Some investigations of fusing and dissolving samples

When both Si-H and Si-vinyl are present, the sum of these groups can be determined bromometrically. For Si-H a gasvolumetric method is applied and Si-vinyl results from the difference. The bromometric determination is carried out by dissolving the sample in a mixture of carbon tetrachloride/acetic acid, addition of excess solution of bromine in acetic acid and back-titration of the unconsumed bromine. Mercuric chloride serves as a catalyst for the bromine addition. The Si-H determination is carried out by measuring the hydrogen gas evolved after hydrolysis of the sample in wet n-butanol in the presence of sodium n-butanolate. The bromometric method proved to be also useful for the rapid and sensitive determination of either Si-vinyl or Si-H. The time required is 45 min, the lower limit is 0.02 mmole per g.     

Infrared and Raman imaging of biological and biomimetic samples

Established methods for imaging of biological or biomimetic samples, such as fluorescence and optical microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray tomography or positron emission tomography (PET) are currently complemented by infrared (both near-IR and mid-IR) as well as Raman spectroscopic imaging, whether it be on a microscopic or macroscopic scale. These vibrational spectroscopic techniques provide a wealth of information without a priori knowledge of either the spectral data or the composition of the sample. Infrared radiation does not harm the organism, no electric potential needs to be applied, and the measurements are not influenced by electromagnetic fields. In addition, no extrinsic labeling or staining, which may perturb the system under investigation, has to be added. The immense volume of information contained in spectroscopic images requires multivariate analysis methodologies in order to effectively mine the chemical and spatial information contained within the data as well as to analyze a time-series of images in order to reveal the origin of a chemical or biochemical process. The promise and limitations of this new analytical tool are surveyed in this review.     

Inorganic and methylmercury speciation in environmental samples

The different strategies for mercury species analysis in environmentally-related samples are reviewed. After consideration of the main different steps involved in the speciation of mercury, such steps are discussed with more extension for mercuric ion and methylmercury. The different approaches for preservation of these mercury species during the storage of samples are considered. Different ways for the extraction of mercury species from the several possible environmental compartments and the possibilities for preconcentration of such species after previous derivatization reactions are discussed. Mercuric ions and methylmercury chromatographic and non-chromatographic separations along with different techniques used for sensitive and selective detection of mercury are also critically reviewed. Ranges of published detection limits achievable for such species determination, by using hyphenated techniques between a chromatographic separation and a specific atomic detector are also given.     

Spectrochemical analysis of curium and americium samples

Spectrochemical procedures have been developed to determine impurities in americium and curium samples. The simultaneous separation of many impurity elements from the base material (americium and curium) is carried out with extraction and extraction-chromatographic methods using di(2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA).

It is shown that part of the elements (alkalis, alkaline earths, silicon, tungsten, tantalum and other elements) are separated with extraction or sorption of americium and curium; the other part (rare earths, titanium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum) with the Talspeak process.

Two fractions in the extraction chromatography and three fractions in the extraction separation of americium and curium, containing impurities, are analyzed separately by a.c. or d.c. arc spectrography. To increase the sensitivity of the spectrographic analysis and accelerate the burn-up of impurities from the crater of the carbon electrode bismuth fluoride and sodium chloride were used as chemically active substances. The extraction of impurities from weighed quantities of americium and curium samples of 5–10 mg permits the lower limit of determined impurity concentrations to be extended to 1 × 10⁻⁴–5 × 10⁻³% m/m.     

Synthesis of polymer-bound hemoglobin samples

Dextran and hydroxyethyl starch have been chemically modified to give aldehyde-substituted polymers. These modified polymers were synthesised either by periodate oxidation of the starting polymer or by attachment of gluteraldehyde to amino-substituted side chains on the polymer. When such modified starches were allowed to react with hemoglobin soluble polymer-bound hemoglobins were formed. These were shown to be capable of binding oxygen but the observed oxygen-binding curves were shifted to the left relative to unbound hemoglobin. Heart perfusion experiments indicate that these polymer-bound hemoglobins are not suitable for use as blood substitutes     

Determination of water samples and ene-diols or thiols in samples inaccessible for direct K.Fischer titration

Novel reagents and the rapid technique were developed for the simultaneous determination of water and ene-diols or thiols in chemical products, drugs and other materials which are inaccessible for direct K.Fischer titration. The reagents consist of iodine, tetramethylammonium iodide or potassium iodide, base (diethanolamine, triethanolamine, sodium acetate and/or urea) in methanol mixed with N,N-dimethylformamide, or with formamide, or with dimethyl sulfoxide and N,N-dimethylformamide mixture as a solvent. The use of the reagents is based on the consecutive titration first of an ene-diol or thiol by the novel reagents and then of water by a conventional K.Fischer reagent in the same cell in a titration system protected from water vapour and oxygen, with a double burette and electrometric location of the end point in both titrations. The time for both titrations is 8-15 min.     

Spruce needles: standards and real samples

Summary Spruce needles were sampled from stations over 6 different bedrocks and analyzed for 24 elements by neutron activation. The results were then compared to conifer needle Standard Reference Materials (SRMs), NIST SRM 1575 pine needles and BCR CRM 101 spruce needles. Values for Al, As, Br, Cr, Fe, La, Na, Sb, Sc, and Th are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher in the SRMs than in the actual samples, whereas the other investigated elements do not show this effect. The most probable reason for the discrepancy is the inclusion of external material with the SRMs. Some properties of this external material and the consequences of its presence on the investigation of spruce needles are discussed.     

Microdiffusion and spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in biological samples

Routine separation of fluoride from large numbers of biological samples (soft and hard tissues) is achieved by microdiffusion from perchloric acid and absorption by sodium hydroxide on filter paper in disposable polypropylene vials. Spectrophotometry with a modified lanthanum/alizarin complexone reagent allows rapid determination of fluoride. Up to 80 samples can be processed per day. Recoveries are in the range 88–102%. Results obtained by spectrophotometry and with the fluoride-sensitive electrode agree within 3–10% for various samples of krill and shrimp products.     

Micro-Raman spectroscopy of natural and synthetic indigo samples

In this work indigo samples from three different sources are studied by using Raman spectroscopy: the synthetic pigment and pigments from the woad (Isatis tinctoria) and the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria). 21 samples were obtained from 8 suppliers; for each sample 5 Raman spectra were recorded and used for further chemometrical analysis. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed as data reduction method before applying hierarchical cluster analysis. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was implemented as a non-hierarchical supervised pattern recognition method to build a classification model. In order to avoid broad-shaped interferences from the fluorescence background, the influence of 1st and 2nd derivatives on the classification was studied by using cross-validation. Although chemically identical, it is shown that Raman spectroscopy in combination with suitable chemometric methods has the potential to discriminate between synthetic and natural indigo samples.     

Handling of environmental and biological samples via pre-column technologies

Sample handling is still a weak point in chromatography and in analytical chemistry in general. One consideration is the automation potential of new procedures. Solid-liquid extraction techniques in combination with pre-column technology are particularly promising in this regards. The construction and geometry of pre-columns both for conventional and narrow-bore HPLC are of major importance, since band broadening should be kept at a minimum for an optimal functioning of the analytical system. The various operations that can be carried out with such a pre-column are trace-enrichment, clean-up of the sample which depends on the type of adsorbents used in the precolumn, i.e., polar or apolar materials, ion exchangers or metal covered surfaces, etc., protection of the analytical column, field sampling and storage of samples and as a substrate for on-column chemical derivatizations. These various operations are demonstrated with practical examples from the fields of environmental and biological analysis. The selectivity can be further enhanced by coupling pre-column technology with selective detection models such as diode array UV, electrochemical or fluorescence detection. This enables the construction of optimal and integrated analysis systems which are fully automated and microprocessor controlled. They can also be made compatible with miniaturized LC-technology.     

Isolation of lead from water samples and determination of Pb

This paper describes the procedures of isolating lead and strontium from the larger volume of seawater and drinking water samples that enable the determination of ²¹⁰Pb on gamma spectrometer and ^89,90Sr on liquid scintillation counter. In one procedure, lead is directly isolated from water sample on the column filled with Sr resin by binding of lead on the Sr resin column from 0.2 M HCl in water sample, and successive elution with 0.2 and 8 M HCl. In others, lead and strontium are precipitated from sample with (NH₄)₂CO₃, followed by isolation on an anion exchange column. Lead, strontium and yttrium are bound onto anion exchange column (filled with Amberlite CG-400 in nitrate form) from alcoholic solutions of nitric acid. Lead, Sr and Y are separated from Mg, Ca, K, and other elements by elution with 0.25 M HNO₃ in the mixture of ethanol and methanol. After that, strontium and yttrium are separated from lead by elution with 0.25 M HNO₃ in the mixture of ethanol and water.

The procedure with the Sr resin (direct isolation) is simpler and faster in the phase of isolation on the column in comparison with the procedure with the anion exchanger. The procedure with the anion exchanger, however, makes possible the simultaneous isolation of lead, yttrium and strontium and rapid determination of ^89,90Sr. These procedures were tested by determination of ²¹⁰Pb and ^89,90Sr in real sample. Obtained results showed that Pb can be efficiently isolated (with high recovery) from sample and activity of 6 mBq l⁻¹ of ²¹⁰Pb and higher can be determined.     

Polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and polychlorodibenzofuran levels in cow milk samples, egg samples and meat in Finland

Summary To survey the levels of PCDD/F in Finnish foods, cow milk samples from the largest dairies, egg samples from the major producers and meat from the main slaughterhouses have been analyzed. For twenty whole milk samples supplied in cartons in June 1991 and stored for 14 days in a refrigerator, the total level of toxic equivalents, calculated on a wet weight basis using Nordic toxic equivalents, had a mean of 38 pg TEO/l (range 18 – 78 pg TEQ/l). This corresponds to an average intake of 15 pg TEQ/day for a person consuming 400 ml milk/day on an average. The cow milk analyzed from glass bottles showed a mean of 29 pg TEQ/l (range < 10 – 67 pg TEQ/l). Migration from the carton container and/or other treatment of the milk in connection with the packing process made a 30% contribution to the total PCDD/F content of the cow milk. The results for milk samples in cartons and glass bottles, as expressed on a fat basis were 1.17 pg TEQ/g (range 0.57 – 2.48 pg TEQ/g) and 0.83 pg TEQ/g (range <0.5 – 1.80 pg TEQ/g), respectively. For 20 pooled egg samples the total level of toxic equivalents calculated on whole product basis had a mean of 0.12 pg TEQ/g (range 0.023 – 0.427 pg TEQ/g). This corresponds to an average intake of 3.9 pg TEQ/day for a person consuming 33 g egg per day on an average. For twenty pork and twenty bovine meat samples, the levels of PCDD/F were very low and below the detection limit (<0.5 pg/g fat) with the exception of some detectable traces of 2,3,7,8-Cl₄DF, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Cl₇DD and OCDD. These results showed that, at least in summertime when cows are outdoors and eat fresh hay, PCDD/F concentrations in Finnish cow milk are low. This conclusion is supported by the results from the meat samples which showed that beef contained notably low levels of PCDD/F. On some farms chicken feed contains fish products in addition to corn. This is probably the reason why the level of PCDD/F in egg varied but was still reasonably low.     

Determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates in industrial and environmental samples

Degradation products of nonionic surfactants, which are used in large quantities in several industrial applications, have been shown to elicit estrogenic effects in the laboratory as well as in the environment. This has prompted the monitoring of such products, in particular the alkylphenols (AP) and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE), in the environment. This study presents a relatively simple method for the determination of AP and APE in industrial and environmental samples by HPLC and GC-MS. It discusses some of the inherent analytical issues concomitant with the determination of the complicated mixtures these analytes are composed of. The method was applied to marine and estuarine sediments as well as wastewater and sewage sludge samples taken from industrial plants. In all marine and estuarine samples APE were found with a predominance of oligomers containing 1–3 ethoxylate units.     

Rapid separation of actinides and radiostrontium in vegetation samples

A new rapid method for the determination of actinides and radiostrontium in vegetation samples has been developed at the Savannah River Site Environmental Lab (Aiken, SC, USA) that can be used in emergency response situations or for routine analysis. The actinides in vegetation method utilizes a rapid sodium hydroxide fusion method, a lanthanum fluoride matrix removal step, and a streamlined column separation process with stacked TEVA, TRU and DGA Resin cartridges. Lanthanum was separated rapidly and effectively from Am and Cm on DGA Resin. Alpha emitters are prepared using rare earth microprecipitation for counting by alpha spectrometry. The purified ⁹⁰Sr fractions are mounted directly on planchets and counted by gas flow proportional counting. The method showed high chemical recoveries and effective removal of interferences. The actinide and ⁹⁰Sr in vegetation sample analysis can be performed in less than 8 h with excellent quality for emergency samples. The rapid fusion technique is a rugged sample digestion method that ensures that any refractory actinide particles or vegetation residue after furnace heating is effectively digested.     

Isolation of thorium in biological samples

A scheme for the isolation of subpicogram to microgram amounts of thorium from bone and soft tissue samples is described. Thorium is first collected by co-precipitation with iron(III) hydroxide and then adsorbed by a cation-exchange resin column from a concentrated hydrochloric acid solution of the precipitate. A double precipitation is necessary for bone samples whereas a single precipitation suffices for liver samples. The thorium is eluted from the column with an ammonium carbonate solution which is then evaporated to dryness to effect the isolation. Good recoveries of thorium from bone samples are obtained.     

Encapsulation and weighing of samples for analysis

Encapsulation and handling methods for hygroscopic, volatile, oily and other kinds of difficult samples for analysis are described. Hermetical encapsulation is achieved with an electrical spot welder.     

Deuteron activation analysis of geological samples

Deuteron activation was found to be suitable for analysing geological samples, as no interfering activities are formed from oxygen, silicon and aluminium, which together make up more than 80% by weight of the earth's crust. To test the applicability of this method to geological samples, the mineral tourmaline was activated with 5.5 MeV deuterons obtained from the 6 MV van de Graaff accelerator at the Southern Universities Nuclear Institute. The induced activities were measured and analysed by gammaray spectrometry and the elements Al, Mg, B, Mn, Na, Fe and Li could readily be determined.     

Determination and lebels of99Tc in environmental and biological samples

In this paper, the physical and chemical methods used in our laboratory for the measurement of⁹⁹Tc in natural samples are reviewed. Levels of⁹⁹Tc in rainwater, algae, and freshwater samples are given. In addition, and estimation of the radiological impact of⁹⁹Tc to the population, derived from our earliear atmospheric⁹⁹Tc measurements, is presented. For rainwater, levels of¹³⁷Cs are also given for comparison.Work partially supported by the contract PB86-0207 of the Spanish CICYT.     

Liquid chromatographic analysis of low-alloy steel samples

The isolation of transition and rare earth elements from low-alloy steels by liquid chromatography (LC) with post-column reaction detection is described. The eluted metal ions are detected with a UV-visible spectrophotometric detector after post-column complexation with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol and Arsenazo-III. The requirements and characterization of the post-column reaction for the sensitive detection of metal ions after LC separation are discussed. The results are compared with those of other methods such as atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.     

Analysis of musk fragrances in environmental samples

The methods for the determination of polycyclic and nitro-aromatic musk compounds in comparison to other fragrances such as OTNE ([1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetramethylnaphthalen-2yl] ethan-1-one) as well as those for the respective metabolites are described in this contribution. It covers instrumental aspects, as well as procedures for extraction and clean-up. Protocols for the determination of musks in water, sludge, biota, and air are summarised and discussed. Extractions by means of solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in case of water samples are evaluated for the diverse applications, i.e., wastewater, surface water and seawater. While LLE is preferred for the analysis of bulk for transport studies and for special process studies SPE might be worth the effort. Considering sludge, sediment and biota samples, drying and successive accelerated solvent extraction. Soxhlet extractions as well as cold column extractions are being compared. ASE has proven to be the most exhaustive and quickest to adopt method. Clean-up by means of size exclusion chromatography and silica sorption chromatography with their respective merits and problems are demonstrated. Suggestions for routine and research analysis are also given. The diverse approaches for enantioselective separations are discussed in respect to HHCB, AHTN and the metabolite HHCB-lactone. The power of two-dimensional (GCxGC) approaches is demonstrated considering the various production impurities (isomers) of the two polycyclic musks with the highest usage rates. The usage of tandem mass spectrometry and high resolution mass spectrometry for the same purpose is also discussed. The identification of an isomer of the HHCB-transformation product HHCB-lactone from wastewater treatment that has not been described in the literature before, is presented as well. Additionally some ideas to make the REACh process more efficient are discussed considering the special experiences from the development of the analysis of musk fragrances in the environment.