Synthesis of cross-linked chitosan possessing N-methyl-d-glucamine moiety (CCTS-NMDG) for adsorption/concentration of boron in water samples and its accurate measurement by ICP-MS and ICP-AES

A chitosan resin derivatized with N-methyl-d-glucamine (CCTS-NMDG) was synthesized by using a cross-linked chitosan (CCTS) as base material. The N-methyl-d-glucamine (NMDG) moiety was attached to the amino group of CCTS through the arm of chloromethyloxirane. The adsorption behavior of 59 elements on the synthesized resin was systematically examined by using the resin packed in a mini-column, passing water samples through it and measuring the adsorbed elements in eluates by ICP-MS. The CCTS-NMDG resin shows high ability in boron sorption with the capacity of 0.61 mmol ml⁻¹ (= 2.1 mmol g⁻¹). The sorption kinetics of this resin was faster than that of the commercially available resins. Other advantages of the synthesized resin are: (1) quantitative collection of boron at neutral pH regions; (2) complete removal of large amounts of matrices; (3) no loss of efficiency over prolonged usage; (4) effective collection of boron in wide range concentration using a mini column containing 1 ml resin; (5) complete elution of boron with 1 mol l⁻¹ nitric acid. The resin was applied to the collection/concentration of boron in water samples. Boron in tap water and river water was found to be in the range of 6-8 μg l⁻¹. The limit of detection (LOD) of boron after pretreatment with CCTS-NMDG resin and measurement by ICP-MS was 0.07 μg l⁻¹ and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.14 μg l⁻¹ when the volume of each sample and eluent was 10 ml.     

Sorptive potential of sunflower stem for Cr(III) ions from aqueous solutions and its kinetic and thermodynamic profile

The sorptive potential of sunflower stem (180-300 μm) for Cr(III) ions has been investigated in detail. The maximum sorption (≥85%) of Cr(III) ions (70.2 μM) has been accomplished using 30 mg of high density sunflower stem in 10 min from 0.001 M nitric and 0.0001 M hydrochloric acid solutions. The accumulation of Cr(III) ions on the sorbent follows Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R), Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The isotherm yields D-R saturation capacity X_m = 1.60 ± 0.23 mmol g⁻¹, β = −0.00654 ± 0.00017 kJ² mol⁻², mean free energy E = 8.74 ± 0.12 kJ mol⁻¹, Freundlich sorption capacity K_F = 0.24 ± 0.11 mol g⁻¹, 1/n = 0.90 ± 0.04 and of Langmuir constant K_L = 6800 ± 600 dm³ mol⁻¹ and C_m = 120 ± 18 μmol g⁻¹. The variation of sorption with temperature (283-323 K) gives ΔH = −23.3 ± 0.8 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔS = −64.0 ± 2.7 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ and ΔG_298k = −4.04 ± 0.09 kJ mol⁻¹. The negative enthalpy and free energy envisage exothermic and spontaneous nature of sorption, respectively. Bisulphate, Fe(III), molybdate, citrate, Fe(II), Y(III) suppress the sorption significantly. The selectivity studies indicate that Cr(III), Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions can be separated from Tc(VII) and I(I). Sunflower stem can be used for the preconcentration and removal of Cr(III) ions from aqueous medium. This cheaper and novel sorbent has potential applications in analytical and environmental chemistry, in water decontamination, industrial waste treatment and in pollution abatement. A possible mechanism of biosorption of Cr(III) ions onto the sunflower stem has been proposed.     

Equilibrium,kinetics and thermodynamics studies of Cd sorption onto a dithizone-impregnated Amberchrom CG-300m polymer resin

Amberchrom CG-300m, a styrene acrylic ester polymer resin, was studied for the first time as sorbent for metal ion sorption in a solid-phase extraction system. The polymer sorbent was modified via impregnation with dithizone to improve its efficiency. Efficiency of the modified sorbent improved by more than 47%. The loading capacity of the resin is 3.2 mg dithizone per gram of sorbent. The mechanisms of Cd(II) sorption from aqueous solutions are presented. Capacity of the modified resin for Cd(II) was investigated in batch experiments as a function of pH, initial metal ion concentration, temperature and time. Maximum capacity of 0.551 mg Cd(II) per gram of sorbent was achieved. The dimensionless separation factor, 0 < R_L < 1, associated with the Langmuir isotherm (at T = 294 K) signifies sorption of Cd(II) was favorable, as do negative values of free energy of sorption (ΔG) at temperatures exceeding 293 K. Sorption was endothermic (ΔH > 0) while ΔS > 0 reflects the affinity of the sorbent towards Cd(II). The pseudo-second order model proved to be the best fit model for Cd(II) sorption kinetics data. Particle-diffusion models suggest sorption follows film as well as pore diffusion mechanisms.     

Sorption characteristics and separation of tellurium ions from aqueous solutions using nano-TiO2

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO₂) were employed for the sorption of Te(IV) ions from aqueous solution. A detailed study of the process was performed by varying the sorption time, pH, and temperature. The sorption was found to be fast, equilibrium was reached within 8 min. When the concentration of Te(IV) was below 40 mg L⁻¹, at least 97% of tellurium was adsorbed by nano-TiO₂ in the pH range of 1-2 and 8-9. The sorbed Te(IV) ions were desorbed with 2.0 mL of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ NaOH. The sorption data could be well interpreted by the Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 32.75 mg g⁻¹ (20 ± 0.1 °C) of Te(IV) on nano-TiO₂. The kinetics and thermodynamics of the sorption of Te(IV) onto nano-TiO₂ were also studied. The kinetic experimental data properly correlated with the second-order kinetic model (k₂ = 0.0368 g mg⁻¹ min⁻¹, 293 K). The overall rate process appeared to be influenced by both boundary layer diffusion and intra-particle diffusion. The mean energy of adsorption was calculated to be 17.41 kJ mol⁻¹ from the Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherm at room temperature. Moreover, the thermodynamic parameters for the sorption were estimated, and the ΔH⁰ and ΔG⁰ values indicated the exothermic and spontaneous nature of the sorption process, respectively. Finally, Nano-TiO₂ as sorbent was successfully applied to the separation of Te(IV) from the environmental samples with satisfactory results (recoveries >95%, relative standard deviations was 2.0%).     

Retention, kinetics and thermodynamics profile of cadmium adsorption from iodide medium onto polyurethane foam and its separation from zinc bulk

The sorption behaviour of 2.5 × 10⁻⁵ M solution of Cd(II) on polyurethane foam (PUF) from iodide medium have been investigated. The conditions were optimized from aqueous solutions of different pH (1-10) and of acids of varied concentration (0.01-1.0 M). The maximum concentration of KI was found to be 0.24 M and equilibration time was established to be 20 min. The data successfully followed the Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms at low metal ion concentration while Langmuir isotherm followed at higher metal ion concentration. The Freundlich parameter 1/n = 0.66 ± 0.02 have been evaluated whereas D-R isotherm yields the sorption free energy E = 10.5 ± 0.1 kJ mol⁻¹ indicating ion exchange type chemisorption. The monolayer coverage (XL) constant of Langmuir isotherm was found to be 23.7 ± 0.4 mg g⁻¹. The numerical values of thermodynamics parameters enthalpy (ΔH), entropy (ΔS) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) indicated the endothermic and spontaneous nature of sorption. The Scatchard plot analysis was tested to evaluate the binding sites of the PUF and stability constants of sorption were determined. On the basis of these parameters, the sorption mechanism was discussed. Among the foreign ions tested, Pb(II), Hg(II), cyanide and nitrite should be absent. The clean separation of Cd(II) from Zn(II) ions in the ratio 1:250, respectively, was achieved by column chromatography.     

Synthesis,characterization of low density polyhydroxy polyurethane foam and its application for separation and determination of gold in water and ores samples

In this work, a new type of sorbent (low density polyhydroxy polyurethane Foam, LPPF) was synthesis by using water hydrolysis of polyurethanediazonium chloride salt. LPPF was characterized using different tools e.g. elemental analysis, UV–vis and IR spectra, TGA, SEM, density and pH_ZPC. It was tested for separation, preconcentration and determination of gold in environmental samples using batch and dynamic techniques. The sorption experimental data was fitted by the pseudo-first kinetic mathematical equation (R² = 0.991). The sorption rate of the Au (III) ions is very fast, the half-life (t_1/2) ≈ 34 s. The equilibrium process is well described by the Freundlich isotherm model, the R² value is 0.967, which attributed to the heterogeneous surface structure of the LPPF. The breakthrough capacity of LPPF and the recovery of gold ions were 0.36 mmol g⁻¹ (70.5 mg g⁻¹) and 99–100%, respectively. The lower detection limit of gold by using spectrophotometric method is 3.3 ng L⁻¹ with preconcentration factors ≈ 450 (RSD ∼ 1.66%, n = 4). The values of ΔG and ΔH for the sorption of gold onto LPPF were −12.5 and −103.5 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively, which indicate that the sorption of Au (III) onto LPPF is spontaneous and exothermic reaction. The obtained results indicate that the ion chelation and ion association might be the most probable mechanism of gold sorption onto LPPF. The study shows LPPF has the potential of application as an efficient sorbent for the extraction and determination of gold in water, gold alloys pharmaceutical and granite samples.     

Adsorption of di-2-pyridyl ketone salicyloylhydrazone on silica gel: characteristics and isotherms

The adsorption of DPKSH onto silica gel was investigated, at 25±1 °C and pH 1, 4.7 and 12. For the same DPKSH concentration interval, the minimum required time of contact for adsorption maximum at pH 4.7 was smaller than at pH 1 and the maximum amount of DPKSH adsorbed per gram of silica at pH 1 is smaller than at pH 4.7. At pH 12 the DPKSH adsorption onto silica gel was not significant. The adsorption data followed Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms. The maximum amount of solute adsorbed (m_ads^max) and the adsorption constant, K_L, were derived from Langmuir isotherm. The Freundlich constants 1/n and K_F related, respectively, to the energetic heterogeneity of adsorption sites and an empirical constant were evaluated. The mean sorption free energy (E) of DPKSH adsorption onto silica gel was calculated from D-R isotherm indicating a physical adsorption mode. Finally, conductimetric titrations showed the silica particle basicity and acidity as 0.002 and 0.3 mmol g⁻¹, respectively.     

Simultaneous preconcentration of uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) from aqueous solutions using a chelating calix[4]arene anchored chloromethylated polystyrene solid phase

A new chelating polymeric sorbent is developed using Merrifield chloromethylated resin anchored with calix[4]arene-o-vanillinsemicarbazone for simultaneous separation and solid phase extractive preconcentration of U(VI) and Th(IV). The “upper-rim” functionalized calix[4]arene-o-vanillinsemicarbazone was covalently linked to Merrifield resin and characterized by FT-IR and elemental analysis. The synthesized chelating polymeric sorbent shows superior binding affinity towards U(VI) and Th(IV) under selective pH conditions. Various physico-chemical parameters that influence the quantitative extraction of metal ions were optimized. The optimum pH range and flow rates for U(VI) and Th(IV) were 6.0-7.0 and 1.0-4.0 ml min⁻¹ and 3.5-4.5 and 1.5-4.0 ml min⁻¹, respectively. The total sorption capacity found for U(VI) and Th(IV) was 48734 and 41175 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Interference studies carried out in the presence of diverse ions and electrolyte species showed quantitative analyte recovery (98-98.5%) with lower limits of detection, 6.14 and 4.29 μg l⁻¹ and high preconcentration factors, 143 and 153 for U(VI) and Th(IV), respectively. The uptake and stripping of these metal ions on the resin were fast, indicating a better accessibility of the metal ions towards the chelating sites. The analytical applicability of the synthesized polymeric sorbent was tested with some synthetic mixtures for the separation of U(VI) and Th(IV) from each other and also from La(III), Cu(II) and Pb(II) by varying the pH and sequential acidic elution. The validity of the proposed method was checked by analyzing these metal ions in natural water samples, monazite sand and standard geological materials.     

Simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of uranium and thorium in aqueous samples by new modified mesoporous silica prior to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry determination

A new synthesized modified mesoporous silica (MCM-41) using 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde (fural) was applied as an effective sorbent for the solid phase extraction of uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) ions from aqueous solution for the measurement by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The influences of some analytical parameters on the quantitative recoveries of the analyte ions were investigated in batch method. Under optimal conditions, the analyte ions were sorbed by the sorbent at pH 5.5 and then eluted with 1.0 mL of 1.0 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃. The preconcentration factor was 100 for a 100 mL sample volume. The limits of detection (LOD) obtained for uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) were 0.3 μg L⁻¹. The maximum sorption capacity of the modified MCM-41 was found to be 47 and 49 mg g⁻¹ for uranium(VI) and thorium(IV), respectively. The sorbent exhibited good stability, reusability, high adsorption capacity and fast rate of equilibrium for sorption/desorption of uranium and thorium ions. The applicability of the synthesized sorbent was examined using CRM and real water samples.     

Selective extraction of U(VI) over Th(IV) from acidic streams using di-bis(2-ethylhexyl) malonamide anchored chloromethylated polymeric matrix

A new chelating polymeric sorbent has been developed using Merrifield chloromethylated resin anchored with di-bis (2-ethylhexyl) malonamide (DB2EHM). The modified resin was characterized by CPMAS NMR spectroscopy, FT-NIR-FIR spectroscopy, CHN elemental analysis and also by thermo gravimetric analysis. The fabricated sorbent showed superior binding affinity for U(VI) over Th(IV) and other diverse ions, even under high acidities. Various physio-chemical parameters, like solution acidity, phase exchange kinetics, metal sorption capacity, electrolyte tolerance studies, etc., influencing the resin’s metal extractive behavior were studied by both static and dynamic method. Batch extraction studies performed over a wide range of solution acidity (0.01-10 M) revealed that selective extraction of U(VI) could be achieved even up to 4 M acidity with distribution ratios (D) in the order of ∼10³. The phase exchange kinetics studies performed for U(VI) and Th(IV) revealed that time duration of <15 min was sufficient for >99.5% extraction. But similar studies when preformed for trivalent lanthanides gave very low D values (<50), with the extraction time extending up to 60 min. The metal sorption studies performed for U(VI) and Th(IV) at 5 M HNO₃ was found to be 62.5 and 38.2 mg g⁻¹,respectively. Extraction efficiency in the presence of inferring electrolyte species and inorganic cations were also examined. Metal ion desorption was effective using 10-15 mL of 1 M (NH₄)₂CO₃ or 0.5 M α-hydroxy isobutyric acid (HIBA). Extraction studies performed on a chromatographic column at 5 M acidity were found to give enrichment factor values of 310 and 250 for U(VI) and Th(IV), respectively. The practical utility of the fabricated chelating sorbent and its efficiency to extract actinides from acidic waste streams was tested using a synthetic nuclear spent fuel solution. The R.S.D. values obtained on triplicate measurements (n = 3) were within 5.2%.     

Nanometer SiO2 modified with 5-sulfosalicylic acid as selective solid-phase extractant for Fe(III) determination by ICP-AES from biological and natural water samples

A new modified nanometer SiO₂ using 5-sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) as a solid-phase extractant was used for separation, preconcentration and determination of Fe(III) in aqueous solutions by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Its adsorption and preconcentration behaviour for Fe(III) in aqueous solutions was investigated using static procedures in detail. The optimum pH value for the separation of Fe(III) on the newly designed sorbent was 3.5. Complete elution of the adsorbed Fe(III) from the nanometer SiO₂-SSA was carried out using 2.0 mL of 0.01 mol L^− 1 of HCl. The time of 90% sorption was less than 2 min for Fe(III) at pH 3.5. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation and determination of Fe(III) at pH 3.5. The maximum static adsorption capacity of the sorbent at optimum conditions was found to be 44.01 mg of Fe(III) per gram of sorbent. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method under optimum conditions was 3% (n = 5). The procedure was validated by analyzing three certified reference materials (GBW 08301, GBW 08504, GBW 08511), the results obtained were in good agreement with standard values. The nanometer SiO₂-SSA was successfully employed in the separation and preconcentration of the investigated Fe(III) from the biological and natural water samples yielding 100-folds concentration factor.     

Removal of boron(III) by N-methylglucamine-type cellulose derivatives with higher adsorption rate

To obtain adsorbents for boron(III) derived from a natural polymer, two forms (powder and fiber) of N-methylglucamine-type cellulose derivatives were newly synthesized. After the graft polymerization of two forms of cellulose with vinyl monomer having epoxy groups, the N-methylglucamine-type cellulose derivatives were obtained by the reaction of the grafted cellulose with N-methylglucamine. The adsorption capacities of the cellulose derivatives for boron(III) were the same levels as that of a commercially available N-methylglucamine-type polystyrene resin. However, the cellulose derivatives adsorbed boron(III) more quickly than the polystyrene resin. The adsorption and desorption of boron(III) with a column method using the cellulose fiber were achieved at a higher flow rate than that using the polystyrene resin. In addition, the boron(III), adsorbed on the cellulose fiber column, was quantitatively recovered with dilute hydrochloric acid in 20- and 200-fold increased concentrations. Consequently, it was found that the cellulose derivatives were superior to the polystyrene resin as adsorbents for boron(III) for treatment of a large quantity of wastewater.     

Synthesis, characterization and application of a novel mercapto- and amine-bifunctionalized silica for speciation/sorption of inorganic arsenic prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric determination

A bifunctional sorbent, (NH₂ + SH)silica, containing both amine and mercapto functionalities was prepared by modification of silica gel with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propylamine and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane. In addition to the bifunctional sorbent, silica gel was modified individually with the functional mercapto- and amino-silanes, and the mono-functional sorbents, namely (SH)silica and (NH₂)silica, were also mechanically mixed ((NH₂)silica + (SH)silica) for the sake of comparison of sorption performances. It has been demonstrated that (SH)silica shows quantitative sorption only to As(III) at two pH values, 1.0 and 9.0, while (NH₂)silica displays selectivity only towards As(V) at pH 3.0. On the other hand, the bifunctional (NH₂ + SH)silica possesses the efficient features of the two mono-functionalized sorbents; for example, it retains As(III) at a wider pH range, from 1.0 to at least 9.0 with the exception at pH 2.0, and it also shows quantitative sorption to As(V) at pH 3.0. This property gives the bifunctional (NH₂ + SH)silica a better flexibility in terms of sorption performance as a function of solution pH. The mechanically mixed (NH₂)silica + (SH)silica exhibits a similar but less efficient sorption behavior compared to the bifunctional sorbent. Desorption of both As(III) and As(V) species can be realized using 0.5 M NaOH. The validity of the proposed method was checked through the analysis of a standard reference material and a good correlation was obtained between the certified (26.67 μg L⁻¹) and determined (27.53 ± 0.37 μg L⁻¹) values. Spike recovery tests realized with ultrapure water (93.0 ± 2.3%) and drinking water (86.9 ± 1.2%) also confirmed the applicability of the method.     

Use of an o-aminobenzoic acid-functionalized XAD-4 copolymer resin for the separation and preconcentration of heavy metal(II) ions

XAD copolymer resins may be functionalized with heavy metal ion-selective ligands either by covalent linkage to the polymer backbone or by impregnation. These resins may be tailored to be specific for certain heavy metals by adjusting the adsorption and elution parameters, thereby enabling simple and cost-effective spectrophotometric and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) determinations of these metals without requiring the more sophisticated coupled instrumental techniques. For the synthesis of o-aminobenzoic acid (ABA)-immobilized XAD-4 copolymer resin that is expected to preconcentrate a number of transition and heavy metals, the azo-linkage method was chosen. For this purpose the copolymer was nitrated, reduced to the corresponding amine, converted to the diazonium salt with nitrite, and reacted with o-aminobenzoic acid to produce the XAD-ABA sorbent. This sorbent was capable of preconcentrating Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) from weakly acidic or neutral aqueous solution. The retained metals were eluted with 1.0 M HNO₃ from the resin column, and were subsequently determinated with by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The developed resin preconcentration and determination method was successfully applied to the analysis of a synthetic metal mixture solution, a certified reference material (CRM) of coal sample, and brackish lake water.     

Grafting of poly[1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol-co-dimethylacrylamide] copolymer onto siliceous support for preconcentration and determination of lead (II) in human plasma and environmental samples

A method is reported for surface grafting of polymer containing a functional monomer for metal chelating, poly[1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol-co-dimethylacrylamide] (poly(AGE/IDA-co-DMAA) onto silica modified by silylation with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane. Monomer 1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol (AGE/IDA) was synthesized by reaction of allyl glycidyl ether with iminodiacetic acid. The resulting sorbent has been characterized using FT-IR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT-Raman and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and evaluated for the preconcentration and determination of trace Pb(II) in human biological fluid and environmental water samples. The optimum pH value for sorption of the metal ion was 5.5. The sorption capacity of functionalized resin was 15.06 mg g⁻¹. The chelating sorbent can be reused for 15 cycles of sorption–desorption without any significant change in sorption capacity. A recovery of 96.2% was obtained for the metal ion with 0.5 M nitric acid as eluting agent. The profile of lead uptake by the sorbent reflects good accessibility of the chelating sites in the poly(AGE/IDA-co-DMAA)-grafted silica gel. Scatchard analysis revealed that the homogeneous binding sites were formed in the polymers. The equilibrium adsorption data of Pb(II) by modified resin were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Redlich–Peterson models. On the basis of equilibrium adsorption data the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin constants were determined as 0.70, 1.35 and 2.7, respectively at pH 5.5 and 20 °C. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption.     

Preparation and sorption studies of polyester microsphere copolymers containing β-Cyclodextrin

Polyester copolymer sorbent materials that incorporate β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) were prepared using water-in-oil (w/o) micro-emulsion conditions at variable β-CD: cross linker mole ratios; where the cross linker units were sebacoyl chloride (SCl) and terephthaloyl chloride (TCl). The copolymers were characterized using TGA, nitrogen adsorption, and NMR/IR spectroscopy. The dye-based sorption properties of the copolymers with p-nitrophenol (PNP) in aqueous solution were evaluated at pH 4.6 and 295 K using UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The uptake of PNP varied from 0.221 to 0.352 mmol/g, according to the nature of the cross linker and the copolymer mole ratio. The sorption capacity of SCl-based copolymers exceed that for TCl-based copolymers, and correlate with the relative swelling properties and hydrated surface areas of the sorbent frameworks. ¹H NMR spectroscopy of copolymers with low levels of linker content (i.e. SCl or TCl) indicate dual sorption sites for PNP (i.e. β-CD inclusion sites and non-inclusion (interstitial) linker domains). The existence of dual sorption sites is similarly concluded for copolymers containing higher levels of cross linker. Inclusion complexes are firstly formed between PNP and the β-CD inclusion sites of the copolymer; thereafter, PNP is adsorbed onto the linker domains of the copolymer sorbent framework.     

Effect of acetonitrile on the hydration of human serum albumin films: a calorimetric and spectroscopic study

A new experimental approach based on the combination of calorimetric and FTIR spectroscopic measurements was proposed to study simultaneously the sorption of water and organic solvent, and corresponding changes in the structure of protein films in the water activity range from 0 to 1.0. Enthalpy changes (ΔH_tot) on the interaction of water with the dried human serum albumin (HSA) in the presence and absence of acetonitrile (AN) have been measured using a Setaram BT-2.15 calorimeter at 298 K. Spectroscopic data on water and organic solvent vapor sorption by the HSA films and the corresponding changes in the protein secondary structure were determined by means of a Bruker Vector-22 FTIR spectrometer. By using a water activity-based comparison we characterised the effect of acetonitrile on the hydration and structure of the HSA films. Acetonitrile (AN) sorption isotherm resembles a smooth curve. HSA film binds about 250 mol AN/mol protein at the lowest water activities. As the water activity increases from 0 to 0.8, the sorption of AN gradually decreases from 250 to 150 mol AN/mol HSA. At a_w > 0.8, the sorption of AN sharply decreases to zero. Acetonitrile decreases markedly the water content at a given a_w. This behavior suggests that the suppression in the uptake of water is due to a competition for water-binding sites on the HSA films by acetonitrile. Changes in the secondary structure of HSA were determined from infrared spectra by analyzing the structure of amide I band. Acetonitrile increases the intensity of the 1654 cm⁻¹ band that was assigned to the α-helix structure. Changes in the intensity of the 1654 cm⁻¹ band agree well with the decrease in water uptake in the presence of AN. An explanation of the acetonitrile effect on the hydration and structure of the HSA films was provided on the basis of hypothesis on water-assisted disruption of polar contacts in the initially dried protein.     

Synthesis of salicylaldehyde-modified mesoporous silica and its application as a new sorbent for separation, preconcentration and determination of uranium by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A new functionalized mesoporous silica (MCM-41) using salicylaldehyde was utilized for the separation, preconcentration and determination of uranium in natural water by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).Experimental conditions for effective adsorption of trace levels of U(VI) were optimized. The preconcentration factor was 100 (1.0 mL of elution for a 100 mL sample volume). The analytical curve was linear in the range 2-1000 μg L⁻¹ and the detection limit was 0.5 ng mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) under optimum conditions was 2.5% (n = 10). Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation and determination of uranium at pH 5. The sorbent exhibited excellent stability and its sorption capacity under optimum conditions has been found to be 10 mg of uranium per gram of sorbent. The method was applied for the recovery and determination of uranium in different water samples.     

Development of a flow system for the determination of low concentrations of silver using Moringa oleifera seeds as biosorbent and flame atomic absorption spectrometry

In this study a method for the determination of low concentrations of silver in waters using solid-phase extraction with a flow injection analysis system and detection by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was developed. Moringa oleifera seeds were used as a biosorbent material. Chemical and flow variables of the on-line preconcentration system such as sample pH and flow rate, preconcentration time, eluent concentration and sorbent mass were studied. The optimum preconcentration conditions were obtained using sample pH in the range of 6.0-8.0, preconcentration time of 4 min at a flow rate of 3.5 mL min^− 1, 0.5 mol L^− 1 HNO₃ eluent at a flow rate of 4.5 mL min^− 1 and 35 mg of sorbent mass. With the optimized conditions, the preconcentration factor, precision, detection limit and sample throughput were estimated as 35 (for preconcentration of 14 mL sample), 3.8% (5.0 μg L^− 1, n = 7), 0.22 μg L^− 1 and 12 samples per hour, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to mineral water and tap water, and accuracy was assessed through analysis of a certified reference material for water (APS-1071 NIST) and recovery tests, with recovery ranging from 94 to 101%.