Simultaneous capillary GC-MS determination of triazines and amides in water

Summary A simultaneous capillary Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric (GC-MS) method is described for the determination of thirteen pesticides belonging to the triazine and amide families in water. The sample is extracted in liquid-liquid mode (dichloromethane) and then the determination of the residues is carried out by capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection in the Selected-Ion Monitoring mode (SIM). The average recoveries of spiked compounds are in the 78.4–135.4% range between the relative low level (0.100 g L^–1) and the relative high level (10.0 g L^–1). The limits of detection (LOD) are in the 0.009–0.128 g L^–1 range.     

Detection of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in chlorinated water at nanogram per litre levels by SPME–GC–ECD

A method involving solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) and gas chromatography with electron capture detection (SPME–GC–ECD) has been optimised for identification and quantification of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) at ng L^–1 concentrations in disinfected (chlorinated) water samples. A central composite design was used for factorial analysis of four factors, three factors related to the SPME (PDMS fibre) procedure (adsorption time, temperature of the sample during headspace sampling, and desorption time) and one related to the GC operation (the rate of increase of the temperature of the GC oven). Good linearity (linear correlation coefficient greater than 0.999) was observed for TCA concentrations up to 50 ng L^–1, limits of detection and quantification of 0.7 and 2.3 ng L^–1, respectively, and good precision (relative standard deviation 2.8% and 3.4% for 5 and 30 ng L^–1 of TCA, respectively). Besides TCA, this system also enables the detection and quantification of the four trihalomethanes in the g L^–1 concentration range with limits of detection and quantification of approximately 0.3 g L^–1 and 1 g L^–1, respectively.     

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.     

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.     

Sample introduction assisted by compressed air in flame furnace AAS: a simple and sensitive method for the determination of traces of toxic elements

The power of detection of flame AAS for the toxic elements Cd, Hg, Pb and Tl can be improved by 1–2 orders of magnitude by using flame furnace AAS. In flame-furnace AAS, liquid samples are introduced directly into a nickel tube located in the flame, in the simplest case through a ceramic thermospray capillary. Transportation of the samples is achieved by using compressed air only. Comparatively low detection limits are achieved by both beam injection flame furnace (BIFF-AAS) and thermospray flame furnace AAS (TS-FF-AAS). For TS-FF-AAS, a pressure of less than 20 kPa (<80 in. water) is required. The TS-FF-AAS technique is very simple, robust and cheap. The detection limits were 0.2–0.4 g L^–1 (Cd), 40–100 g L^–1 (Hg), 5–9 g L^–1 (Pb) and 4–14 g L^–1 (Tl), respectively, depending on the method, flow rate and sample volume used. Pb and Cd were found at concentrations of 0.1–2 and 0.005–0.3 g g^–1, respectively, in samples of various spices.Dedicated to the memory of Wilhelm Fresenius.     

Determination of biogenic amines in wine after clean-up by solid-phase extraction

Summary A suitable method for the determination of 16 biogenic amines in wine has been developed. The method involves clean-up of wine samples using ion-exchange cartridges and a preconcentration step, under controlled vacuum, before derivatization of the amines by treatment with phthalaldehyde (PA) and reversedphase HPLC with gradient elution and fluorimetric detection. Linearity of response was obtained for all the biogenic amines from 100 g L^–1 to mg L^–1. Limits of detection for the amines were similar for all PA-derivatives (25–50 g L^–1) and the quantitation limits were about 0.1 mg L^–1. After clean-up and preconcentration, the concentration levels increased 10-fold for all amines except putrescine and cadaverine, which gave poor recovery by this method unlike the rest which gave recoveries of almost 90%. The overall process was successfully applied to identify and quantify biogenic amines in several red wines from the Tarragona region.     

Application of coupled-column liquid chromatography combined with post-column photochemically induced fluorimetry derivatization and fluorescence detection to the determination of pyrethroid insecticides in vegetable samples

This study reports the first application of coupled-column liquid chromatography–photochemically induced fluorimetry–fluorescence detection (LC-LC-PIF-FD), demonstrating its potential for the quantitative and selective detection of seven pyrethroids in vegetable samples such as cucumber, green bean, tomato and aubergine. An internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) column coupled to a C₁₈ column for analyte clean-up and determination were used, respectively. In comparison with a C₁₈ column, the ISRP substantially improved the separation between analytes and interferences from the vegetable matrix. The limits of detection ranged from 0.01 to 0.22 g kg^–1 in the vegetable samples (equivalent to 0.01 and 0.13 g L^–1 in the extract injected), and limits of determination ranged from 0.56 to 8.33 g kg^–1 in the vegetable samples (equivalent to 0.34 and 5.00 g L^–1 in the extract injected). Samples were extracted into dichloromethane to yield mean recoveries at two levels of concentration between 72.8 and 110.0% in all cases. Relative standard deviations were lower than 11%.     

Chromotropic acid,a fluorogenic chelating agent for aluminium(III)

Complexation of aluminium(III) with the fluorogenic ligand chromotropic acid (4,5-dihydroxynaphthalene-2,7-disulfonic acid) has been revisited with the aim of using enhancement of the fluorescence intensity as an analytical tool. Complexation at the optimum pH4 was shown to lead to a 1:1 complex with a stability constant log ₁₁₀=18.4±0.7. The fluorogenic effect was thoroughly investigated. Nearly selective excitation of the chelate rather than the ligand could be achieved at wavelengths longer than 360 nm. For analytical purposes the main interfering ion was Ga³⁺. The strongest competing ligand was shown to be citric acid. Competitive complexation by acetate or formate ions can also make their use in a buffer at the usual concentration, 0.2 mol L^–1, questionable, whereas a 10^–2 mol L^–1 formic acid buffer was shown to be a good alternative. The calibration plot showed that the dependence of response on Al(III) concentration was linear up to 500 g L^–1; the detection limit was 0.65 g L^–1 (3SD _blank, n=10, SD=±1.4% at 10 g L^–1 and ±0.8% at 100 g L^–1). The analytical procedure was successfully applied to several samples of tap water and the results were in good agreement with those from AAS determination.     

Simultaneous determination of pentachlorophenol and carbaryl in water

Summary A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and Carbaryl in water is described. A 1 liter water sample is extracted with hexane after acidification with concentrated H₂SO₄. After evaporation to a small volume, the extract is analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, operating in the selected ion monitoring mode. Estimated detection limits are 0.08 g L^–1 for PCP and 0.11 g L^–1 for Carbaryl, with recoveries of 96% for PCP and 97% for Carbaryl.     

Development of a stir-bar-sorptive extraction–liquid desorption–large-volume injection capillary gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric method for pyrethroid pesticides in water samples

Stir-bar-sorptive extraction followed by liquid desorption and large-volume injection capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (SBSE–LD–LVI-GC–MS), had been applied for the determination of ultra-traces of eight pyrethroid pesticides (acrinathrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, fenpropathrin, fenvalerate, and permethrin cis and trans isomers) in water samples. Instrumental calibration for selected-ion monitoring acquisition and conditions that could affect the SBSE–LD efficiency are fully discussed. By performing systematic assays on 30-mL water samples spiked at the 0.10 g L^–1 level it was established that stir-bars coated with 47 L polydimethylsiloxane, an equilibrium time of 60 min (750 rpm), 5% methanol as organic modifier, and acetonitrile as back-extraction solvent, provided the best analytical performance to monitor pyrethroid pesticides in water matrices. Good accuracy (81.8–105.0%) and remarkable reproducibility (<11.7%) were obtained, and the experimental recovery data were in good agreement with the theoretical equilibrium described by octanol–water partition coefficients (log K_O/W), with the exception of acrinathrin for which lower yields were measured. Excellent linear dynamic ranges between 25 and 400 ng L^–1 (r²>0.994), low quantification (3.0–7.5 ng L^–1) and detection (1.0–2.5 ng L^–1) limits were also achieved for the eight pyrethroid pesticides studied. The method was successfully used for analysis of tapwater and groundwater matrices spiked at the 0.10 g L^–1, revealing the suitability of the method for determination of pyrethroid pesticides in real samples. The method was shown be reliable and sensitive and a small volume of sample was required to monitor pyrethroids at ultra-trace levels, in compliance with international regulatory directives on water quality.     

Indirect photometric detection of inorganic anions by microcolumn liquid chromatography using anthraquinone-disulfonate as visualization agent

Summary Disodium salts of several anthraquinone-disulfonic acids, which possess large molar absorptivity, were employed as the visualization agent for microcolumn ion chromatography with indirect photometric detection. Detection limits of inorganic anions were improved, e.g., concentration detection limits of chloride, nitrate and sulfate were 0.91–1.6 mol L^–1 at S/N=3, corresponding to mass detection limits of 18–32 fmol. The present system was applied to the determination of inorganic anions in tap water.     

Determination of levodopa methyl ester and its metabolites in rat serum by CZE with amperometric detection

A reliable and reproducible method, capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection (CZE–AD), has been developed for separation and quantification of levodopa methyl ester (LDME) and its biotransformation products levodopa (L-DOPA) and dopamine (DA) in rat serum. A carbon-disk electrode was used as working electrode. The optimum conditions for CZE detection were 50 mmol L^–1 phosphate solution at pH 7.0 as running buffer, 17 kV as separation voltage, 1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl, 3.0 mol L^–1) as detection potential, and sample injection for 8 s at 17 kV. The linear ranges were from 2.4×10^–2 to 2.2 g mL^–1 for LDME, 2.9×10^–1 to 49.5 g mL^–1 for L-DOPA, and 1.4×10^–2 to 1.5 g mL^–1 for DA with correlation coefficients of 0.9997, 0.9994, and 0.9999, respectively. The detection limits for LDME, L-DOPA, and DA were 14.6, 98.0, and 9.7 ng mL^–1, respectively. Recoveries were 80.3% for LDME, 93.5% for L-DOPA, and 86.5% for DA. This method was applied to serum samples after intravenous injection of LDME and L-DOPA to rats.     

Rapid analysis of pyrethroids in whole urine by high-performance liquid chromatography using a monolithic column and off-line preconcentration in a restricted access material cartridge

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using a monolithic column with UV detection at 238 nm was developed for the determination of fenpropathrin, betacyfluthrin, deltamethrin, and permethrin (cis and trans isomers) in whole urine. The method is based on the use of a monolithic chromatographic column and a restricted access material (RAM) cartridge for sample preparation. The mobile phase was water/acetonitrile (42:58 v/v), the flow rate was 3 mL min^–1, and chromatographic separation was carried out in 10 min. The separation of cis and trans isomers of permethrin was also possible under the above-mentioned conditions. Detection limits in reconstituted whole urine samples were between 0.9 g L^–1 for betacyfluthrin and 4.4 g L^–1 for fenpropathrin and trans-permethrin. Recoveries for urine samples spiked with different amounts of pyrethroids (between 19 g L^–1 and 75 g L^–1) were in the 70±6 to 90±7% range.     

Speciation studies by capillary electrophoresis – simultaneous determination of iodide and iodate in seawater

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was developed for the simple and highly-sensitive determination of iodine species in seawater. The proposed method is based on the on-capillary preconcentration of iodide and iodate using the principle of transient isotachophoresis (tITP) stacking, and direct UV detection of the separated species at 226 and 210 nm, respectively. The preconcentration procedure takes advantage of the electrokinetic introduction of the terminating ion [2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonate (MES)] into the capillary, that enables a longer tITP state. The appropriate conditions for the tITP step were optimized by varying the MES and sample injection time and the concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). The latter component of the separation electrolyte (SE) was shown to strongly affect the migration and therefore the enrichment of iodide due to specific ion-association. The optimized separations were performed in 12.5 mM CTAC, 0.5 M NaCl (pH 2.4). Valid calibration is demonstrated in the range 3–60 g L^–1 iodide (R=0.9992) and 40–800 g L^–1 iodate (R=0.9994). The detection limits achieved were 0.23 g L^–1 (2 nM) for iodide and 10 g L^–1 (57 nM) for iodate. Such sensitivity and linearity thresholds allowed the reported tITP-CE system to be applied to direct speciation analysis of surface and seabed seawater. The comparison of CE results with those of an ion-chromatography (IC) technique proved that the method has acceptable accuracy.     

Analysis of high-purity reagents using automatic on-line column preconcentration-separation and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary A fully automatic flow-injection on-line column preconcentration and separation procedure for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry is described for the determination of cadmium and lead in high-purity reagents. A microcolumn with 9 L of solid sorbent, introduction of air prior to elution, and use of methanol as the eluent made it possible to elute the sorbed analyte quantitatively with only 80 L of solvent. The total eluate volume was transferred into the graphite tube which was pre-heated to 80°C using a flow rate of 0.08 mL min^–1 which allowed the solvent to evaporate in part during eluate introduction. The efficiency of the total procedure was 0.63 and 0.65, and the enrichment factor was 62 and 64 for cadmium and lead, respectively, compared with the direct introduction of 30 L of an aqueous solution. The sample throughput was 13 h^–1 for a sample loading time of 60 s and the detection limits (3 ) were 0.7 and 4.5 ng L^–1 for cadmium and lead, respectively. The relative standard deviation of the entire procedure in the optimum working range was typically around 3% (n=6). A number of high purity (suprapure) and analytical grade (pro analysi) reagents were analyzed, and spiking experiments resulted in recoveries of 97–104%.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Wilhelm Fresenius on the occasion of his 80th birthdayOn leave from Jiangsu Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China     

Validated Method for Tadalafil Analysis in Pharmaceutical Preparations by Capillary Electrophoresis

A simple, rapid and inexpensive capillary electrophoretic method has been developed and validated for the determination of tadalafil in pharmaceutical preparations. The analysis was carried out using a fused silica capillary (60 cm × 75 m I.D.), phosphate buffer (50 mM, 3.0 pH) as back ground electrolyte (BGE), 15 kV applied voltage with UV detection at 254 nm and at a working temperature of 23 ± 1 °C. Linearity was observed in the concentration range from 200–5000 g/mL, with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.9998 and 200 g/mL as the limit of detection. The percentage recovery of tadalafil from pharmaceutical preparations was 99.5. Validation parameters prove the precision of the method and its applicability for the determination of tadalafil in pharmaceutical tablet formulations. The method is fast and is suitable for high throughput analysis of the drug.     

Performance of a new nebulizer system for simultaneous determination of Sb,Sn (hydride generation), V,and Zn by ICP–OES

A new nebulizer system is described that extends the analytical capability of the inductively coupled plasma technique to include the simultaneous determination of two elements Sb and Sn (hydride-forming), with two conventional elements, V and Zn. The main advantage of this system is its simultaneous determination of elements that form volatile hydrides and elements that do not, without any instrumental changes. Optimization of reaction and instrumental conditions was performed to characterize the new system. The performance of the new nebulizer system was evaluated by studying the effect of some transition metals (Ni, Cu, Co, and Fe, 1–1000 mg L^–1) on the Sb, Sn, V, and Zn emission signals (1 mg L^–1). Interferences from transition metal ions were found to be insignificant for determination of the four elements in presence of L-cysteine. Long-term and short-term stability was also evaluated. The precision, expressed as RSD for 15 replicate measurements was 0.7% for Sb, 1.7% for Sn, 2.5% for V, and 2.3% for Zn at 200 g L^–1 of each analyte. The detection limits obtained were 0.52, 1.3, 3.2, and 4.7 g L^–1 for Sb, Sn, V, and Zn, respectively. Spike and recovery experiments were performed on the NIST 1643c trace metals in water standard reference material and results were in agreement with the certified values.     

Flow injection method for the fluorimetric determination of Zn with 8-(benzenesulphonamido) quinoline

The development of a fluorimetric method for the determination of zinc, based on the fluorescence of the zinc-8-(benzenesulphonamido) quinoline chelate in a micellar medium of sodium dodecylsulfate, is reported. The detection limit is 0.2 g l^–1, the working range is 0.5–700 g l^–1, and the sample throughput is 145 h^–1. The method was evaluated for the determination of zinc in food samples.A batch procedure for the simultaneous determination of zinc and cadmium, based on the synchronous and derivative spectra, is also proposed.     

Determination of Endocrine Disruptors in Environmental Water Samples by Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction-Liquid Desorption - Large Volume Injection-Gas Chromatography

A method based on stir bar sorptive extraction with liquid desorption combined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection has been developed to determine a group of endocrine disruptors in water samples. Large volume injection was used with a programmed temperature vaporiser injector in gas chromatography to enhance sensitivity. The parameters affecting stir bar sorptive extraction and large volume injection were optimised. The limits of quantification in the full scan mode were between 0.02 and 0.2 g L^–1 and the limits of detection were between 0.005 and 0.02 g L^–1 for river water samples. The reproducibility between days of the method (n=3) for river water samples spiked at 0.2 g L^–1 was below 15%. The performance of the method was checked with several water samples from the sea, and effluent and influent sewage treatment plants. We found 4-tert-octylphenol, benzylbutyl phthalate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate in all the water samples analysed at levels between 0.02–14.04 g L^–1. Diazinon was found in only one effluent wastewater sample at 0.16 g L^–1.Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia (projects AMB1999-0875 and PPQ2001-1805-CO3). We would like to thank Dr P. Sandra for kindly providing the stir bars.     

Determination of pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl in soils by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) then gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring (GC–MS, SIM) has been developed for determination of trace amounts of the fungicides pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl in soil and humic materials. Both fungicides were extracted on to a fused-silica fibre coated with 85 m polyacrylate (PA). Response-surface methodology was used to optimise the experimental conditions. For soil samples the linear dynamic range of application was 0.004–1.000 g g^–1 for pyrimethanil and 0.013–1.000 g g^–1 for kresoxim-methyl. The detection limits were 0.001 g g^–1 and 0.004 g g^–1 for pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl, respectively. HP-SPME–GC–MS analysis was highly reproducible—relative standard deviations (RSD) were between 6.7 and 12.2%. The method was validated by analysis of spiked matrix samples and used to investigate the presence of pyrimethanil and kresoxim-methyl above the detection limits in soil and humic materials.