Improving the Infrared Detection of Analytes in Aqueous Solution Using Polymer Coated Atr Elements

Abstract

Preliminary results of ATR/FTIR experiments indicate that thinly coating the ATR elements with suitable polymers improves the ability to detect test analytes in aqueous solutions. Experiments were performed using the test analyte, nitrobenzene, in aqueous solutions containing a range of methanol concentrations. the time dependence and effect of methanol concentration on the nitrobenzene IR absorbance was investigated.     

Multicommutation cold vapour atomic fluorescence determination of Hg in water

A multicommutation-based method has been developed for the on-line direct atomic fluorescence spectrometric (AFS) determination of Hg in waters without any previous sample treatment. The performance of the proposed procedure has been compared with that of a conventional AFS system based on continuous mode measurements. In short, the use of multicommutation, together with a reduction of the size of the liquid-gas phase separator, provides an increase of the laboratory productivity by improving the sample throughput by a factor of 3.6 and strongly reduces the sample consumed by a factor of 6 and reagent consumed by a factor of 8.4. The waste generation is reduced by a factor of 2.4 and the Ar consumed by a factor of 6, thus the developed method is an environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to the methodology based on continuous measurements, without any reduction of the analytical sensitivity and with an enhancement of the repeatability of measurements. Only the limit of detection was poorer for the methodology developed (1.3 ng l⁻¹) than that found by the classical continuous mode (0.3 ng l⁻¹). The aforementioned methodologies were applied to the determination of Hg in water samples having obtained comparable values by both procedures and with those found by an external laboratory.     

Chemiluminescence determination of sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate by flow injection analysis using cerium(IV) sensitized by quinine

A flow injection method with chemiluminescence (CL) detection is proposed for the determination of sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate (MESNA), a drug often used to reduce the urotoxic effects of antineoplastic alkylating agents. The procedure is based on the reaction of the thiol with Ce(IV) in a sulfuric acid medium and measurement of the CL intensity produced by quinine used as a sensitizer. The optimum conditions for CL emission were investigated. Using the CL peak height as the analytical parameter, MESNA was determined over the concentration range 0.29–2.21 ng (1.97–9.85 μg·l⁻¹) with a detection limit of 0.21 ng (1.38 μg·l⁻¹) and a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 4.1%. The method was applied satisfactorily to the determination of MESNA in pharmaceutical preparations with percentages of recovery between 94 and 105.     

Multicommutation as an environmentally friendly analytical tool in the hydride generation atomic fluorescence determination of tellurium in milk

The aim of this study is to show the advantages of the emerging multicommutation methodology based on the use of solenoid valves for Te determination in milk by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). The delivery of a series of alternating sequential insertions of small volumes of samples and reagents gives rise to new hydrodynamic processes and exciting analytical potentials by controlling the time of flow through the on/off-switched solenoid valves. This drastically reduces the reagent consumption by a factor of 4 and the generation of effluents (590 mL h^–1 instead of 750 mL h^–1 generated by the continuous-mode measurement) and also provides an improvement in the laboratory productivity by an increase of the sample throughput (85 h^–1 compared to 20 h^–1 found in the continuous mode). So, multicommutation is an environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to the methodology based on continuous measurements. The multicommutation-based method developed was applied to tellurium determination in commercially available milk samples; a calibration range of 0.0–0.5 ng mL^–1 and a detection limit of 0.20 ng L^–1 with average relative standard deviation of 2.1% were found. Comparable results were obtained for a series of samples using both continuous and multicommutation HG-AFS modes.     

Resonance light-scattering method for the determination of BSA and HSA with sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate or sodium lauryl sulfate

A new resonance light-scattering (RLS) assay of proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) is presented. In the medium of phosphoric acid (pH=2.6), the weak RLS of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) can be greatly enhanced by proteins, owing to interaction between the protein and the anionic surfactant and formation of an associate. The RLS intensity of the SDBS–protein system is stronger than that of the SLS–protein system under same experimental conditions. It is considered that the synergistic resonance caused by the absorption of both protein and SDBS could produce strong RLS, while absorption of protein only in the SLS system could cause relatively weak RLS. The enhanced intensity of RLS is proportional to the concentration of the protein. If SDBS is used as the probe the linear range is 7.5×10^–9–1.5×10^–5 g mL^–1 for BSA and 1.0×10^–8–1.0×10^–5 g mL^–1 for HSA. The detection limits are 1.8 and 2.8 ng mL^–1, respectively. When SLS is used as the probe the linear range is 2.0×10^–8–1.0×10^–5 g mL^–1 and 2.5×10^–8–1.0×10^–5 g mL^–1 for BSA and HSA, respectively, and the detection limits are 12.8 and 21.6 ng mL^–1, respectively. The biological mimics samples are synthetic concoctions of BSA and HSA with some interferents. In these samples, the concentration of interferents is higher than the concentration normally existing in organisms. The samples were determined satisfactorily.     

Determination of berberine by measuring the enhanced total internal reflected fluorescence at water/tetrachloromethane interface in the presence of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate

A highly sensitive method for determination of berberine is proposed based on the measurements of total internal reflected fluorescence (TIRF) at water/ tetrachloromethane (H₂O/CCl₄) interface. In the pH range of 2.6–5.7, the co-adsorption of the berberine with the anionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), sodium dodecylsulfonate (SDS), and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) occurs at the H₂O/CCl₄ interface, resulting in greatly enhanced TIRF signal characterized by the emission at 526 nm when excited with a 351 nm light beam. The enhanced TIRF intensity is in proportion to the berberine concentration in the range 0.2–10.0×10^-7 mol L^-1. The limit of detection is 1.7×10^-9 mol L^-1 (3). It was found that ions such as Ca(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Cd(II), Mg(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), and Al(III) can be allowed larger than 1.0×10^-4 mol L^-1. Meanwhile, the organic compounds such as vitamin B, saccharine, and amino acid do not display any effect for the present TIRF method even if they are larger than 1.0×10^-2 mol L^-1in high concentration levels (larger than 1.0×10^-5 mol L^-1). The results of determination for synthetic samples were agreement with the desired values, and the ones for tablets were identical with those obtained according to the method of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.     

Determination of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate in ternary mixtures by curie-point pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled to multivariate analysis

Summary Multivariate analysis was used to develop a viable method for determination of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) by Curie-point pyrolysis gas chromatography. The pyrograms obtained were normalized against a maximum peak area and peak height. Normalized values were used for Quantification IV, which is one of the multivariate analysis methods, to select useful values initially. Then cluster analysis was carried out using both the selected values and their deviations. This method corresponds to qualitative analysis and indicates which data-base is similar to the sample. On the basis of this data-base, calibration data-bases are chosen. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the calibration data-base and a set of sample data simultaneously. The principal component scores and contribution coefficients obtained were used to construct a calibration curve from which the DBS content of the sample was calculated. The results are in fair agreement with theoretical values.     

Difference in micellar properties of sodium dodecyl sulfonate from sodium 4-decyl naphthalene sulfonate in D2O solution studied by 1H NMR relaxation and 2D NOESY

¹H chemical shift changes of sodium 4-decyl naphthalene sulfonate (SDNS) at 313 K show that its critical micellar concentration lies between 0.82 and 0.92 mmol/dm³, which is in the same range as that of the previous study at 298 K. The spin–lattice relaxation time, spin–spin relaxation time and two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy experiments give information about the structure of the SDNS micelle and the dynamics of the molecules in the micelle. The size of the SDNS micelle remains almost unchanged in the temperature range from 298 to 313 K as deduced by analyzing the self-diffusion coefficient. Special arrangement of the naphthyl rings of SDNS in the micelles affects the packing of these hydrophobic chains. The methylene groups of the alkyl chain nearest the naphthalene groups penetrate into the aromatic region, which results in a more tightly packed hydrophobic micellar core than that of sodium dodecyl sulfonate.     

Simultaneous determination of three surfactants and water in shampoo and liquid soap by ATR-FTIR

It is demonstrated for the first time that the principal constituents of a shampoo as well as of a liquid soap -three surfactants and water- can be determined directly, simultaneously and quickly in undiluted samples by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy in the middle infrared region, despite the broad absorption bands of the solvent. Two of the surfactants, sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) and cocoamidopropyl betaine (CAPB), are common to both formulations; alkylpolyglucoside (APG) is the third surfactant of the liquid soap and cocodiethanolamide (CDEA), the corresponding ingredient of the shampoo. Absorbance data of the undiluted samples and of the calibration standards was collected in the middle infrared region of the spectrum (800-1600 and 1900-3000 cm⁻¹). Two methods of multivariate quantification were compared: classical least squares (CLS), where absorbance data measured at 200 wavenumbers was processed, and inverse least squares (ILS), where data at 10 selected wavenumbers was analyzed. A spectra normalization procedure, based on a dominating water band, was examined. Twenty-seven standard mixtures were used for each application, consisting of all combinations at three concentration levels of each surfactant, respectively the lower limit, the expected value and the upper limit accepted in quality control. By favoring wavenumbers where absorption bands of the minor components (APG in the liquid soap and CDEA in the shampoo) are more intense, good results were obtained for 18 simulated samples of shampoo and 18 samples of liquid soap, no matter if calculations were made by CLS or ILS. The relative errors for water (major component, 84-88%) and SLES (7-10%) were always below 2%; for CAPB (2-4%), APG (<2%) and CDEA (<2%), they occasionally reached 5% of the component, an uncertainty of less than 0.07% in terms of the sample weight.     

Multicommutation flow techniques in the hydride generation-atomic fluorescence determination of arsenic

This review outlines automated methodologies developed for measuring arsenic in environmental samples. We report the state of the art of the most significant methods exploiting multicommutation flow techniques coupled to hydride generation-atomic fluorescence determination. We review analytical methods used and present a comparative evaluation of them. We also discuss the on-line pre-concentration procedure as being of particular interest in the development of fully automated methods.     

Infrared Chemical Sensor for Detection of Chlorinated Phenols in Aqueous Solutions Based on a ATR Waveguide Coated with Structural Designed Polymers

A combination of solid phase micro‐extraction (SPME) with attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared spectrometry provides a fast and sensitive way to detect organic compounds in aqueous solutions. It is especially useful for detection of chlorinated organic compounds in environmental samples. Currently, analyses of organic compounds in aqueous solutions are limited to low‐polarity compounds by the SPME/ATR‐IR sensing method. This limitation was mainly caused by the low polarity nature of the SPME phase. To increase the capability of this method to detect more polar compounds and also to increase the sensitivity in detection of organic compounds, the principle of “like‐dissolve‐like” was used to design a specific SPME phase for a certain class of chlorinated compounds. To demonstrate this concept, chlorinated phenols were used as probe molecules and polyvinyl chloride was chemically modified with phenol, ‐naphthol and ‐naphthol to provide SPME phases with a similar chemical structure to chlorinated phenols. These polymers were used as SPME phases and their performance were compared with the commonly used SPME phases (i.e., polystyrene and polyisobutylene). Results indicated that naphthols attached to PVCs provided much lower compactness, which allows fast speed in absorption of phenols. Meanwhile, due to the structural similarity between naphthols attached to PVCs and phenols, much higher partition coefficients were found for these chemically modified PVCs than conventionally used polymers. To further increase the sensitivity for analysis of chlorinated phenols, the common influencing factors, such as pH values and salt effect were also investigated. Apparently, pH values of the solutions did not influence the structure of the modified PVCs significantly. In absorption of chlorinated phenols in aqueous solutions with different pH values, the observed IR signals were decreased greatly in pH higher than 6 due to the charged form of chlorinated phenols that were presented. Results of the salt effect indicated that three times stronger of IR signals can be obtained if 20% (w/vol) of NaCl was added.     

Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopic mapping for the characterisation of paint cross-sections

Paint cross-sections have been analysed using the attenuated total reflection technique combined with FTIR mapping microspectroscopy in order to characterise the nature of the compounds present and map their localisation in the stratigraphy. The study reveals the possibilities offered by micro-ATR devices for obtaining informations about the organic substances employed in painting techniques and in particular their distribution in the different layers, showing a real improvement over traditional analytical investigations in use for the detection of organic substances. Limitations, such as the contamination of the embedding resin and the typical spectral resolution (20 μm) are presented and alternative methods were proposed to obtain better results. In particular, the use of an infrared transparent salt (KBr) as embedding material for the cross-sections is evaluated and seems to be very promising. Furthermore, ATR mapping represent a useful non-destructive analytical technique complementary to others molecular and elemental analyses to be performed afterwards such as SEM-EDX.     

A multicommuted flow system for sequential spectrophotometric determination of hydrosoluble vitamins in pharmaceutical preparations

A multicommuted flow system is proposed for spectrophotometric determination of hydrosoluble vitamins (ascorbic acid, thiamine, riboflavine and pyridoxine) in pharmaceutical preparations. The flow manifold was designed with computer-controlled three-way solenoid valves for independent handling of sample and reagent solutions and a multi-channel spectrophotometer was employed for signal measurements. Periodic re-calibration as well as the standard addition method was implemented by using a single reference solution. Linear responses (r=0.999) were obtained for 0.500-10.0 mg l⁻¹ ascorbic acid, 2.00-50.0 mg l⁻¹ thiamine, 5.00-50.0 mg l⁻¹ riboflavine and 0.500-8.00 mg l⁻¹ pyridoxine. Detection limits were estimated as 0.08 mg l⁻¹ (0.5 μmol l⁻¹) ascorbic acid, 0.8 mg l⁻¹ (2 μmol l⁻¹) thiamine, 0.2 mg l⁻¹ (0.5 μmol l⁻¹) riboflavine and 0.1 mg l⁻¹ (0.9 μmol l⁻¹) pyridoxine at 99.7% confidence level. A mean sampling rate of 60 determinations per hour was achieved and coefficients of variation of 1% (n=20) were estimated for all species. The mean reagent consumption was 25-fold lower in relation to flow-based procedures with continuous reagent addition. Average recoveries between 95.6 and 100% were obtained for commercial pharmaceutical preparations. Results agreed with those obtained by reference methods at 95% confidence level. The flow system is suitable for application in quality control processes and in dissolution studies of vitamin tablets.     

Thermodynamic properties of surfactant sodium n-heptyl sulfonate in water and in aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) at different temperatures

The volumetric, compressibility and electrical conductivity properties of sodium n-heptyl sulfonate (C₇SO₃Na) in pure water and in aqueous poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) solutions were determined at different temperatures below and above the micellar composition range. At each temperature, the infinite dilution apparent molar volumes of the monomer and micellar state of C₇SO₃Na in aqueous PEG solutions respectively are smaller and larger than those in pure water. However, the values of the infinite dilution apparent molar isentropic compressibility of both monomer and micellar states of C₇SO₃Na in aqueous PEG solutions are larger than those in pure water. Thermodynamic parameters of micellization of investigated surfactant in water and in aqueous solutions of PEG at different temperatures were estimated and it was found that the micelle formation process is endothermic and therefore, this process must be driven by entropy increase. The calculated Gibbs free energies of micellization for aqueous PEG solutions are more negative than those for pure water and become more negative by increasing temperature. The variation of the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of C₇SO₃Na in water and in aqueous PEG solutions with temperature was obtained and a comparison between the CMC of C₇SO₃Na obtained from different thermodynamic properties was also made.     

Application of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometry to the determination of sodium percarbonate in washing powder detergent

In this paper, a novel and precise analytical procedure has been developed for quantitative determination of sodium percarbonate (SPC) in washing powder. The method is based on the partial least squares (PLS) treatment of data obtained by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectrometry in wavenumber region of 1435-1342 cm⁻¹. The statistical parameters such as R², RSD, SEC and SECV have been evaluated, and number of factors, number of scan and the resolution have been optimized. In this method R² and RSD for five independent analyses of a 0.552 g per 100 g solution of SPC, SEC for 10 standard samples and SECV for five validation samples were 0.998, 1.011, 0.002 and 0.039 respectively.Results obtained for six different commercial washing powders compared well with those obtained with a standard method.     

Kinetic spectrophotometric determination of hyoscine butylbromide in pure form and in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple and sensitive kinetic method was described for the determination of hyoscine butylbromide in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based upon a kinetic investigation of the oxidation reaction of the drug with alkaline potassium permanganate at room temperature for a fixed time of 15 min. The absorbance of the colored manganate ion was measured at 610 nm. The absorbance–concentration plot was rectilinear over the range of 1.0–10 μg mL^?1 (r = 0.9999) and detection limit of 0.092 μg mL^?1. The concentration of hyoscine butylbromide was calculated using the corresponding calibration equation for the fixed-time method. The determination of hyoscine butylbromide by the fixed-concentration and rate constant methods is also feasible with the calibration equations obtained but the fixed-time method has been found to be more applicable. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the colors were carefully studied and optimized. The proposed method was applied to the determination of hyoscine butylbromide in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using the official British Pharmacopeial method (2004).     

Poly(sodium styrene sulfonate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) diblock copolymers through direct atom transfer radical polymerization: Influence of hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance on self-organization in aqueous solution

A series of poly(sodium styrene sulfonate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate), PSSNa-b-PMMA, amphiphilic diblock copolymers have been synthesized through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in N,N-dimethylformamide/water mixtures, starting from a PSSNa macroinitiator. The kinetics of the polymerization was followed by ¹H NMR, while the chemical composition of the copolymers was verified by a variety of techniques, such as ¹H NMR, FTIR and TGA. The MMA content of the copolymers ranges from 0 up to 60 mol%, while the number–average molecular weight of the PSSNa macroinitiator was 9000 g/mol. The self-association of the diblock copolymers in aqueous solution was compared to the respective behavior of similar random P(SSNa-co-MMA) copolymers through optical density measurements, pyrene fluorescence probing, dynamic light scattering and surface tension measurements. It is shown that the diblock copolymers form micellar structures in water, characterized by an increasing hydrophobic character and a decreasing size as the length of the PMMA block increases. These micelle-like structures turn from surface inactive to surface active as the length of the PMMA block increases. Moreover, contrary to the MMA-rich random copolymers, the respective diblock copolymers form water insoluble polymer/surfactant complexes with cationic surfactants such as hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), leading to materials with antimicrobial activity.     

Cold vapour atomic fluorescence determination of mercury in milk by slurry sampling using multicommutation

A highly sensitive mechanized method has been developed for the determination of mercury in milk by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). Samples were sonicated for 10 min in an ultrasound water bath in the presence of 8% (v/v) aqua regia, 2% (v/v) antifoam A and 1% (m/v) hydroxilamine hydrochloride, and after that, they were treated with 8 mmol l⁻¹ KBr and 1.6 mmol l⁻¹ KBrO₃ in an hydrochloric medium. Atomic fluorescence measurements were made by multicommutation, which provides a fast alternative in quality control analysis, due to the easy treatment of a large number of samples (approximately 70 h⁻¹), and is an environmentally friendly procedure, which involves a waste generation of only 94.5 ml h⁻¹ as compared with the 605 ml h⁻¹ obtained by using continuous AFS measurements. The limit of detection found was 0.011 ng g⁻¹ Hg in the original sample. The method provided a relative standard deviation of 3.4% for five independent analysis of a sample containing 0.30 ng g⁻¹ Hg. To validate the accuracy of the method, a certified reference material NIST-1459 (non-fat milk powder) containing 0.3±0.2 ng g⁻¹ Hg was analysed and a value of 0.27±0.06 ng g⁻¹ Hg was found. A comparison made between data found by the developed procedure and those obtained by microwave-assisted digestion and continuous AFS measurements evidenced a good comparability between these two strategies. Results obtained for commercially available milk samples varied between 0.09 and 0.61 ng g⁻¹ Hg depending on the type of sample and its origin. The confluence of the analytical waste with a 6 mol l⁻¹ NaOH allowed us to reduce the waste generation in a working session from 1 l to 5 g solid residue with a matrix of Fe(OH)₃ which contributes to the deactivation of traces of heavy metals presents in the samples that does not form volatile hydrides.     

Micellization of sodium dodecyl sulfonate and Triton X-100 in polyacrylamide water solution studied by 1H NMR relaxation and two-dimensional nuclear overhauser enhancement spectroscopy

Micellization of Triton X-100 (TX-100) and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSN) in the presence of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PAAM) was studied by ¹H NMR spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation. Relaxation experiment results show that TX-100 behaves differently from SDSN in micellization in the presence of PAAM. PAAM causes a decrease in the critical micellar concentration of SDSN, while it has no influence on the critical micellar concentration of TX-100. The lack of cross peaks between protons of PAAM and those of TX-100 and SDSN in the 2D nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) spectra confirms self-aggregation of TX-100 and SDSN in the presence of PAAM. The identity of each of the corresponding interproton distances of TX-100 with and without the addition of PAAM further confirms the formation of normal TX-100 micelles in the presence of PAAM. Besides, the distances between protons on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic chains in TX-100 micelles, calculated from the 2D NOESY spectra, are remarkably shorter than those for an extended hydrophilic poly(oxyethylene) chain. This implies that the hydrophilic chain is curled upon micellization. Received: 2 February 1999 Accepted in revised form: 2 June 1999