The polarographic catalytic wave of prednisone as catalyst was attributed to such chemical reaction parallel to electrode reaction as oxidized the free radical from one electron reduction of the Δ^1,4-3 keto group of prednisone to regenerate the original keto group. The catalytic wave can be used for the determination of prednisone with the help of conventional polarographic equipment, such as linear-potential scan polarograph. In 0.12 mol l⁻¹ HAc-0.08 mol l⁻¹ NaAc-0.014 mol l⁻¹ K₂S₂O₈ (pH 4.6) supporting electrolyte, the second-order derivative peak current of the catalytic wave was rectilinear to prednisone concentration in the range of 3.2 × 10⁻⁷∼1.6 × 10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹. The detection limit was 8.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol l⁻¹. Received August 6, 2001; accepted April 17, 2002; published online July 22, 2002     

Electrochemical determination of acetaminophen using a glassy carbon electrode coated with a single-wall carbon nanotube-dicetyl phosphate film

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were dispersed into water in the presence of dicetyl phosphate (DCP), and then a SWNT-DCP film-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was constructed. The electrochemical behavior of acetaminophen at bare GCE and SWNT-DCP modified GCE were compared, suggesting that the SWNT-DCP-modified GCE significantly enhances the oxidation peak current of acetaminophen. A sensitive and simple electrochemical method with a good linear relationship in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁷–2.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, was developed for the determination of acetaminophen. The detection limit is 4.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ for 3-min accumulation. This method was successfully demonstrated with tablets.