Long-wavelength fluorescence polarization immunoassay for surfactant determination

A new homogeneous fluoroimmunoassay method based on the use of dynamic long-wavelength fluorescence polarization is presented here for the first time. This methodology, which is applied to the determination of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LASs) in water samples, involves the use of a new long-wavelength tracer synthesized from the oxazine dye Nile Blue (NB) via a carbodiimide method. This tracer exhibits fluorescent properties at λ_ex 626 and λ_em 674 nm. The variation of fluorescence polarization with time is followed using the T-format configuration of the spectrofluorimeter and the analytical parameter used is the initial rate, which is measured in only 0.7 s. The dynamic range of the calibration graph is 0.05-4.7 mg/L, with a detection limit of 0.03 mg/L. The precision, expressed as relative standard deviation was assayed at 0.05 and 1 mg/L, giving values in the range 7.6-9.1%. Other anionic, cationic and non-ionic surfactants were tolerated at much higher concentration levels than that of the analyte. The method has proven its practical usefulness for the analysis of water samples, in which only a solid phase extraction step is necessary. Recoveries ranged from 80.8 to 119.8%, with a mean value of 100.8%.     

Kinetic determination of atrazine in foods based on stopped-flow fluorescence polarization immunoassay

A very simple and fast method for the direct determination of atrazine in food samples based on the use of stopped-flow fluorescence polarization immunoassay is described. Unlike other immunoassay methods where the analytical signal is obtained when the immunochemical reaction has reached or is close to the equilibrium, this method uses the initial rate of this reaction as the analytical parameter, which is measured in only 4-5 s. This approach minimizes the static signal from the sample matrix, allows the direct analysis of the samples and can be easily adapted to the routine automatic determination of atrazine. The dynamic range of the calibration graph was 0.7-100 ng ml(-1) and the detection limit was 0.2 ng ml(-1). The precision and selectivity of the method were also studied. The analytical recoveries obtained by applying the method to white and red wine, orange juice and tea samples ranged from 80 to 104%.     

Determination of the herbicide acetochlor by fluorescence polarization immunoassay

A fluorescence polarization immunoassay procedure was developed for determining the herbicide acetochlor from the group of chloroacetanilides. Conjugates of fluorescent labeled acetochlor derivatives (tracers) with glycylaminofluorescein and ethylenediaminofluorescein were synthesized. The effect of the tracer structure on the analytical characteristics of the determination and on antigen-antibody binding constants was studied. The developed immunoassay procedures are characterized by a detection limit of 10 ng/mL and an analytical range of 0.01–10 µg/mL. The procedure is highly specific; other pesticides caused no interference with the determination of acetochlor, and the percent cross-reactivities for related chloroacetanilide herbicides were no higher than 2.4% for metolachlor and lower than 0.1% for alachlor.Translated from Zhurnal Analiticheskoi Khimii, Vol. 60, No. 1, 2005, pp. 91–96.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Deryabina, Yakovleva, Popova, Eremin.     

Determination of chloramphenicol in milk by a fluorescence polarization immunoassay

A procedure for the determination of the drug chloramphenicol using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) was proposed. The optimum pairs of antibodies and antigens labeled with fluorescein were chosen, and the analytical characteristics of the procedure were determined. A rapid procedure for milk sample preparation with the use of a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate was optimized. The total time of sample preparation and determination of chloramphenicol in milk was no longer than 10 min. The detection limits of chloramphenicol in water and milk were 10 ng/mL and 20 μg/kg, respectively. The procedure developed for the determination of chloramphenicol was tested in the analysis of model and real milk samples. It was found that some milk samples contained chloramphenicol in concentrations of 38–41 μg/kg, which are several times higher than the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) (10 μg/kg).     

Determination of netilmicin in serum by thin-layer densitometry and fluorescence polarization immunoassay

Summary A newly developed thin-layer chromatographic method (TLC) for the quantitative determination of netilmicin in serum is described and compared with fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). The TLC procedure involves solid-phase extraction of the aminoglycoside from serum and chromatography on reversed-phase thin layer. Post-chromatographic derivatization is carried out using 2,2-diphenyl-1-oxa-3-oxonia-2-boratanaphthalene (DOOB) as fluorescence reagent. The calibration curve for netilmicin in serum is linear in the range 1.0–5.0 g/ml and the detection limit is about 0.2 g/ml (correlation coefficient r=0.9963, mean coefficient of variation V_XO=±5.3 %). A total of 25 serum samples from patients treated with netilmicin was measured by TLC and the results were compared with those of FPIA (Abbott TDx). There is no statistically significant difference between the two procedures (y=–0.35+1.094·x, Passing/Bablok). Thus the TLC-procedure is an alternative for the determination of netilmicin in serum, that possesses the necessary sensitivity of other comparable methods.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Wilhelm Fresenius on the occasion of his 80th birthday.     

Determination of Alachlor in food products by a fluorescence polarization immunoassay

A procedure for the determination of Alachlor in liquid media using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) was developed. The effects of the structure and purification degree of a tracer (analyte with a fluorescent label) on the analytical signals, sensitivity, and selectivity in the determination of Alachlor were studied. The tracer-antibody binding constants (K _T) and antigen-antibody binding constants (affinity constants K _Af) were calculated, and optimum immunoreagent pairs for the determination of Alachlor were chosen. The calibration graph was linear over the Alachlor concentration range 0.01–1.0 μg/mL; the detection limit was 8 ng/mL. The procedure was tested in the analysis of model solutions and soy-containing food products (sausages). Original Russian Text ? Yu.V. Nartova, T.N. Ermolaeva, M.R. Fleisher, R. Abuknesha, S.A. Eremin, 2008, published in Zhurnal Analiticheskoi Khimii, 2008, Vol. 63, No. 5, pp. 546–552.     

Determination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in cereals by fluorescence polarization immunoassay

A fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) procedure is developed for the determination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in cereal grains using a Sentry-200 portable device. We synthesized tracers, that is, antigens labeled with fluorescein derivatives, based on two fluorescent compounds and two chlorophenoxyacids. The tracer synthesized from 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 4-aminomethylfluorescein is found to be optimal for the FPIA of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The limit of detection for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in flour was 40 ng/g; the analytical range is from 80 to 1000 ng/g. The percentage of recovery was 85 ± 7% at the relative standard deviation (RSD) 2–10%.     

Express detection of nonylphenol in water samples by fluorescence polarization immunoassay

The development of express method for detection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as alkylphenols is required for ecological monitoring. Several attempts have been made to produce antibodies against 4-nonylphenol (NP) in recent years. This work describes the production of new antibodies against NP and also summarizes the characterization of antibodies obtained earlier. Three approaches used to produce alkylphenol-specific antibodies are compared; these are based on: 1. omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic or omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)heptanoic acid NP derivatives designed to mimic the linear NP isomer; 2. 4-aminophenol, which potentially mimics various substituted phenolic compounds with different side-chain structures at position 4 of the benzene ring; and 3. a mixture of branched NP isomers, conjugated to the carrier protein via a benzene ring by the Mannich reaction, and expected to be the closest mimic of NP structure by preserving its natural alkyl moiety.Fluorescence polarization immunoassays based on different combinations of antibody and labeled antigen for screening detection of NP were developed and structural aspects of assay sensitivity and specificity were investigated. The assays based on the antisera raised against omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic acid and NP conjugate via Mannich reaction are capable of express detection of NP with detection limit of 7 microg mL(-1 )and assay dynamic range of 18-300 microg mL(-1).     

A rapid fluorescence polarization immunoassay for the determination of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in wheat

A rapid fluorescence polarization (FP) immunoassay has been developed for the simultaneous determination of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in naturally contaminated wheat samples. Syntheses of four fluorescein-labelled T-2 or HT-2 toxin tracers were carried out and their binding response with seven monoclonal antibodies was evaluated. The most sensitive antibody-tracer combination was obtained by using an HT-2-specific antibody and a fluorescein-HT-2 tracer. The developed competitive FP immunoassay in solution showed high cross-reactivity for T-2 toxin (CR% = 100%) while a very low CR% for neosolaniol (0.12%) and no cross-reactivity with other mycotoxins frequently occurring in wheat. A rapid extraction procedure using 90% methanol was applied to wheat samples prior to FP immunoassay. The average recovery from spiked wheat samples (50 to 200 μg kg⁻¹) was 96% with relative standard deviation generally lower than 8%. A limit of detection of 8 μg kg⁻¹ for the combined toxins was determined. Comparative analyses of 45 naturally contaminated and spiked wheat samples by both the FP immunoassay and high-performance liquid chromatography/immunoaffinity clean-up showed a good correlation (r = 0.964). These results, combined with the rapidity (10 min) and simplicity of the assay, show that this method is suitable for high throughput screening as well as for quantitative determination of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in wheat.     

Microwave extraction of phthalate esters from marine sediment and soil

Summary As part of an on-going ASEAN⁺⁾-Canada Cooperative Programme on Marine Science, microwave-assisted solvent extraction has been employed for the extraction of six phthalate esters from marine sediment and soil samples. Five of the six esters studied are among the United States Environmental Protection Agency's list of top priority pollutants. The effects of extraction solvent, extraction temperature, duration of extraction and extraction volume on the mean recoveries of the six phthalate esters were quantitatively evaluated by means of an analysis of variance, followed by testing the differences among the level means for each condition with least significant difference method. Microwave-assisted solvent extraction allowed comparable or higher recoveries of the six phthalate esters (70.1–91.0%) in comparison with conventional soxhlet (65.5–89.5%) and sonication (64.6–88.6%). The precision of results by microwave-assisted solvent extraction was improved significantly compared to the conventional techniques. The microwave extraction system has many advantages over the soxhlet and sonication extraction, e.g., no laborious clean-up procedure, lower usage of hazardous organic solvent, and larger sample throughput. The technique has been employed for the analysis of native marine sediment and soil samples in Singapore.     

Rapid determination of citrinin in corn by fluorescence liquid chromatography and enzyme immunoassay

A rapid assay procedure was developed for mycotoxin citrinin in corn using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) cartridges. Ground corn was extracted with methylene chloride and 0.5 N phosphoric acid. The extract was added to an LLE cartridge containing a diatomaceous-earth adsorbant, previously impregnated with sodium bicarbonate solution. After aspiration to dryness, the cartridge was eluted with methanol-water (4 + 1), and aliquots were taken for quantitation by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Recoveries of citrinin added to ground corn at 200-1600 ng/g ranged from 71.2 to 86.3%, with coefficients of variation between 4.1 and 10.6%. An indirect enzyme immunoassay was also evaluated, using sodium carbonate solution for extraction. Recoveries of citrinin added to ground corn at 200-2000 ng/g ranged from 53.2 to 67.2%, but the coefficients of variation varied between 18.4 and 51.5%. The LLE cartridge procedure offers the advantages of low solvent consumption and speed, and is amenable to automation.     

Potential of fluorescence polarization immunoassay for the detection of Aspergillus fumigatus galactomannan

Russian Chemical Bulletin - Galactomannan (GM) is a specific polysaccharide antigen of opportunistic mold fungi of the genus Aspergillus. The detection of GM in patients’ biological fluids is...     

Cold ultrasonic acid extraction of copper, lead and zinc from soil samples

A cold ultrasonic acid method for extracting Pb, Cu and Zn from soil samples has been studied. This work focused on studying the experimental condition for extrating trace metals from soil samples at ambient temperature (≈25 °C) using Syrian soil samples; the same conditions were applied to reference soil samples(SL-1, Soil-7, SDM, and BCR-32). A short exposure time (4 h), and 2 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid were found to be best. Under the applied conditions Pb, Cu and Zn were quantitavely extracted, while Sr, Mn, Fe, Al, Cr, Co, and Ni were partialy extracted. The advantages of the cold ultrasonic extraction method are as follows: it is selective, it is matrix free, the extraction time is short, the amounts of consumed chemicals are small, the by-products of the process are negligible and it is environmentally clean, since no fume emissions are emitted. The only disadvantage is that it is not a real total digestion method. Comparable results for the proposed ultrasound method and the hot-plate acid digestion method for Cu, Pb and Zn in certified refrence soil samples(SL-1, SDM, Soil-7, BCR-32, Soil-6) and some Syrian soil samples are obtained.     

Solvent-free microwave-assisted extraction of fluoroquinolones from soil and liquid chromatography-fluorescence determination

Presented hereafter is a novel method entailing solvent free microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and HPLC equipped with Fluorimetric Detector (HPLC-FD) for the simultaneous determination at μgkg(-1) concentration of eight fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) (Ciprofloxacin, Danofloxacin, Enrofloxacin, Flerofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Marbofloxacin, Norfloxacin and Orbifloxacin) in agricultural soils. The extraction was quantitatively performed, in a single step, by using an aqueous solution containing Mg(II) as complexing agent, thus avoiding consumption of organic solvents. The optimal MAE conditions have been established through a chemometric approach by considering temperature, irradiation time and matrix moisture or solvent, as the most important recognized variables affecting the extraction yield. Satisfying recoveries (69-110%, spikes 0.03-0.5mgkg(-1)) were gained with a single MAE cycle of 20min, at 80°C in 20% (w/v) Mg(NO(3))(2) solution as leaching agent. MAE-SPE recoveries at 10μgkg(-1), concentration near method quantification limits (MQLs), were in the range 60-85%. Good repeatability and within-lab reproducibility were observed (both in the range 1-16%). The applicability of the method to real samples was assessed on natural contaminated soils. Compared to ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), MAE was shown to be highly competitive in terms of extraction efficacy and analysis speed.     

Coacervative extraction of phthalates from water and their determination by high performance liquid chromatography

A simple, rapid and low cost method for determination of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) including Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), Diethyl phthalate (DEP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and Butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP) in water samples was investigated. The method is based on the extraction of PAEs with coacervate made up of decanoic acid reverse micelles and the subsequent determination by HPLC-UV. Effect of parameters such as concentration of tetrahydrofuran (THF) (2?C40% v/v) and decanoic acid (20?C400 mg in 40 ml total volume), ionic strength (0.0?C0.1 M NaCl), pH (1?C4) and stirring time (2?C60 min) on recoveries (Rs) and enrichment factors (EFs) were investigated and optimized. The optimum condition for extraction was the stirring of 36 ml of water sample with 4 ml of THF containing 100 mg of decanoic acid for 10 min and its centrifugation (10 min, 3500 rpm). Recoveries and enrichment factors of PAEs mainly depended on the amount of decanoic acid and THF making up the coacervate and were not affected by ionic strength of the sample solution (up to 0.1 M of NaCl), pH (1?C4), and stirring time (2?C60 min). Recoveries, enrichment factors, LODs and relative standard deviations (RSD%) for PAEs were between 87?C94%, 187?C202, 0.22?C0.30 ??g l^?1 and 2?C5%, respectively. This method was applied to determine PAEs in tap water, river water, and sea water samples. No PAEs were found in tap water. The amount of DMP and DEP in the Babolrood River was 0.87 and 0.67 ??g l^?1, while in the Caspian Sea was 0.49 and 0.52 ??g l^?1, respectively.     

Gas chromatographic determination of fatty acids contained in different lipid classes after their separation by solid-phase extraction

Enthalpic phenomena were shown to contribute to the size exclusion separation mechanisms during chromatographic analysis of solutions of pullulan and cellulose in LiCl-N,N-dimethylacetamide (LiCl-DMAc) solvent and eluent. The effect of LiCl concentration in the sample solutions and the effect of temperature were of the same order of magnitude for both pullulan and cellulose samples. This led to systematic errors in the determination of mean molecular mass in the range of tens of percent, depending on the chromatographic conditions and on the molecular mass of the analyte. The systematic error is much higher than the random errors; the typical values of the latter being up to a few percent (RSD). Low column temperature and a higher content of LiCl in the sample solution led to lower determined mean molecular mass values. This can be explained by a decrease in the interactions between dissolved macromolecules, although polymer-stationary phase interactions should also be taken into account. Furthermore, the cellulose stability in solution was determined: the zero order random degradation constant being k = 6.9 x 10(-8) mol mol-1 monomer day-1.     

Development of a rapid, specific fluorescence polarization immunoassay for the herbicide chlorsulfuron

A strategy for design of a derivative of chlorsulfuron, which mimics half of the herbicide molecule, was proposed. The 1-[(2-chloro)phenylsulfonyl]monoamidosuccinic acid was synthesized as a derivative of chlorsulfuron for conjugation to carrier proteins. Rabbits were immunized and the resulting polyclonal antibodies were assessed by the fluorescence polarization technique. The antibodies were highly specific to chlorsulfuron. Cross-reactivity to the structurally similar sulfonylurea and urea herbicides chlorbromuron, amidosulfuron, chlortoluron, isoproturon, diuron and linuron was less than 0.1%. A rapid fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) for chlorsulfuron detection in water samples was developed and optimized. The detection limit of chlorsulfuron in 50 μl of sample was 10 ng ml⁻¹. Total time for the measurement of 10 samples is 7 min. The proposed FPIA is suitable for rapid testing for pesticide contamination where the highest sensitivity is not critical or in combination with pre-concentration techniques.     

Formation of derivatives of chlorophenoxy acids and some other herbicides

Summary A fuming sulphuric acid-ethanol esterification method has been applied to chlorophenoxy acids and some other herbicides. This method is compared with esterification by iodoethane and diazomethane. The chlorophenoxy acids studied were: 2,4-D, dichlorprop, MCPA, MCPB, mecoprop and 2,4,5-T. Other herbicides studied were: benazolin, bentazone, bromophenoxime, bromoxynil, chlorthal, dicamba, 3,6-dichloropicolinic acid, dinoseb, ethephon, fluroxypyr, glyphosate, haloxyfop, ioxynil, picloram, 2,3,6-TBA and triclopyr. Fuming sulphuric acid-ethanol esterification can be successfully applied to chlorophenoxy acids, benazolin, 3,6-dichloropicolinic acid, dinoseb, fluroxypyr, haloxyfop, picloram and triclopyr. The reproductibility of the method is ±5%.