A fluorescent anion sensor that works in neutral aqueous solution for bioanalytical application

Anion recognition and anion sensing are of interest because anions play many important roles in living organisms. Most currently known anion sensors work only in organic solution, but sensors for biological applications are required to function in neutral aqueous solution. We have designed and synthesized a novel fluorescent sensor for anions. The sensor molecule 1-Cd(II) contains 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin as a fluorescent reporter and Cd(II)-cyclen (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) as an anion host. In neutral aqueous solution, Cd(II) of 1-Cd(II) is coordinated by the four nitrogen atoms of cyclen and the aromatic amino group of coumarin. When various anions are added to 100 mM HEPES buffer solution (pH 7.4) containing 1-Cd(II), the aromatic amino group of coumarin is displaced from Cd(II), causing a change of the excitation spectrum. While pyrophosphate and citrate were detected with high sensitivity, fluoride and perchlorate produced no response. Among organic anions, ATP and ADP gave strong signals, while cAMP showed little signal. By utilizing the different affinities of the sensor for AMP and cAMP, the activity of phosphodiesterase, which cleaves cyclic nucleotide, was monitored in real-time. The sensor should have many biochemical and analytical applications and the sensing principle should be widely applicable to the sensing of other molecules.     

Effect of Column Temperature on the Retention of Inorganic Anions and Organic Acids in Non-Suppressed Anion-Exchange IC

An investigation has been conducted into the effect of column temperature on the retention of inorganic anions and organic acids in non-suppressed ion chromatography on an anion-exchange column. Potassium biphthalate and p-hydroxybenzoic acid–tris–boric acid were used as mobile phases. The column temperature was from 25 to 50 °C. Endothermic and exothermic retention of inorganic anions were both observed when potassium biphthalate was used as mobile phase. When p-hydroxybenzoic acid–tris–boric acid was used as mobile phase, however, endothermic behavior only was observed. Moreover, for the two mobile phases, variation of the retention time of the system peaks with changing temperature was reversed. For retention of the organic acids, only endothermic behavior was observed with the two mobile phases. Variation of retention time was greater when p-hydroxybenzoic acid–tris–boric acid was used as mobile phase than when potassium biphthalate was used. These results indicated the exchange reaction in anion-exchange chromatography could be either endothermic or exothermic, depending on the solute and mobile phase ions involved. Different relative changes of retention time were observed for individual inorganic anions and organic acids with increasing column temperature. In general, variation of retention time with increasing temperature was greater for strongly retained inorganic anions and organic acids than for weakly retained species. Van’t Hoff plots for inorganic anions, organic acids, and system peaks were linear. Selectivity variation of the retention of inorganic anions and organic acids was achieved by changing the temperature. In achieving optimum separation of inorganic anions and organic acids, temperature was a valuable tool. To reduce the retention times of the ions and avoid interference from system peaks in non-suppressed anion-exchange ion chromatography with the two mobile phases, a low column temperature, for example, 35 °C, was best.     

Extraction chromatography of common anions in liquid-liquid anion exchange systems. Part. III. Monobasic aliphatic organic acids and their sodium salts as eluants

Summary The chromatographic behaviour of anions on paper strips treated with tri-n-octylamine (TOA) salts or Aliquat 336 and developed with aqueous solutions of acetic, formic, monochloroacetic or trifluoroacetic acids and their sodium salts was investigated. Liquid-liquid extraction of organic acids by 0.1 M solution of TOA in benzene as well as the anion exchange between benzene solutions of TOA salts or Aliquat 336 (in acetate form) in benzene and aqueous solutions of sodium halides was also studied. It was found that extraction increases in the following order of the acids: CH₃COOOH<HCOOH<CH₂CICOOH<CF₃COOH; the relative affinity of organic anions to the quaternary alkyl-ammonium cation also increase in a similar order. The extraction of acid in excess over the amount necessary to neutralize the amine was observed for all four acids. The R_F values of anions investigated depend markedly on the type of organic acids or their salts and their concentration in the mobile phase. Halide ions are more strongly retained on paper treated with Aliquat 336 as compared with TOA salts. The chromatographic systems investigated offer many possibilities to separate various anion mixtures.Parts and II: refs. [1, 2].     

Boronic acid building blocks: tools for sensing and separation

In this feature article the use of boronic acids to monitor, identify and isolate analytes within physiological, environmental and industrial scenarios is discussed. Boronic acids recognise diol motifs through boronic ester formation and interact with anions generating boronates, as such they have been exploited in sensing and separation protocols for diol appended molecules such as saccharides and anions alike. Therefore robust molecular sensors with the capacity to detect chosen molecules selectively and signal their presence continues to attract substantial attention, and boronic acids have been exploited with some success to monitor the presence of various analytes. Reversible boronic acid-diol interactions have also been exploited in boron affinity chromatography realising new separation domains through the same binding events. Boronic acid diol and anion interactions pertaining to sensing and separation are surveyed.     

Determination of various inorganic anions and organic acids in the atmospheric particulate matter using capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection was developed for the simultaneous analysis of inorganic anions and organic acids using a mixed solution of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid and cetyltrimethylammonium hydroxide as the background electrolyte (BGE). The parameters which influence the separation, such as indirect UV detection wavelength, BGE conditions, applied voltage and extraction conditions were investigated. Thirteen inorganic anions and organic acids were detected within 20 min. The calibration curves of each analyte were linear with correlation coefficients greater than 0.991. The relative standard deviations (n = 10) of the peak areas ranged from 0.6% to 3.3%. The detection limits for these species ranged from 0.4 to 1.4 mg/L at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The recovery rate of each analyte was more than 80% under optimised extraction conditions, except for nitrite. The proposed method was applied towards the analysis of inorganic anions and organic acids in the atmospheric particulate matter using an Andersen sampler. The particle size of the particulate matter was determined, but not the size of the anions.     

Effect of low-molecular-weight organic anions on surface charge of variable charge soils

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids exist widely in soils and have been implicated in many soil processes. In the present paper, the effect of the anions of four low-molecular-weight organic acids on the surface charge of three variable charge soils was investigated. The results showed that the presence of organic anions led to an increase in negative charge and a decrease in positive charge. Positive charges decreased to a larger extent than negative charges. The effect of different anions on surface charge followed the order citrate > malate > oxalate > acetate. For hyper-rhodic ferrasol and rhodic ferrasol, the change of positive charge decreased with the increase in pH, while that of negative charge increased with the increase in pH. Among different soils the extent of change in surface charge was related to their iron oxides content. When free iron oxides were removed from the soil, the effect of organic anions on surface charge decreased sharply. These findings may be of practical significance for variable charge soils low in nutrient-retaining capacity by increasing the retaining capacity for cations such as potassium and calcium considerably but decreasing that for anions such as nitrate remarkably.     

Determination of sulfur-containing anions in alkaline solutions using arrays of DP-sensors based on hybrid perfluorinated membranes with proton-donor dopants

The influence of proton-donor properties and concentration of dopant nanoparticles introduced into Nafion and MF-4SС perfluorosulfonic cation-exchange membranes on the characteristics of cross-sensitive DP-sensors (sensors whose analytical signal is the Donnan potential) in alkaline solutions of sulfur-containing organic compounds were studied. The dopants were acid salts of heteropoly acids (HPAs) and hydrated silica SiO₂ and zirconia ZrO₂ surface-modified with sulfur-containing groups and an acid HPA salt. A correlation was revealed between the DP-sensor sensitivity to anions (and zwitter-ions) in alkaline solutions, size and proton-donor ability of the added particles, and diffusion permeability of hybrid membranes. Optimum compositions of membranes for arrays of cross-sensitive DP-sensors ensuring the simultaneous determination of cations and anions (and zwitter-ions) in the test solutions with an error of less than 18% were selected.     

离子色谱法同时分析啤酒中的有机酸和无机阴离子

建立了以NaOH-甲醇混合淋洗液,离子交换色谱柱,电导检测器检测,分离啤酒中有机酸和无机阴离子的离子色谱法.结果表明：在20 min内分离出啤酒中的11种主要有机酸与无机阴离子,方法回收率和相对标准偏差分别为96.30%～104.8%和0.02%～4.0%.     

离子转换色谱-紫外检测法测定啤酒中的无机阴离子和有机酸

建立了离子转换色谱与紫外检测器联用检测啤酒中无机阴离子与有机酸的新方法。在传统的离子色谱基础上引入两根离子转换柱,无机阴离子与有机酸经过两步转换,定量转换成有相同紫外响应的碘酸盐,然后用紫外检测器代替电导检测器进行定量分析。在Dionex AS11-HC阴离子色谱柱上,采用KOH梯度淋洗方式实现了12种无机阴离子与有机酸的分离。结果表明,12种无机阴离子和有机酸检出限（S/N=3）与定量限（S/N=10）分别为6.168~29.01 μg/L与20.56~66.30 μg/L;线性关系良好（r在0.9994以上）,回收率为89.0%~117.0%,RSD均小于1.0%,该方法与传统的电导检测器检测结果相当。该方法简单快捷,只需采用少数标准曲线,就可以实现啤酒中无机离子与有机酸的定量测定。     

氯甲基苯乙烯包夹硅基单柱强阴离子色谱柱的研究

采用氯甲基苯乙烯包夹硅胶基质制备出一种新型强阴离子色谱柱填料，该填料具有良好的色谱柱性能，可以较地的分离常见的６种无机阴离子，６种低碳链有机酸以及甲酸，乙酸和一些无机阴离子的混合物。     

Simultaneous Determination of Inorganic Anions and Organic Acids in Environmental Samples by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with Indirect UV Detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with indirect UV detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of inorganic anions and organic acids in environmental samples. Various aromatic acids (benzoic, phthalic, trimellitic, and pyromellitic acids) were evaluated as background electrolytes (BGEs) to give high resolution and detection sensitivity. Co-electroosmotic conditions such as the concentration of BGE, electrolyte pH, and EOF modifier were systematically investigated. Three inorganic anions and ten organic acids were determined simultaneously in 10 min using an electrolyte containing 10 mM phthalic acid, 0.5 mM myristyltrimethylammonium bromide (MTAB), and 5% methanol (MeOH) (v/v) at pH 5.60. Linear plots for the test solutes were obtained in the concentration range 0.01–1.0 mM with detection limits in the range 5–30 μM. The proposed method was successfully demonstrated for the determination of inorganic anions and organic acids in natural water, soil, and plant extracts after direct sample injection.     

Electronic tongue based on an array of metallic potentiometric sensors

An electronic tongue system based on the array of six metallic potentiometric sensors (metallic wires) was developed and utilized for discrimination of foodstuffs: several types of vinegar and fruit juices. Copper, tin, iron, aluminum, brass and stainless steel wires were included in the array and supplemented by pH glass electrode. The response of potentiometric metallic sensors towards various organic acids has been studied and possible sensitivity mechanisms were discussed. Overall potential changes of metallic sensors were exanimate as complex mixed signals influenced by several components presenting in analyte employing chemometric approach. The multisensor array of such a type can be useful for several applications since of simplicity in handling, low cost of sensors and easy measure procedure.     

Ion-exchange properties of silica gel with covalently bonded histidine

The ion-exchange and acid-base properties of Silasorb 600 (10 μm) with immobilized histidine (His-SiO₂) were investigated. The acid-base properties of the sorbent were estimated from the dependence sof the retention of organic acids and bases on the eluent pH. The effect of various organic modifiers (benzoic, citric, oxalic, and sulfuric acids) and the eluent pH on the retention of inorganic ions was studied. It was shown that His-SiO₂ exhibits anion-exchange properties in acidic and weakly acidic media at pH < 5.7. Eight anions were separated under optimal conditions on a 150 × 4.6-mm column in 21 min using a 5 mM oxialic acid solution as an eluent.     

固相萃取-离子色谱法测定甘蔗糖蜜及糖蜜酒精废液中的非氮有机酸和无机阴离子

建立了固相萃取-离子色谱测定甘蔗糖蜜及糖蜜酒精废液中乙酸、乳酸、琥珀酸、苹果酸、酒石酸、草酸、富马酸、柠檬酸、乌头酸等非氮有机酸和盐酸根、硫酸根、磷酸根等3种无机阴离子的方法。样品稀释液经强阴离子(SAX)固相萃取小柱净化除去糖类和色素等干扰基质,再用稀KOH溶液洗脱,经0.45 μm水膜过滤后,用IonPac AS15阴离子分离柱、KOH溶液梯度淋洗-抑制电导检测分离分析。考察了固相萃取小柱对待测离子的保留和洗脱条件。实验结果表明,除乙酸和乳酸的分离不完全、苹果酸与琥珀酸的组分重叠外,其余组分可达到完全分离,被测组分的浓度与其峰高在一定的范围呈良好的线性关系,检出限均低于0.20 mg/L,相对标准偏差(RSD)小于6.7%。测定了2种甘蔗糖蜜和1种糖蜜酒精废液中有机酸及无机阴离子,结果满足检测的要求,样品中各组分的加标回收率为94%～109%。     

离子交换色谱法同时测定啤酒中有机酸和无机阴离子

建立了用亲水性阴离子交换分离柱,KOH为淋洗液等浓度泵作梯度淋洗,电导检测,同时分离和检测16种无机阴离子和低分子量有机酸的离子色谱法。方法对所测无机阴离子和有机酸检出限在9．3～32μg/L之间;线性范围均在2个数量级以上;回收率在90．2％～107．2％之间。方法用于啤酒样品的分析,结果满意,样品的RSD小于5．3％(n=7)。     

两性化合物与离子对试剂的混合物作流动相的流动相离子色谱法测定气溶胶中水溶性阴离子

用流动相离子色谱法(MPIC),以两性化合物与离子对试剂的混合溶液为流动相,在C18柱上抑制电导检测分析气溶胶中常规无机阴离子和有机酸。实验采用氢氧化四丁基铵(TBAOH)为离子对试剂,与两性化合物3-(N-吗啉)-1-丙磺酸(MOPS)混合,加入Na2CO3无机添加剂作流动相,其浓度为1mmol／L TBAOH／5mmol／LMOPS／0．5mmol／LNa2CO3。分离柱采用硅质C18柱,抑制电导检测。可以较好地分离和检测常见的无机和有机阴离子。该方法具有较好的重现性和线性关系,F^-、Cl^-、NO2^-、Br^-、C3H3O3^-、NO3^-的回收率分别为102．0％、104．6％、102．4％、97．8％、97．75％和102．5％;检出限分别为0．017、0．014、0．0048、0．036、0．16和0．017mg／L。     

Effect of low-molecular-weight organic anions on electrokinetic properties of variable charge soils

It is known that some inorganic anions can be adsorbed by variable-charge soils specifically, resulting in the lowering of the zeta potential of the clay particle. Reasoning similarly, organic anions should also have such an effect. In this article, the effect of the anions of five low-molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids existing widely in soils on the zeta potentials of two variable-charge soils was examined. The results showed that the presence of organic anions led to a decrease in zeta potential. The effect of different anions on zeta potential followed the order oxalate>citrate>malate>maleate>acetate. The effect increased with the increase in anion concentration and decreased with the increase in pH. The extent of the effect on different soils was apparently related to their iron oxide content. The presence of organic anions also led to a decrease in the isoelectric point (IEP) of the soil. The IEPs of two soils in organic anion systems followed the order acetate>maleate>malate>citrate. No IEP was detected for the oxalate system.     

Determination of organic anions in atmospheric aerosol samples by capillary electrophoresis after reversed pre-electrophoresis

This work presents the determination of low-molecular-mass (LMM) organic acids by CE after extraction with MeOH and preconcentration by evaporation. The interference arising from the simultaneous concentration of fast mobile anions (chloride, nitrate, and sulfate) at levels 200 times higher than those of LMM organic acids was reduced by the application of reversed pre-electrophoresis (RPE) as clean-up technique. This methodology allows for an effective elimination of high levels of fast mobile anions from the capillary before the separation has taken place, although analytes are also partially eliminated according to their electrophoretic velocities. In order to achieve an accurate quantification of organic anions, the use of a mathematical correction based on the linear relation between the analyte's effective volume removed during RPE and its mobility is proposed. Methods based on the use of one and two internal standards are discussed and evaluated. The proposed method is applied to the determination of organic acids in atmospheric particulate matter samples.     

单一阴离子交换柱同时分离有机酸和无机阴阳离子

研究了用乙二胺四乙酸（ＥＤＴＡ）作淋洗液时，性质迥异的有机酸、无机阴离子和碱土金属离子（Ｃａ＾２＋、Ｍｇ＾２＋）在同一阴离子交换柱上的同时分离以及保留机理，结果表明，在离子交换机理之外，非离子交换机理对有机酸及钙镁的ＥＤＴＡ络阴郭的保留行为起一定的辅助作用，９种有机酸和无机阴阳离子在１０ｍｉｎ内得到了较好的分离。各离子的电导检测灵敏度在１０＾－９至１０＾－１１ｍｏｌ，能满足环境和食吕分析的要求。     

Doping the Backbone of π‐Conjugated Polymers with Tricoordinate Boron: Synthetic Strategies and Emerging Applications

The doping of π‐conjugated organic compounds with trivalent boron atoms produces materials with intriguing properties and functions that result from the interaction of the π‐electron system with the vacant p orbital on boron. This offers unique opportunities in various applications such as organic (opto)electronics, biomedical imaging, and sensors for physiologically relevant anions or amines, as demonstrated by numerous examples on the molecular scale. Recently, the B‐doping strategy has been expanded to polymer chemistry with a view to benefit from the best of both worlds. Herein, recent advances in the synthesis of π‐conjugated polymers doped with tricoordinate boron in the backbone are reviewed. Selected applications are described where these functional materials have already been successfully implemented.