Monolithic octadecylsilyl-silica gel column for the high-speed ion chromatographic determination of acidity

A monolithic ODS-silica gel column modified by saturating it with lithium dodecylsulfate (Li-DS) was used to demonstrate the high-speed separation of H+ from other mono- and divalent cations, such as Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ using ion chromatography (IC). Using a 5 mM EDTA-2K solution containing 0.10 mM Li-DS (pH 4.80) as eluent, H+ was eluted with a sharp and symmetrical peak within 1.0 min before other cations at a flow-rate of 1.5 ml min(-1). The rapid elution of H+ and its conductimetric detection could be attributed to the presence of EDTA (HY2-), which can convert H+ ions as anions. i.e. H(+) + H2Y(2-) --> H3Y(-). The acidity of rainwater and deionized water samples was determined using this IC system with satisfactory results.     

A novel ion chromatographic method based on cation-exchange and acid-base interactions for the simultaneous determination of total alkalinity and monovalent cations in samples of microliter volume

An ion chromatographic (IC) method based on the use of titrant (strong acid) as the stationary phase was developed for simultaneous determination of total alkalinity (TA) and monovalent cations. The titrant used in this study was obtained by initially loading lithium dodecylsulfate (Li-DS) onto a reversed-phase material and then conditioning the column with a slightly acidified aqueous LiCl solution (a mixture of 50.0 mM LiCl and 0.1 mM H2SO4). When a small amount of a basic sample was injected onto a column prepared in this way, the basic species (Bn-) reacted predominantly with H+ on the stationary phase and the reaction with the eluent phase was negligible due to the very low concentration of eluent H+ (in the eluent, a molar ratio of [Li+]/[H+] = 250:1 applied). The stationary phase H+ consumed in the acid-base reaction was then re-supplied by H+ from the eluent. By monitoring the conductance of the eluent using conductivity, an induced peak resulting from the basic species was observed. Calibration graphs of peak areas vs. molar concentration of the basic species for OH-, HCO3- and H2PO4- were found to be identical. CO3(2-), HPO4(2-), and B4O7(2-) also gave identical calibration curves but their slope values were twice those for HCO3-. The detection limit for HCO3- was less than 3.2 microM and the calibration curve was linear up to 12.3 mM (injection volume, 100 microL). Seawater was directly analyzed and its total alkalinity was found to be 2.87 mM (RSD 0.53%, n = 5), which was in good agreement with the result of 2.88 mM (RSD 3.2%, n = 5) obtained using auto-potentiometric titration. Na+ and K+ were determined simultaneously and the concentrations were 481.6 and 10.6 mM, respectively.     

A sequential injection system for the spectrophotometric determination of calcium, magnesium and alkalinity in water samples.

A sequential injection methodology for the spectrophotometric determination of calcium, magnesium and alkalinity in water samples is proposed. A single manifold is used for the determination of the three analytes, and the same protocol sequence allows the sequential determination of calcium and magnesium (the sum corresponds to the water hardness). The determination of both metals is based on their reaction with cresolphtalein complexone; mutual interference is minimized by using 8-hydroxyquinoline for the determination of calcium and ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) for the determination of magnesium. Alkalinity determination is based on a reaction with acetic acid, and corresponding color change of Bromcresol Green. Working ranges of 0.5 - 5 mg dm(-3) for Ca, 0.5 - 10 mg dm(-3) for Mg, and 10 - 100 mg HCO3- dm(-3), for alkalinity have been achieved. The results for water samples were comparable to those of the reference methods and to a certified reference water sample. RSDs lower than 5% were obtained, a low reagent consumption and a reduced volume of effluent have been accomplished. The determination rate for calcium and magnesium is 80 h(-1), corresponding to 40 h(-1) per element, while 65 determinations of alkalinity per hour could be carried out.     

A computer program for the optimal ion chromatographic determination of anions in waters

Summary A general form of computer program which can assist in method development for any natural water has been developed. Necessary input data, sequence of main operations, necessary mathematical relationships and the output data are specified. The development of the structure of the computer program was based on experiences with real samples.     

Simple ion chromatographic method for the determination of chlormequat residues in pears

Current methods for quantitative determination of chlormequat residues in food crops are characterized by rather low recoveries and the need for derivatization (in case of gas chromatography, GC), or by high capital investment (in case of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, LC–MS). We propose a cation-exchange chromatography method for the analysis of chlormequat in pears. The method is based on extraction of the target compound with 40 mM HCl, followed by centrifugation and filtration. The filtrate is directly injected into an ion chromatograph equipped with a commercially available cation-exchange column and a suppressed conductivity detection system. While the limit of detection (LOD) (0.5 mg/kg) may not be small enough to allow dietary analysis, the method meets all validation requirements and is an alternative for the existing GC and LC–MS methods in quality control.     

A chemiluminescence flow injection system for nitrite ion determination

A chemiluminescence system is described for the determination of nitrite ion based on new designs for an ozone generator, liquid-gas separator and chemiluminescence reaction cell. The method is based on the gas-phase chemiluminescence reaction between ozone and nitric oxide, which is generated from the reduction of nitrite with iodide in sulfuric acid solution. The efficiency of the system was evaluated by investigation of the analytical performance characteristics of the system for nitrite determination in batch and flow injection procedures. Under optimal conditions, the chemiluminescence response of the system was linear against the nitrite concentration over the range 1 to 1 × 10⁴ ng ml^?1 in the batch procedure and 10 to 5 × 10³ ng ml^?1 in the flow injection procedure, with detection limits of 1 and 10 ng ml^?1, respectively. The method is highly selective and allows for the determination of nitrite in the presence of high concentrations of several cationic, anionic and nitrogen containing species. It has been successfully applied to the analysis of nitrite in natural water and soil extracts.     

Novel UV absorbing eluents for speciation and ion chromatographic determination of anions

2–3 and 2–4 pyridine dicarboxylic acids can be used as mobile phases for ion chromatographic analyses of anions in simple matrices. By selecting a specific reaction scheme or matrix elimination before the chromatographic step their use can be extended to more complex samples.     

Matrix removal for the ion chromatographic determination of some trace elements in milk

An ion chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of some microelements in different types of milk. It involves oxidative photodegradation of the organic matrix with H₂O₂ in a UV digester, equipped with a high-pressure mercury lamp. The temperature of the sample is maintained at 85±5 °C by a combined air/water cooling system. This procedure provides an efficient alternative to traditional dry ashing and wet digestion methods. Milk degrades in less than 2 h, while inorganic constituents, except for iodide, nitrate, nitrite, sulfite and manganese (II), are unaffected by UV radiation. Depending upon the type of milk (whole, skimmed, powdered, evaporated, etc.) to be analysed, the amount of sample and the UV photolysis time can be adjusted as per requirements. The clear solution resulting from the UV digestion is diluted, filtered and injected onto an ion chromatograph equipped with both conductivity and variable-wavelength UV-Vis detectors. The method has been tested with standards and real milk samples and has been found to be satisfactory for the determination of total chloride, bromide, phosphorus (as phosphate) and sulfur (as sulfate), and of copper, nickel, zinc, cobalt, iron and lead.     

The water-soluble indolium-based fluorescence probes for detection of the extreme acidity or extreme alkalinity

In this work, 3,3′-(((1E,1′E)-(H,12H-5,11-methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocine-2,8-diyl)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(1,1-dimethyl-1H-benzo[e]indole-3-ium-2,3-diyl))bis(propane-1-sulfonate) (1), 3,3’-(((1E,1′E)-(6H,12H-5,11-methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocine-2,8-diyl)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(3,3-dimethyl-3H-indole-1-ium-2,1-diyl))bis(propane-1-sulfonate) (2), 2,2’-((1E,1′E)-(6H,12H-5,11-methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocine-2,8-diyl)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indol-1-ium) iodide (3) and 2,2’-((1E,1′E)-(6H,12H-5,11-methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazocine-2,8-diyl)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(1,1,3-trimethyl-1H-benzo[e]indol-3-ium) iodide (4) were designed and synthesized by ethylene bridging of the N-substituted indolium salts and the Tröger’s Base (TB) framework. The probes exhibited a longer absorption and emission wavelength and the emission wavelength of them in dichloromethane (DCM) was more than 600 nm, performed a red fluorescence. All of the probes could work on the extreme acidic and the extreme alkaline environments and showed a good liner response in the working pH range. Especially, 2 and 4 were soluble in water and manifested a good pH sensing in a water system. Also, ¹H NMR analysis illustrated how these dyes worked as the pH-sensitive fluorescence probes. In addition, they performed excellent reversibility, high selectivity and good photostability.     

Interference of anions in on-line sorption ion chromatographic determination

A technique for investigation of the interference of ions in on-line sorption ion chromatographic determination has been proposed. The technique involves choice of a mathematical model for describing the sorption dynamics, calculation of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of ion sorption in a given system, and plotting of sorption isotherms of a microcomponent in a wide range of concentrations of interfering macrocomponents. The technique has been used for studying the sorption of nitrate in the presence of bicarbonate and sulfate ions. It has been shown that the nitrate sorption dynamics is adequately described by the external diffusion model. The data obtained have been used for predicting the recovery levels of nitrate as a function of the sample volume containing sulfate. The accuracy of the prediction has been proved experimentally.     

Carbon acidity. 97. Cesium ion pair acidity of some sulfones in cyclohexylamine

The ion pair acidities of several sulfones were measured on the cesium-cyclohexylamine scale. Cyclopropyl phenyl sulfone is less acidic than isopropyl phenyl sulfone in agreement with earlier results in dimethyl sulfoxide. The acidities of a series of substituted phenyl methyl sulfones show that the sulfone group is an effective insulator; there is no significant delocalization of carbanion charge across the sulfone group into the phenyl ring. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 8: 533–537, 1997     

Sensitive and selective ion chromatographic method for the determination of trace beryllium in water samples

A selective and sensitive ion chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of beryllium in a number of water samples at low-μg/l concentrations. The separation was performed on a 250×4.0 mm I.D. iminodiacetic acid functionalised silica gel column. Chromatographed Be(II) was detected using visible detection at 590 nm following post-column reaction with chrome azurol S (CAS). The optimum separation and derivatisation conditions were studied in detail. The optimum eluent conditions were found to be 0.4 M KNO₃, adjusted to pH 2.5 using HNO₃, with optimum post-column detection being achieved using a solution containing 0.26 mM CAS, 2% Triton X-100, 50 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid, pH 6.0. Under the above conditions, the concentration detection limit for Be(II) was found to be 3 μg/l in a standard solution and 4 μg/l in a typical tap water sample, using a 250 μl injection. The method was linear over the investigated range of 10 μg/l to 10 mg/l and highly reproducible. The method was successfully applied to a number of water samples of varying matrix complexity, including simulated seawater, and also to a natural freshwater certified reference material NIST 1640.     

Chemiluminescence flow system for the determination of ammonium ion

A novel chemiluminescence (CL) system for ammonium ion combined with flow-injection analysis is presented in this paper. It is based on the CL reaction between luminol, immobilized electrostatically on an anion-exchange column, and chlorine electrochemically generated on-line via a platinum electrode from hydrochloric acid in a coulometric cell. Ammonium ion reacts with chlorine and decreases the observed CL intensity. The system responds linearly to ammonium ion concentration in the range 1.0-100 muM, and the detection limit is 0.4 muM. A complete analysis, including sampling and washing, could be performed in 1 min with a relative standard deviation of <6.0%. The system is stable for over 500 determinations and has been applied successfully to the determination of ammonium ion in rainwater samples.     

Bulk acoustic wave sensor for the ion chromatographic determination of copper in human plasma

By using ion chromatography with series bulk acoustic wave detection, a method for the determination of copper in human blood plasma has been developed. The advantages of the good selectivity of ion chromatography and the highly sensitive response of SBAW have been combined to improve detection limit, accuracy and reproducibility. The detection limit (3) of the method to copper is 0.3 g/ml. The relative standard deviation for the determination of 1.0 g/ml of copper is 2.1% (n=7). For the IC analysis, the analytical column is a Shim-pack IC C1 column, and the mobile phase is 4.0 mM tartaric acid/2.0 mM ethylenediamine solution with pH 4.2. This system has been applied to the determination of Cu in blood plasma from healthy people or patients with renal failure.     

A method for the gas chromatographic determination of vitamin D and related structures.

A procedure is described for the separation of Vitamin D and related compounds by gas-liquid chromatography using flame ionization detection. The method involves a two-step conversion: isomerization to the corresponding (all trans) isotachysterol(s) followed by methyl ether derivatization of the alcohol group(s). The procedure provides a means for identification as well as a possible basis for quantitation of Vitamin D and analogs.     

Evaluation of extraction procedures for the ion chromatographic determination of arsenic species in plant materials

The determination of arsenic species in plants grown on contaminated sediments and soils is important in order to understand the uptake, transfer and accumulation processes of arsenic. For the separation and detection of arsenic species, hyphenated techniques can be applied successfully in many cases. A lack of investigations exists in the handling (e.g., sampling, pre-treatment and extraction) of redox- and chemically labile arsenic species prior to analysis. This paper presents an application of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) using water as the solvent for the effective extraction of arsenic species from freshly harvested plants. The method was optimized with respect to extraction time, number of extraction steps and temperature. The thermal stability of the inorganic and organic arsenic species under PLE conditions (60-180 degrees C) was tested. The adaptation of the proposed extraction method to freeze-dried, fine-grained material was limited because of the insufficient reproducibility in some cases.