Determination of neodymium, holmium and erbium in mixed rare earths by norfloxacin

Norfloxacin (NFX) is proposed as reagent for the derivative spectrophotometric determination of neodymium, holmium and erbium in mixed rare earths. The absorption spectra of 4f electron transitions of the systems of neodymium, holmium and erbium complexes with norfloxacin in presence of cetylpyridinium chloride were studied by normal and derivative spectra. The absorption bands found normally at 575 nm for neodymium, 450 nm for holmium and 523 nm for erbium were enhanced markedly. Using the second derivative spectrum, Beer’s Law is obeyed from 5.0 × 10^–5∼ 2.5 × 10^–4 mol dm^–3 for neodymium, holmium and erbium. The relative standard deviations are 1.0, 1.4 and 1.1% for 6.9 × 10^–5 mol dm^–3 of neodymium, 6.1 × 10^–5 mol dm^–3 of holmium and 6.0 × 10^–5 mol dm^–3 of erbium, respectively. A method for the direct determination of neodymium, holmium and erbium in mixtures of rare earth elements with good accuracy and selectivity, is described. Received: 18 December 1997 / Revised: 23 February 1998 / Accepted: 26 February 1998     

Derivative Spectrophotometric Determination of Nd, Ho and Er in Rare Earth Mixtures with 1-Ethyl-6,8-difluoro-7-(3-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid

 The second derivative spectrophotometric method has been developed as a procedure for the determination of neodymium, holmium and erbium in mixed rare earths. It was found that the 1-ethyl-6, 8-difluoro-7-(3-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-4-oxo-1,4- dihydro-3-quinoline carboxylic acid forms stable complexes with neodymium, holmium and erbium ions in the pH 9.2–10.5 range. In the second derivative spectra the optimum analytical signals for neodymium, holmium and erbium are at 576.2 (+)−574.5 (−)nm, 444.2 (+) −447.8 (−)nm and 516.0 (+) −517.2(−)nm, respectively. Beer’s law is obeyed from 5.0×10⁻⁵ M to 2.5×10⁻⁴ M of neodymium, holmium and erbium. The quantification limits (10 Sb) were 1.2×10⁻⁵ M for Nd, 9.7×10⁻⁵ M for Ho and 3.0×10⁻⁶ M for Er. Received April 22, 1998. Revision March 8, 1999.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of medazepam

A new flow injection chemiluminescence method for the assay of medazepam is explored. The method involves the use of permanganate in sulfuric acid for the oxidation of medazepam with the emission of chemiluminescence detected by a photomultiplier tube. A simplex procedure was employed for optimising the conditions for high sensitivity detection, which were found to be 1.03 × 10^–3 mol L^–1 permanganate, 0.153 mol L^–1 sulfuric acid and 3.43 mL min^–1 flow rate. The linear calibration range was 3.7 × 10^–5 to 1.7 × 10^–3 mol L^–1. The detection limit (3σ) and the sample throughput were 1.85 × 10^–5 mol L^–1 and 100 per hour, respectively. The relative standard deviation for 5 replicate determinations of 1.9 × 10^–4 mol L^–1 medazepam was 0.15%. Common excipients (starch, glucose, maltose, lactose) used in pharmaceutical preparations had no effect. Received: 2 February 1998 / Revised: 20 May 1998 / Accepted: 25 May 1998     

Chemiluminescence flow system for the determination of sulfite

A novel chemiluminescence(CL) flow system for sulfite is described based on electrostatically immobilized luminol on an anion exchange column. Sulfite is detected by the CL reaction with luminol bleeding from the column by hydrolysis. The calibration graph is linear in the range 3 × 10^–7 to 1 × 10^–5 mol/L, and the detection limit is 1 × 10^–7 mol/L. Interfering metal ions co-existing in sample solutions could be effectively eliminated on-line by an upstream cation exchanger. A complete analysis could be performed in 1 min with a relative standard deviation of less than 5%. The system could be reused for over 50 h and has been applied successfully to the determination of sulfur dioxide in air. Received: 21 October 1997 / Revised: 23 February 1998 / Accepted: 26 February 1998     

The europium/samarium-2-benzoyl-indane-1,3-dione-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide fluorescence system and its analytical application

The fluorescence system of the Eu³⁺ (or/and Sm³⁺)-2-benzoyl-indane-1,3-dione(BID)-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) was investigated at excitation wavelengths of 350 nm, and emission wavelengths at 612 nm for europium and 565, 606 and 650 nm for samarium, respectively. The system was used for the determination of Eu and Sm in rare earth oxides and of BID in water. Europium or/and samarium could be determined in the range of 1.0 × 10^–9–1.0 × 10^–5 mol/L and 2.0 × 10^–8–5.0 × 10^–5 mol/L, respectively; 1.0 × 10^–6–2.0 × 10^–5 mol/L of BID could also be determined. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revised: 6 August 1997 / Accepted: 20 September 1997     

The europium/samarium-2-benzoyl-indane-1,3-dione-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide fluorescence system and its analytical application

The fluorescence system of the Eu³⁺ (or/and Sm³⁺)-2-benzoyl-indane-1,3-dione(BID)-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) was investigated at excitation wavelengths of 350 nm, and emission wavelengths at 612 nm for europium and 565, 606 and 650 nm for samarium, respectively. The system was used for the determination of Eu and Sm in rare earth oxides and of BID in water. Europium or/and samarium could be determined in the range of 1.0 × 10^–9–1.0 × 10^–5 mol/L and 2.0 × 10^–8–5.0 × 10^–5 mol/L, respectively; 1.0 × 10^–6–2.0 × 10^–5 mol/L of BID could also be determined. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revised: 6 August 1997 / Accepted: 20 September 1997     

Electrochemical behavior of electrodeposited film derived from rhein and its activity towards myoglobin reduction

The stable electroactive thin film of rhein has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the electrodeposited film derived from rhein indicated the electrode reaction was kinetically controlled in the region of higher frequency, the charge transfer resistance was 2.6×10³ Ω cm² and capacitance value was 13.2 μF cm² . The electrodeposited film derived from rhein exhibited a good electrocatalytic activity for myoglobin (Mb) reduction. In 0.30 mol dm⁻³ H₂SO₄solution, the catalysis currents were proportional to the concentrations of Mb over the range of 1.5×10⁻⁷–1.3×10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³. The detection limit is 1.0×10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ (S/N=3). The relative standard deviation is 4.8% for eight successive determinations of 5.0×10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ Mb.     

Spectrofluorometric determination of hesperidin by manual and flow-injection methods

A reliable and highly sensitive method for the determination of hesperidin is described. It involves the formation of a highly fluorescent complex between hesperidin and aluminium (III) in a micellar medium. There is a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity (λ_em = 496 nm, λ_ex = 391 nm) and hesperidin concentration over the range 5 × 10^–7– 2 × 10^–5 mol L^–1. The detection limit is 79 μg L^–1. The method can easily be adapted to a flow system using a three-channel manifold, the peak height being proportional to the hesperidin concentration over the range 1 × 10^–6– 1 × 10^–4 mol L^–1. Manual and flow-injection procedures have been successfully applied to the determination of hesperidin in orange peel and orange juice. Received: 21 October 1998 / Revised: 16 December 1998 / Accepted: 25 December 1998     

Electroreduction and Quantification of Furazolidone and Furaltadone in Different Media

 Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry was used for the determination of furazolidone (FZ) and furaltadone (FD) in borax and phosphate buffers, respectively, using HMDE as working electrode. The influence of different factors upon the peak current response such as accumulation potential, scan rate, preconcentration time, pH and other variables was studied. Furazolidone and furaltadone showed an adsorption character on HMDE in presence of borax and phosphate buffers, respectively. A single cathodic peak at −0.36 V in borax (pH = 9.5) was observed for FZ, while FD gave a cathodic peak at −0.32 V in phosphate buffer (pH = 8.5). The calibration graph showed a linear behavior over the range 3×10⁻⁹–9×10⁻⁸ mol dm⁻³ for furazolidone. In the case of FD, concentrations from 3×10⁻⁹ to 2×10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ gave a linear relationship with the peak current. A detection limit of 2×10⁻⁹ mol dm⁻³ and 1×10⁻⁹ mol dm⁻³ was obtained for furazolidone and furaltadone, respectively. This method was applied to determine these drugs in pharmaceutical formulations, urine and serum samples. Received December 15, 1998. Revision February 4, 2000.     

A PVC-based cryptand C2B22 membrane potentiometric sensor for zinc(II)

A PVC membrane electrode for zinc ions based on cryptand C2_B22 as membrane carrier was prepared. The electrode exhibits a linear stable response over a wide concentration range (5.0 × 10^–2– 5.0 × 10^–5 mol/L) with a slope of 24 mV/ decade and a limit of detection of 3.98 × 10^–5 mol/L (2.6 μg/g). It has a fast response time of about 30 s and can be used for at least 4 months without any divergence in potential. The proposed sensor revealed good selectivities for Zn²⁺ over a wide variety of other metal ions and could be used in a pH range of 4–7. It was used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of zinc ion. Received: 26 February 1998 / Revised: 25 May 1998 / Accepted: 28 May 1998     

Determination of EDTA in used fixing solutions by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoretic method for the determination of EDTA has been developed. EDTA was converted to Ni(II)-EDTA prior to separation, separated from Fe(III)-EDTA, thiosulphate, bromide and polythionates using a fused silica capillary (57 cm × 75 μm I.D.) filled with a borate buffer (50 mmol L^–1; pH 8.5; applied voltage, 30 kV) and detected at 214 nm. The separation time is about 6 min. The detection limit achieved is 2 × 10^–6 mol L^–1 for EDTA. This method was applied for the determination of free EDTA in used fixing solutions. Received: 27 February 1998 / Revised: 28 April 1998 / Accepted: 20 May 1998     

Determination of EDTA in used fixing solutions by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoretic method for the determination of EDTA has been developed. EDTA was converted to Ni(II)-EDTA prior to separation, separated from Fe(III)-EDTA, thiosulphate, bromide and polythionates using a fused silica capillary (57 cm × 75 μm I.D.) filled with a borate buffer (50 mmol L^–1; pH 8.5; applied voltage, 30 kV) and detected at 214 nm. The separation time is about 6 min. The detection limit achieved is 2 × 10^–6 mol L^–1 for EDTA. This method was applied for the determination of free EDTA in used fixing solutions. Received: 27 February 1998 / Revised: 28 April 1998 / Accepted: 20 May 1998     

Ion-pair formation in the outer-sphere electron transfer reactions between tris-(1, 10) phenanthroline iron(II) and the halopentacyanocobaltate(III) complexes in aqueous acidic solutions

The kinetics of the reactions between Fe(phen) ₃ ²⁺ [phen = tris–(1,10) phenanthroline] and Co(CN)₅X³⁻ (X = Cl, Br or I) have been investigated in aqueous acidic solutions at I = 0.1 mol dm⁻³ (NaCl/HCl). The reactions were carried out at a fixed acid concentration ([H⁺] = 0.01 mol dm⁻³) and the second-order rate constants for the reactions at 25 °C were within the range of (0.151–1.117) dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. Ion-pair constants K _ip for these reactions, taking into consideration the protonation of the cobalt complexes, were 5.19 × 10⁴, 3.00 × 10² and 4.02 × 10⁴ mol⁻¹ dm⁻³ for X = Cl, Br and I, respectively. Activation parameters measured for these systems were as follows: ΔH* (kJ K⁻¹ mol⁻¹) = 94.3 ± 0.6, 97.3 ± 1.0 and 109.1 ± 0.4; ΔS* (J K⁻¹) = 69.1 ± 1.9, 74.9 ± 3.2 and 112.3 ± 1.3; ΔG* (kJ) = 73.7 ± 0.6, 75.0 ± 1.0 and 75.7 ± 0.4; E _a (kJ) = 96.9 ± 0.3, 99.8 ± 0.4, and 122.9 ± 0.3; A (dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹) = (7.079 ± 0.035) × 10¹⁶, (1.413 ± 0.011) × 10¹⁷, and (9.772 ± 0.027) × 10²⁰ for X = Cl, Br, and I respectively. An outer – sphere mechanism is proposed for all the reactions.     

Amperometric determination of ascorbic acid at a novel ‘self-doped’ polyaniline modified microelectrode

A ‘self-doped’ polyaniline modified microelectrode, prepared by cyclic potential sweep on a microdisk gold electrode from –0.2 to 0.85 V in 0.5 mol/L sulfuric acid containing aniline and o-aminobenzoic acid, has been developed. The copolymerized process and the resulting polymer characteristics were investigated in detail. This composite film indicated a good electrochemical activity in a wide pH range even in basic solution. Meanwhile, the redox couple exhibited an excellent electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of ascorbic acid. The oxidation overpotential of ascorbic acid was decreased over 200 mV at this modified electrode compared with a bare gold one. Moreover, the effects of film thickness and pH on the catalytic efficiency were further studied. The dependence of catalytic currents on the concentration of ascorbic acid was linear in the range of 1.2 × 10^–5∼ 2.4 × 10^–3 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.996. Also, the determination of ascorbic acid in actual samples was evaluated and the results are satisfactory. Received: 7 October 1997 / Revised: 3 February 1998 / Accepted: 7 February 1998     

Hydrogenation of nitrate in water over bimetallic Pd-Ag/Al2O3 catalysts

Hydrogenation of nitrate (NO₃ ⁻) in water was studied with 0.8 ×10⁻³–3.2 ×10⁻³ mol/dm³ of reactant in the temperature range of 293–313 K over palladium promoted Ag catalysts. Pd-Ag catalysts with a low ratio of Ag/Pd were characterized by high efficiency in the reduction of nitrates. The degradation of nitrates followed approximately first order decay and the estimated apparent activation energy was about 4 kJ/mol.     

Preparation and evaluation of a functionalized polymer-coated silica based sorbent for metal ion separation

A silica based sorbent with an anion complexone polymer coating, [24]ane-N₆ macrocycle, was prepared. The chelation properties of this material were investigated by elemental analysis, infrared spectra and Voige’s method. The polymer-coated silica column (25– 40 μm, 100 × 4.6 mm i.d.) was employed for trace metal analyses. Oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, phthalic acid and acetic acid were used as mobile phases. Their retention characteristics were elucidated. Oxalic acid was found to be the most effective eluent. With a mobile phase consisting of oxalic acid (25 mM) and sodium nitrate (25 mM) at pH 4.2, the separation of copper(II), cadmium(II), cobalt(II) and zinc(II) in sea water could be achieved. The identification of metal ions was performed at 510 nm using 4(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (1 × 10^–4 M) as post column reagent. The limits of detection were 5 × 10^–7 M, 1 × 10^–5 M, 3 × 10^–5 M and 2 × 10^–6 M for copper(II), cadmium(II), cobalt(II) and zinc(II) based on three times the standard deviation of the response for the lowest concentration (n = 5) in the chromatogram with a sample volume of 50 μL. For evaluation of data reliability, oyster tissue (NIST SRM 1566 a) was studied with the proposed system. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 15 May 1998 / Accepted: 16 June 1998     

Determination of nicotinamide (NA) using its polarographic catalytic wave in the presence of KIO3

Nicotinamide (NA) yields a polarographic catalytic wave with a peak potential –1.38 V (vs. SCE) in 0.1 mol/L HAc-NaAc (pH 4.7)/4 × 10^–3 mol/L KIO₃ buffer solution. The sensitivity of the catalytic wave increased in one order of magnitude as compared to that of the responding reduction wave without KIO₃. Based on this observation, a new method for the determination of NA was recommended. The second order derivative peak current was proportional to the NA concentration in the range of 5 × 10^–8 – 6 × 10^–7 mol/L. 0.11-fold vitamin B₁, 0.13-fold B₂, 0.14-fold B₆ and 8-fold nicotinic acid amounts do not interfere the determination of 1 × 10^–6 mol/L NA. The proposed method was used to determine the NA content in multivitamin tablets, with good agreement to the declared amount. Received: 25 October 1999 / Revised: 28 March 2000 / /Accepted: 31 March 2000     

Indirect radiotracer study of the adsorption of corrosion inhibitors on hematite

The specific adsorption of corrosion inhibitors (inorganic and organic compounds) was studied at a metal oxide (hematite) in 0.5 mol dm^–3 NaClO₄ solution by an indirect radiotracer technique. This indirect radiotracer technique is based upon the application of labeled indicator species, which were sulfate species at a concentration of 2×10^–4 mol dm^–3. The displacement of sulfate species was found in all the cases studied. The order of the inhibition efficiency of the corrosion inhibitor molecules is in good agreement with the order of their adsorbabilities. Electronic Publication     

Determination of vitamin B<Subscript>1</Subscript> in seawater and microalgal fermentation media by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A highly sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection has been developed for determination of vitamin B₁. Vitamin B₁ was converted into a fluorescent compound by treatment with hydrogen peroxide–horseradish peroxidase and the derivative was subsequently analyzed by HPLC on a Waters Spherisorb ODS2 column (250 mm×4.6 mm ID, 5 μm) with 40:60 methanol–pH 8.5 acetate buffer solution as mobile phase and fluorescence detection at 440 nm (with excitation at 375 nm). The calibration graph was linear from 5.00×10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ to 5.00×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ for vitamin B₁ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9991 (n=9). The detection limit was 1.0×10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹. The method was successfully used for determination of vitamin B₁ at pg mL⁻¹ levels in microalgal fermentation media and seawater after solid-phase extraction. Recovery was from 89 to 110% and the relative standard deviation was in the range 1.1 to 4.3%.     

Nature of the transient species formed in pulse radiolysis of n-allylthiourea in aqueous solutions

Reactions of e⁻_aq, OH radicals and H atoms were studied with n-allylthiourea (NATU) using pulse radiolysis. Hydrated electrons reacted with NATU (k = 2.8×10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹) giving a transient species which did not have any significant absorption above 300 nm. It was found to transfer electrons to methyl viologen. At pH 6.8, the reduction potential of NATU has been determined to be −0.527 V versus NHE. At pH 6.8, OH radicals were found to react with NATU, giving a transient species having absorption maxima at 400–410 nm and continuously increasing absorption below 290 nm. Absorption at 400–410 nm was found to increase with parent concentration, from which the equilibrium constant for dimer radical cation formation has been estimated to be 4.9×10³ dm³ mol⁻¹. H atoms were found to react with NATU with a rate constant of 5 × 10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹, giving a transient species having an absorption maximum at 310 nm, which has been assigned to H-atom addition to the double bond in the allyl group. Acetoneketyl radicals reacted with NATU at acidic pH values and the species formed underwent reaction with parent NATU molecule. Reaction of Cl^.−₂ radicals (k = 4.6 × 10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹) at pH 1 was found to give a transient species with λ_max at 400 nm. At the same pH, reaction of OH radicals also gave transient species, having a similar spectrum, but the yield was lower. This showed that OH radicals react with NATU by two mechanisms, viz., one-electron oxidation, as well as addition to the allylic double bond. From the absorbance values at 410 nm, it has been estimated that around 38% of the OH radicals abstract H atoms and the remaining 62% of the OH radicals add to the allylic double bond.