Aluminum(III) Porphyrins as Ionophores for Fluoride Selective Polymeric Membrane Electrodes

Aluminum(III) porphyrins are examined as potential fluoride selective ionophores in polymeric membrane type ion‐selective electrodes. Membranes formulated with Al(III) tetraphenyl (TPP) or octaethyl (OEP) porphyrins are shown to exhibit enhanced potentiometric selectivity for fluoride over more lipophilic anions, including perchlorate and thiocyanate. However, such membrane electrodes display undesirable super‐Nernstian behavior, with concomitant slow response and recovery times. By employing a sterically hindered Al(III) picket fence porphyrin (PFP) complex as the membrane active species, fully reversible and Nernstian response toward fluoride is achieved. This finding suggests that the super‐Nernstian behavior observed with the nonpicket fence metalloporphyrins is due to the formation of aggregate porphyrin species (likely dimers) within the membrane phase. The steric hindrance of the PFP ligand structure eliminates such chemistry, thus leading to theoretical response slopes toward fluoride. Addition of lipophilic anionic sites into the organic membranes enhances response and selectivity, indicating that the Al(III) porphyrin ionophores function as charged carrier type ionophores. Optimized membranes formulated with Al(III)‐PFP in an o‐nitrophenyloctyl ether plasticized PVC film exhibit fast response to fluoride down to 40 μM, with very high selectivity over SCN^?, ClO₄^?, Cl^?, Br^? and NO₃^? (k^pot<10^?3 for all anions tested). With further refinements in the membrane chemistry, it is anticipated that Al(III) porphyrin‐based membrane electrodes can exhibit potentiometric fluoride response and selectivity that approaches that of the classical solid‐state LaF₃ crystal‐based fluoride sensor.     

Potentiometric flow injection analysis of dicyclomine hydrochloride in serum, urine and milk

Five plastic membrane electrodes for the determination of dicyclomine hydrochloride (DcCl) were fabricated and fully characterized in terms of composition, life span, usable pH range, working concentration range and temperature. The membranes of these electrodes consist of dicyclominium-silicotungstate (Dc-ST), silicomolybdate (Dc-SM), phosphotungstate (Dc-PT), phosphomolybdate (Dc-PM) or tetraphenylborate (Dc-TPB) ion-associations dispersed in PVC matrix with dibutyl phthalate plasticizer. The electrodes showed near-Nernstian response over the concentration range of 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.0 × 10⁻² M DcCl and applied to the potentiometric determination of dicyclominium ion in pharmaceutical preparations, serum, urine and milk in batch and flow injection (FI) conditions with average recoveries of 96.1-102.7% and relative standard deviation of 0.055-1.994%. The electrodes exhibit good selectivity for DcCl with respect to a large number of inorganic cations, organic cations, sugars and amino acids. The sensitivities of these electrodes are high enough to measure as low as 1.73 μg/ml of DcCl which permit the determination of the K_sp values of the ion-associates used. The proposed potentiometric methods offer the advantages of simplicity, accuracy, automation feasibility and applicability to turbid and colored sample solutions.     

Towards Reversibility of Ion Transfer Across the Interface between Valinomycin Membranes and Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

Valinomycin-based potassium-selective membranes doped with potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate (KClTPB) or sodium tetrakis(4-fluorophenyl)borate (NaFTPB) are studied in KCl, NaCl, and CaCl₂ solutions by potentiometric and electrochemical impedance methods. Before contact with KCl, membranes doped with NaFTPB provide Nernstian potentiometric response to Na⁺ ions, which is lost after conditioning the membranes in KCl. The membranes doped with KClTPB even before contact with KCl give no Nernstian response to Na⁺ ions. In CaCl₂ solutions, none of the membranes provide a regular potentiometric response. Despite the difference in potentiometric behavior, the impedance spectra of the membranes are very similar in all solutions regardless of prior conditioning of the membranes. No evidence for a hindrance towards charge transfer processes is observed. The results suggest that the membrane/solution interface is reversible for interfering ions as well as for potassium, and the contamination of solutions with the latter is the sole reason for the lack of Nernstian response in the interfering electrolytes.     

Acid/base properties of poly(4-vinylpyridine) anchored within microporous membranes

Membranes consisting of poly(4-vinylpyridine) anchored within the pores of microporous polypropylene and polyethylene membranes exhibit a very large, fully reversible change in permeability over a very narrow pH range (pH valve). A detailed examination of the acid/base properties of the incorporated poly(4-vinylpyridine) has been undertaken in order to understand the factors affecting the position (pH) at which this valve operates. It was shown that the position and magnitude of the valve is the same when either HCl, H₃PO₄, or CH₃COOH are used to adjust the acidity of the feed solution, indicating that pH of the aqueous phase is the major determining factor controlling the valve operation with these acids. However, the valve behavior of the membrane with H₂SO₄ was found to be completely different than with the other acids in that the valve both closed at a substantially higher pH than with the other acids and then fully re-opened when the pH was decreased below 3. Potentiometric titrations of membranes containing poly(4-vinylpyridine) and control experiments involving solutions/suspensions of the homopolymer in water were undertaken. It was found that there are substantial differences in the protonation of poly(4-vinylpyridine) both in terms of its environment (membrane bound or in solution) as well as with the acid used. The differences in the pK observed between H₂SO₄ and the other acids are discussed in terms of conformational changes of poly(4-vinylpyridine) which are induced by both protonation and the counter-ion (anion) present. The results of potentiometric titrations parallel the valve behavior of the membranes. The conformational changes underlying the pH valve effects in different acids were visualized by atomic force microscopy and followed by thickness changes in the membranes.     

Polymeric membrane electrodes with enhanced fluoride selectivity using Zr(IV)-porphyrins functioning as neutral carriers

Poly(vinyl chloride) polymeric membranes plasticized with o-NPOE (o-nitrophenyl octyl ether) or DOS (dibutyl sebacate) and containing Zr(IV)-octaethyl(OEP)- or Zr(IV)-tetraphenylporphyrins (TPP) along with lipophilic cationic additives (tridodecylmethylammonium chloride; TDMACl) are examined potentiometrically and optically with respect to their response toward fluoride. It is shown that these zirconium porphyrins can function as neutral anion carriers within the organic membranes of the electrodes. Spectrophotometric measurements of thin polymeric films indicate that the presence of lipophilic cationic sites in the form of TDMA⁺ and use of lower dielectric constant plasticizer (DOS) prevents formation of metalloporphyrin dimers in the organic polymer phase, which have been observed previously in polymeric membranes formulated with the same Zr(IV) porphyrins but with lipophilic anion site additives. By preventing dimer formation, rapid and Nernstian potentiometric response of the corresponding membrane electrodes toward fluoride ion is observed. Indeed, electrodes prepared with PVC/DOS membranes containing Zr(IV)-OEP and 15 mol% of TDMACl (relative to the ionophore) exhibit fast (t₉₅<15 s) and reversible response toward fluoride. The slope of calibration plots are near-Nernstian (−59.9 mV per decade). Such electrodes display the following selectivity pattern: ClO₄⁻>SCN⁻>F⁻>NO₃⁻>Br⁻>Cl⁻, which differs significantly from the classical Hofmeister series, with greatly enhanced potentiometric selectivity toward fluoride. The data presented herein, coupled with results from a previous study, confirm that Zr(IV) porphyrins can serve as either charged or neutral type anion carriers with respect to their enhanced interactions with fluoride when used as ionophores to prepare liquid-polymeric membrane electrodes, and that the nature of membrane additives and plasticizer dictates the response mechanism at play for given membrane formulations.     

Liquid and poly (vinyl chloride) matrix membrane electrodes for the selective determination of cocaine in illicit powders

The construction of liquid membrane and PVC matrix-type cocainium ion selective electrodes and their use for direct potentiometry and potentiometric titration of cocaine are described. The ion-pair complexes of cocaine cation with reineckate and tetraphenylborate anions are either dissolved in nitrobenzene solvent or dispersed in a PVC matrix, with DOP or DBS plasticizer, and used as the ion-exchange membranes. The electrochemical response characteristics of electrodes incorporating these types of membranes are evaluated with regard to the effect of pH, foreign basic compounds, temperature and gamma-radiation. The electrodes display a stable fast Nernstian response for 10(-2)-10(-5)M cocainium cation over the pH range 3-7, the lower limit of detection being 1 mug/ml. Determination of as low as 20 mug/ml cocaine hydrochloride shows an average recovery of 98% and a mean standard deviation of +/-0.6%. The electrodes exhibit useful analytical characteristics for determining cocaine in some illicit powders. The results agree fairly well with those obtained by gas-liquid chromatography.     

Stability Enhancement of All‐Solid‐State H+ ISEs with Cross‐Linked Silicon‐Urethane Matrices

An all‐solid‐state hydrogen‐ion‐selective electrode (ASHISE) was fabricated using the polymer hybrid membrane. Polymer membranes composed of Tecoflex polyurethane (TPU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicon rubber (SR), and additives (KTpClPB, DOA, and TDDA) were cast on a carbon rod. The TPU/SR hybrid membrane exhibited a longer lifetime and a higher sensitivity in the sensing of the H⁺ ion compared to conventional TPU/PVC and PVC/SR hybrid membranes. Moreover, the addition of SiCl₄ to TPU‐based matrices enhanced the potentiometric response and ISE stability, due to the chemical bonding between Si and C?O in urethane, in which the cross‐linking configuration was confirmed by DSC, FT‐IR, and XPS experiments. TPU/SR membranes containing SiCl₄ were rendered more stable and showed a pH response over a wide range (i.e., pH 2–11.5) with the slope of 60±2 mV/pH for more than four months. The ASHISE exhibited a small interfering potential variation in the wide range of the salt concentration (from 1.0×10^?6 M up to 0.1 M). The ASHISE showed a result comparable to a commercial clinical blood analyzer.     

Solid-state ion-selective electrodes for the potentiometric determination of hexacyanoferrate (II)

Hexacyanoferrate(II)-sensing electrodes were prepared by mixing Ag₂S and Ag₄Fe (CN)₆. The 6:1 Ag₂S/Ag₄Fe (CN)₆ provided the best potentiometric response and speed of response. The log concentration vs. potential curves were linear with Nernstian slope (14.8 mV/decade) over the range 10^?1-10^?6 M hexacyanoferrate (II) at pH 7.00 with constant ionic strength. Interferences included iodide, sulfide and bromide. This electrode was used as indicator in potentiometric titrations of hexacyanoferrate (II).     

Visible and FTIR Microscopic Observation of Bisthiourea Ionophore Aggregates in Ion‐Selective Electrode Membranes

Since conventional response models for ionophore‐based ISEs are based on the assumption of a homogeneous membrane phase, they cannot accurately predict the response of membranes containing self‐aggregating ionophores. However, meaningful conclusions about the relationship between ionophore structure and potentiometric responses can only be drawn if ionophore aggregation is properly recognized. This study demonstrates that dark field visible microscopy and FTIR microspectroscopy are valuable tools for the observation of such ionophore self‐aggregation and, thereby, the development of new ionophore‐based ISEs. Sulfate selective electrodes with solvent polymeric membranes containing bisthiourea ionophores that differ only by peripheral nonpolar substituents were shown to exhibit very different interferences from the sample pH. On one hand, optimized electrodes based on an ionophore with a phenyl substituent on each thiourea group ( 1 ) do not respond to pH at all and function well as sulfate‐selective electrodes. On the other hand, membranes containing a more lipophilic ionophore with two additional hexyl‐substituted adamantyl groups ( 2 ) exhibit severe pH interference at pH values as low as pH 5. The observation of membranes containing ionophore 2 with dark field visible microscopy and FTIR microspectroscopy shows supramolecular aggregation, and explains the startling difference between the potentiometric responses of the two types of electrodes.     

The determination of the stability constants of mixed ligand complexes of adenine and amino acids with Ni(II) by potentiometric titration method

A potentiometric titration technique has been used to determine the stability constants for the various complexes of Ni(II) with adenine (A) as primary ligand and selected amino acids (L) as secondary ligands. Ternary complexes of amino acids are formed in a stepwise mechanism, whereby (A) binds to Ni(II), followed by interaction with ligand (L), whereas thiol-containing ligands form ternary complexes through a simultaneous mechanism. The formation constants of the complexes were determined at 25 °C and ionic strength 0.1 M NaNO₃. The relative stabilities of the ternary complexes are compared with those of the corresponding binary complexes in terms of Δlog K values. The concentration distribution of the complexes are evaluated.     

Protonation behavior of 6-deoxy-6-(2-aminoethyl)amino cellulose: a potentiometric titration study

The protonation behavior of 6-deoxy-6-(2-aminoethyl)amino cellulose as a novel soluble aminated derivate of cellulose was studied by means of the potentiometric titration technique. The resulting proton binding isotherms exhibit two equivalent steps, which can be described by the standard macroscopic two-pK model, in which the degree of protonation is averaged over all the amine groups. In addition, a microscopic proton binding model was applied, in which the protonation sites are distinguished and the protonation free energy is expanded into an intrinsic term and an electrostatic repulsion between the primary and secondary amine groups. The protonation behavior of 6-deoxy-6-(2-aminoethyl)amino cellulose was compared with a model compound (N-methylethylenediamine).     

Anion selective polymeric membrane electrodes based on cyclopalladated amine complexes

The potentiometric anion selectivity of two polymer membrane based electrodes (I and II) formulated with two new cyclopalladated amine complexes as the active components are examined. The electrodes exhibit a non-Hofmeister selectivity pattern with a significantly enhanced response towards thiocyanate, iodide and nitrite. The graph potential versus log c is linear over the concentration range 10(-6)-6x10(-2) M thiocyanate with electrode I and 10(-6)-10(-3) M with electrode II; 10(-5)-10(-2) M iodide with electrode I and 10(-3)-6x10(-2) M with electrode II; and 10(-3)-6x10(-2) M nitrite with both electrodes. The influence of the plasticizer and pH are studied. The potentiometric selectivity coefficients for I, II and blank membrane electrodes are reported. The selective interaction between Pd(II) thiocyanate, iodide and nitrite is postulated to be the reason for its higher response.     

Nitrate-containing ionic liquids as active membrane components of nitrate-selection electrodes

Two dialkylimidazolium nitrate ionic liquids (ILs) have been tested for use as an active component of plasticized PVC membranes in nitrate ion selective electrodes (ISEs). The potentiometric reversibility and the main electrochemical characteristics of the ISEs in KNO₃ solutions have been studied. The test membranes contain 5% of the active component and demonstrate a near-Nernstian response to NO ₃ ^? . The use of a more hydrophobic IL based on dioctadecylimidazolium increases the sensitivity and decreases the detection limit: the slope of the electrode function is 57 mV/pC, and C _min = 3.7 · 10^?6 mol/L. The pH range of the membrane performance has been studied, and the potentiometric selectivity to NO ₃ ^? in the presence of several foreign anions has been determined. The new electrode exceeds the commercially available analogue (an ELIT 021 nitrate-selective electrode) in the detection limit and response time. The utility of the new electrode for the direct potentiometric determination of nitrate ILs in aqueous solutions has been demonstrated.     

Determination of fluoxetine in pharmaceutical preparations and biological samples using potentiometric sensors based on polymeric membranes

The construction and general performance of four novel potentiometric membrane sensors for the determination of fluoxetine have been described. The sensors are based on the formation of the ion association complex of fluoxetine with sodium tetraphenylborate and phosphotungstic acid as electroactive materialles, dispersed in a PVC matrix with dibuthyl sebacate (or diethyl sebacate) as a plasticizer. These sensors exhibit fast, stable and near-Nernstian response for the monocharged fluoxetine cation over wide concentration range from 3.0 × 10^?6 to 1.2 × 10^?2 M and pH 4.0–7.5. No interferences are caused by many inorganic and organic species. Direct potentiometric determinations of 5–100 μg/mL of fluoxetine in drug and urine samples show good recovery of fluoxetine. The developed membrane electrodes have been used as an end point indicator electrode; the potentiometric titration of fluoxetine with sodium tetraphenylborate as a titrant has been monitored.     

Potentiometric sensors with membranes based on ionic liquid tetradecylammonium triethylammonio-<Emphasis Type="Italic">closo</Emphasis>-dodecaborate

Polymer compositions based on the ionic liquid tetradecylammonium triethylammonium-closododecaborate (TTCD) are proposed as the main components of membranes of potentiometric sensors (ion-selective electrodes) for determining ions [B₁₂H₁₁N(C₂H₅)₃]⁻. Two types of polymer compositions are considered: conventional, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-liquid ion-exchanger (solution of TTCD in o-nitrophenyl octyl ether) and another, PVC-TTCD (ionophore-plasticizer). The optimal composition of membranes for both types of electrodes are proposed, and their main electroanalytical parameters, such as selectivity, effect of pH, range of linear response, reproducibility, and stability of potential, were measured. A comparative analysis of the electroanalytical parameters of potentiometric sensors with membranes of two types is given. The detection limits for the electrodes of types I and II are 9 × 10⁻⁷ and 4 × 10⁻⁷ M. It is shown that [B₁₂H₁₁N(C₂H₅)₃]⁻ anions can be determined by potentiometric titration with indicator electrodes of different types.     

New lead (II) selective membrane potentiometric sensors based on chiral 2,6-bis-pyridinecarboximide derivatives

New membrane sensors with cylindrical configuration for lead (II) ions are described based on the use of three newly synthesized pyridine carboximide derivatives as neutral ionophores in plasticized PVC membranes. The sensors exhibit significantly enhanced response towards lead (II) ions over the concentration range 4×10⁻⁶-1×10⁻² mol l⁻¹ at pH 4.5-7 with a lower detection limit of 0.4-3.7 μg ml⁻¹. The sensors display near-Nernstian slope of 26.0-33.1 mV per decade for Pb(II) ions. Effects of plasticizers, lipophilic salts and various foreign common ions are tested. The sensors show long life span, good selectivity for Pb(II) over a wide variety of other metal ions, long term stability, high reproducibility, and fast response. Validation of the method by measuring the lower detection limit, range, accuracy, precision, repeatability and between-day-variability reveals good performance characteristics of the proposed sensors. The sensors are used for direct determination of lead in stack emissions of lead smelters, assay of lead in rocks and monitoring of potentiometric titration of Pb(II) with EDTA. The results obtained agree fairly well with data obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry.     

PVC membrane electrodes for potentiometric determination of tripelennamine

The construction of PVC matrix type tripelennamine ion selective electrodes and their use for direct potentiometry, potentiometric titration and flow injection analysis of tripelennamine cation are described. The membranes of these electrodes consist of tripelennamine-tetraphenylborate, reineckate and picrylsulfonate ion-association complexes dispersed in PVC matrix with tributyl phosphate (TBP) plasticizer. The electrodes exhibit near-Nernstian response over the concentration range of 10^–1-10^–4 M tripelennamine over the pH range 4.5–8.0. Selectivity coefficients data obtained for 17 different organic and inorganic ions are presented. The results obtained for the determination of 29 g/ml-29 mg/ml of tripelennamine with the proposed electrodes show average recoveries of 99.5–99.9% and mean standard deviations of 0.6–1.2%. The data agree well with those obtained by the standard methods.     

A Novel Potentiometric Glucose Biosensor Based on Polyaniline Semiconductor Films

Abstract

Application of polyaniline semiconductor films to potentiometric biosensor development provides certain advantages comparing with the known systems. Using self-doped polyaniline instead of common polymer as pH transducer the stable potentiometric response of 70 mV/pH was obtained. Taking as an example glucose biosensor we showed that polyaniline based electrode possessed three-four fold increased potential shift than glucose-sensitive field-effect transistor did. One can increase the sensitivity of potentiometric biosensor using thick ion-exchange membranes (in our case Nafion) in order to concentrate product near electrode surface. Such sensor possessed higher response time.     

Potentiometric sensors for Ag+ based on poly(3-octylthiophene) (POT)

Potentiometric ion sensors were prepared from the conjugated polymer poly(3-octylthiopene) (POT). The influence of additional membrane components, including silver 7,8,9,10,11,12-hexabromocarborane (AgCB₁₁H₆Br₆) and potassium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (KTpFPB) as lipophilic salts, and [2.2.2]p,p,p-cyclophane as silver ionophore, was studied. The membrane components were dissolved in chloroform and membranes were prepared by solution casting on glassy carbon disk electrodes. For comparison, POT-based potentiometric sensors were also prepared by galvanostatic electrosynthesis of POT from the 3-octylthiophene monomer. All the POT-based ion sensors fabricated by solution casting show Nernstian or slightly sub-Nernstian response to Ag⁺, even those based only on POT without any additional membrane components. The potentiometric response of electrochemically polymerized POT depends on the film thickness and the doping anion incorporated in the conducting polymer during polymerization. It is of particular importance that chemically synthesized undoped POT (without any additives) shows a sensitive and selective potentiometric response to Ag⁺ ions although UV-vis results show that POT remains in its undoped form, i.e., POT is not oxidized by Ag⁺. This indicates that undoped POT can exhibit good sensitivity and selectivity to Ag⁺ also in the absence of metallic silver in the polymer film. In this case, the potentiometric response is related to interactions between Ag⁺ and the conjugated polymer backbone. Presented at the 4th Baltic Conference on Electrochemistry, Greifswald, 13–16, 2005     

Reproterol plastic membrane ion-selective electrodes based on its individual and mixed ion-exchangers with phosphotungstic and/or phosphomolybdic acids

Reproterol hydrochloride (RpCl), selective PVC membranes based on ion associates of reproterolium-phosphotungstate (Rp-PTA); reproterolium-phospho-molybdate (Rp-PMA) or a mixture of both (Rp-PTA/PMA) were prepared. The electrodes displayed a linear response over the concentration range of 6.3×10⁻⁶–1.0×10⁻¹ mol dm⁻³ RpCl. The working pH ranges of the above electrodes were 2.5–9.0, 2.5–8.5 and 2.0–9.0 and their isothermal temperature coefficients were 0.00014, 0.00090 and 0.00103 V/°C, respectively. The electrodes showed good selectivity to the reproterolium ion with respect to many inorganic cations, sugars and amino acids. The standard additions and potentiometric titration methods were used to determine RpCl in pure solutions and in its pharmaceutical preparations with high accuracy and precision.