Trace and minor elements in four commercial honey brands

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to measure the concentrations of 24 elements in four honey brands commercially available in Austin, Texas (USA). The measured elements (and concentration) were: As, (<30 ng/g); Ba, (<2 g/g); Br, (0.24–0.49 g/g); Ce, (<20 ng/g); Co, (9–180 ng/g); Cr, (37–64 ng/g); Cs, (<3–45 ng/g); Fe, (<4–15.9 g/g); Hf, (<3 ng/g); Hg, (1 ng/g); K, (91–230 g/g); La, (<4 ng/g); Na, (20.3–25.3 g/g); Ni, (0.39–0.77 g/g); Rb, (68–340 ng/g); Sb, (13–61 ng/g); Sc, (<0.3–200 ng/g); Se, (<20 ng/g); Sm, (<9 ng/g); Sr, (<2 ng/g); Th, (<4 ng/g); U, (<30 ng/g); Zn, (3.36–4.61 g/g); and Zr, (<0.5–0.84 g/g). The results obtained were compared to the concentration of the same elements in honey produced or commercially available in Turkey, Mexico, El-Salvador, China, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.     

Analysis of trace uranium in Indian tobacco samples

The trace uranium concentrations have been determined in tobacco obtained from different brands of commercially available cigarette, beedi, chewing tobacco and also in pan masala, using fission track registration technique. Consumption of tobacco orally or by smoking may result in the intake of radioactive elements into the human body causing hazardous effects. External detector method was employed for the determination of uranium using Makrofol-KG as the fission track detector. The range of uranium was found to vary between 0.066–0.106 ppm, 0.042–0.079 ppm and 0.043–0.092 ppm, in tobacco from samples of cigarette, beedi and chewing tobacco, respectively, and between 0.073–0.203 ppm in pan masala samples.     

Selective uptake of toxic elements by an amorphous titanium dioxide ion exchanger

The ion-exchange selectivities for oxoanions of some toxic elements and halogens were studies on an amorphous hydrous titanium dioxide (Am-HTDO) as a function of OH^– and anion concentrations in chloride and nitrate media. The adsorption isotherm was of the Langmuir type. The selectivity sequence increased in the order of ClO ₃ ^– <BrO ₃ ^– <IO ₃ ^– SeO ₃ ^2– <TeO ₃ ^2– <As(OH) ₄ ^– . IO ₃ ^– was efficiently separated from ClO ₃ ^– and BrO ₃ ^– . As(OH) ₄ ^– and SeO ₃ ^2– were selectively separated from seawater. Such high selectivity of Am-HTDO may provide a new concentration technique of these toxic elements in environmental materials.Synthetic inorganic ion-exchange materials LIX.     

Performance of a new nebulizer system for simultaneous determination of Sb,Sn (hydride generation), V,and Zn by ICP–OES

A new nebulizer system is described that extends the analytical capability of the inductively coupled plasma technique to include the simultaneous determination of two elements Sb and Sn (hydride-forming), with two conventional elements, V and Zn. The main advantage of this system is its simultaneous determination of elements that form volatile hydrides and elements that do not, without any instrumental changes. Optimization of reaction and instrumental conditions was performed to characterize the new system. The performance of the new nebulizer system was evaluated by studying the effect of some transition metals (Ni, Cu, Co, and Fe, 1–1000 mg L^–1) on the Sb, Sn, V, and Zn emission signals (1 mg L^–1). Interferences from transition metal ions were found to be insignificant for determination of the four elements in presence of L-cysteine. Long-term and short-term stability was also evaluated. The precision, expressed as RSD for 15 replicate measurements was 0.7% for Sb, 1.7% for Sn, 2.5% for V, and 2.3% for Zn at 200 g L^–1 of each analyte. The detection limits obtained were 0.52, 1.3, 3.2, and 4.7 g L^–1 for Sb, Sn, V, and Zn, respectively. Spike and recovery experiments were performed on the NIST 1643c trace metals in water standard reference material and results were in agreement with the certified values.     

Determination of trace elements in Brazilian cigarette tobacco by neutron activation analysis

The determination of 14 trace elements /Ba, Ce, Co, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Tb and Th/ has been carried out in three different brands of Brazilian cigarettes. The samples and standards were irradiated for 8 h at a thermal neutron flux of approx. 5×10¹² n cm^–2s^–1. After the irradiation, the -rays activity was measured on a Ge/Li/ detector coupled with a 4096-channel pulse height analyzer. The results were compared with those obtained for the tobacco from American, Iranian, Turkish, Pakistan and Yugoslavian cigarettes. The amount of each element transferred to the ashes was determined.     

Detection of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in chlorinated water at nanogram per litre levels by SPME–GC–ECD

A method involving solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) and gas chromatography with electron capture detection (SPME–GC–ECD) has been optimised for identification and quantification of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) at ng L^–1 concentrations in disinfected (chlorinated) water samples. A central composite design was used for factorial analysis of four factors, three factors related to the SPME (PDMS fibre) procedure (adsorption time, temperature of the sample during headspace sampling, and desorption time) and one related to the GC operation (the rate of increase of the temperature of the GC oven). Good linearity (linear correlation coefficient greater than 0.999) was observed for TCA concentrations up to 50 ng L^–1, limits of detection and quantification of 0.7 and 2.3 ng L^–1, respectively, and good precision (relative standard deviation 2.8% and 3.4% for 5 and 30 ng L^–1 of TCA, respectively). Besides TCA, this system also enables the detection and quantification of the four trihalomethanes in the g L^–1 concentration range with limits of detection and quantification of approximately 0.3 g L^–1 and 1 g L^–1, respectively.     

Determination of trace element concentrations of Libyan chewing and cigarette tobacco by instrumental neutron activation analysis

The concentration of 12 trace elements in the chewing tobacco and two different brands of Libyan cigarette Atlas and Sport has been measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis and compared to the results of cigarette tobacco from India, USA, Iran and Yugoslavia. These elements are Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, Mn, Rb, Sc, Th, U, V and Zn.     

Possible radiochemical separations of anionic radionuclides by amorphous hydrous titanium dioxide

Ion-exchange selectivities towards oxoanions and halide ions were studied for radio-chemical applications by an amorphous hydrous titanium dioxide (Am-HTDO) as functions of pH and concentration. The selectivity series was found to be Mo(VI)<W(VI)<P(V)<As(V)<Sb(V) for micro-amounts at pH 9 and Br^–Cl^–F^– for macro-amounts. A feasibility was suggested for radiochemical separations of³²P by³⁵Cl(n,)³²P and⁷⁷Br by⁷⁵As(, 2n)⁷⁷Br, and selective removal of anionic radionuclides.Synthetic Inorganic Ion-Exchange Materials. XLIII.     

Determination of toxic elements in tobacco products by instrumental neutron activation analysis

The concentration of 15 elements in various brands of cigarette tobacco and cigarette wrapping paper were determined using instrumental neutron activation analysis. The paper of some of the brands contains higher concentrations of toxic elements than the tobacco. The cigarette filter and the ash were also analyzed to determine the adsorption of toxic elements on the filter and their transference in smoke. The toxic effects of some of the elements have been briefly discussed.     

Anodic treatment of steel 40Kh in a 35-% sulfuric acid electrolyte containing chloride ions

Anodic dissolution of steel 40Kh in a sulfuric acid electrolyte containing Cl^– ions is studied by analyzing the experimental dependence of anodic current on the specimen potential. The dependences of the critical passivation current, anodic current at –0.15 to 0.55 V (Ag/AgCl), and passivation current on the concentration of Cl^– ions (c) are determined. The maximum value of c for the passivation at 0.55–1.6 V (Ag/AgCl) is refined. The dependence of the specimens steady-state potential on c is determined and its decrease is related to an abrupt increase in the anodic current at the passivation potentials.Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 371–374.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Ivashkin.     

Spectrophotometric determination of nitrite in environmental waters using column preconcentration on biphenyl

Column preconcentration methods have been established for the spectrophotometric determination of trace nitrite with sulfanilic acid (SA) orp-aminoacetophenone (AAP) as the diazotizable aromatic amine andN, N-dimethylaniline (DMA) or 1-aminonaphthalene (AN) as the coupling agent, using differention-pairs co-precipitated with biphenyl. Nitrite ion reacts with SA in the pH range 2.0–3.0 and AAP in the pH range 1.7–3.0 in HCl medium to form water-soluble colourless diazonium cations. These cations are subsequently coupled with DMA in the pH range 3.7–6.1 for the SA-DMA system and AN in the pH range 1.7–2.3 for the AAP-AN system to be retained on microcrystalline biphenyl packed in a column. The solid mass is dissolved out from the column with 5 ml of DMF and the absorbance is measured by a spectrophotometer at 420 nm for the SA-DMA system and at 517 nm for the AAP-AN system. The calibration was linear over the concentration ranges 0.3–6.0 g of nitrite in 5 ml of DMF solution (i.e., 0.02–0.40 g/ml in the sample solution) for the SA-DMA system and 0.5–7.0 g of nitrite in 5 ml of DMF solution (i.e., 0.03–0.47 g/ml in the sample solution) for the AAP-AN system. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were respectively 2.63 × 10⁴lmol^–1cm^–1 and 1.75 × 10^–3 g cm^–2 for SA-DMA and 3.28 × 10⁴lmol^–1 cm^–1 and 1.40 × 10^–3 g cm^–2 for AAP-AN. The concentration factors were 4 and 16 for SA-DMA and AAP-AN, respectively. The detection limits were 0.0138 and 0.0175 g/ml NO₂ ^– for SA-DMA and AAP-AN, respectively. Seven replicate determinations of a solution containing 3.5 g of nitrite gave mean absorbances of 0.410 and 0.500 with relative standard deviations of 0.51 and 0.55% for SA-DMA and AAP-AN, respectively. Interference from various foreign ions has been studied and the methods have been applied to the determination of nitrite in environmental samples.     

Assessment of the essential element and heavy metal content of edible fish muscle

The aim of this work was to determine the concentrations of some essential and toxic elements in the muscle of ten species of commercial fish consumed in Portugal. We combined two different techniques for determination of the elements—energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was used to quantify K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Se, Rb, and Sr and flame atomic-absorption spectrometry for analysis of Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd, Hg, and Pb. The latter technique was used because of its higher sensitivity, because these elements were not detected by EDXRF. The results obtained show a similar pattern for the trace elements. K and Ca are present at the highest concentrations in all the samples studied, from 0.6–1.3% and from 0.04–0.08%, respectively, followed by Zn, Fe, Sr, Se, and Rb. Sr is present at higher concentrations than Rb in all the species studied except meagre. Concentrations of the elements in octopus do not follow this pattern—Fe is present at a higher concentration than Zn. Low concentrations of Cr (0.66–1.5 g g^–1), Ni (0.11–0.24 g g^–1), Cd (0.01–0.08 g g^–1), Hg (0.49–2.74 g g^–1), and Pb (0.02–0.06 g g^–1) were observed in all the samples analysed. The concentration of Hg was highest in Helicolenus dactylopterus—5.4 g g^–1 in one sample.     

Determination of Platinum-Group Elements and Gold in Silicates by Gamma Activation Autoradiography and Instrumental Gamma Activation Analysis

The potential of the gamma activation determination of platinum-group elements and gold both by instrumental gamma activation analysis (bulk analysis) and by monitoring their distribution using autoradiography (local analysis) is studied. It is shown that platinum-group elements and gold can be determined by direct gamma-ray spectrometry in silicate samples with a detection limit of 10^–3–10^–5%. In contact gamma activation autoradiography, the detection limit for these elements is about 10 ng with a spatial resolution of 10–20 m.     

Spin-orbit coupling of ππ* states in molecules with annelated oxazole ring

Within the framework of the -electron approximation, matrix elements have been calculated for the operator of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) between singlet and triplet terms of oxazole derivatives with condensed naphthalene, quinoline, coumarin, and carbostyryl fragments (24 structures were examined). Values calculated for the SOC have been compared with experimentally measured quantum yields of fluorescence for 15 compounds. It has been established that the values of the SOC matrix elements amount to 0.02–0.03 cm^–1 on the average.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 403–406, July–August, 1990.     

Indirekte Bestimmung leichter Elemente durch R?ntgenfluorescenzanalyse

Zusammenfassung Es wird über eine röntgenfluorescenzanalytisehe Methode zur quantitativen Bestimmung leichter Elemente in Mikrogramm-Mengen berichtet, die durch Verwendung eines Bezugsstandards auf eine quantitative Überführung und reproduzierbare Verteilung von Niederschlägen auf Filtern verzichten kann. Das zu bestimmende leichte Element wird zusammen mit einem Bezugsstandard, der mit der Röntgenfluorescenz gut meßbar sein muß, durch ein mit der Röntgenfluorescenz ebenfalls gut meßbares Fällungsreagens ausgefällt. Das Niederschlagsgemisch wird direkt auf dem Filter vermessen. Aus den Intensitätsverhältnissen des Fällungsreagens zum Bezugsstandard werden Eichkurven erstellt und Analysenergebnisse ermittelt. Die Methode wird an Bestimmungen von Cl^– (0,7 g–4 mg), SCN^– (6 g–1mg), CN^– (10–100 g) und P0₄ ^3– (1–10 mg) demonstriert.

---

Indirect determination of light elements by X-ray fluorescence analysisI. Determination of chloride, thiocyanate, cyanide and phosphate using a dependent reference standard

Because of the coprecipitation of the light element and an heavier reference element by a suitable precipitant a quantitative transfer and a reproducible distribution of the precipitate is not needed. The precipitated mixture is measured directly on the filter. From the intensity ratios of the reagent to the reference standard calibration curves are established and results are calculated. The method is demonstrated by the determination of Cl^– (0.7 g–4 mg), SCN^– (6 g–1 mg), CN^– (10–100 g) and P0₄ ^3– (1–10 mg).

     

Trace element analysis of some shaving powders commonly marketed in Nigeria using instrumental neutron activation analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique has been employed viak ₀ approximation method to determine elemental composition of five shaving powders commonly marketed in Nigeria. Fe displayed the highest concentrations in the range 1000–2000 g·g^–1. Na and Zn concentrations were established in the range 200–400 g·g^–1. Heavy elements like Ga, La, Cr, Co, Ag, Ce and Nd concentrations were noted in the lower range of 1–10 g·g^–1 Br, As, Sb, Sm, Eu, W, Cs, Tb, Yb, Hf, Ta, Th and U concentrations were established in even lower traces in the <1 g·g^–1 range. Results obtained for a certified reference material, CANMET BL-1 and CERT (in house) Kaolin standard compared favourably with the literature values thus establishing the results presented for the shaving powders.     

Kinetics and mechanism of pentacyanohydroxoferrate(III) formation from mono(aminocarboxylato)iron(III) complexes

Summary The kinetics and mechanism of the system: [FeL(OH)]^2–n + 5 CN^– [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– + L^n–, where L=DTPA or HEDTA, have been investigated at pH= 10.5±0.2, I=0.25 M and t=25±0.1 C.As in the reaction of [FeEDTA(OH)]^2–, the formation of [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– through the formation of mixed ligand complex intermediates of the type [FeL(OH)(CN)_x]^2–n–x, is proposed. The reactions were found to consist of three observable stages. The first involves the formation of [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3–, the second is the conversion of [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– into [Fe(CN)₆]^3– and the third is the reduction of [Fe(CN)₆]^3– to [Fe(CN)₆]^4– by oxidation of L^n– The first reaction exhibits a variable order dependence on the concentration of cyanide, ranging from one at high cyanide concentration to three at low concentration. The transition between [FeL(OH)]^2–n and [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– is kinetically controlled by the presence of four cyanide ions around the central iron atom in the rate determining step. The second reaction shows first order dependence on the concentration of [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– as well as on cyanide, while the third reaction follows overall second order kinetics; first order each in [Fe(CN)₆]^3– and L^n–, released in the reaction. The reaction rate is highly dependent on hydroxide ion concentration.The reverse reaction between [Fe(CN)₅(OH)]^3– and L^n– showed an inverse first order dependence on cyanide concentration along with first order dependence each on [Fe(CN)_5– (OH)]^3– and L^n–. A five step mechanism is proposed for the first stage of the above two systems.     

Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric investigations of manganese–glycine interactions

Thermogravimetric (t.g.) and differential scanning calorimetric (d.s.c.) data have been used to study metal–amino acid interactions in adducts of general formula MnCl₂ · ngly (gly = glycine, n = 0.7, 2.0, 4.0 and 5.0). All the prepared adducts exhibit only a one step mass loss associated with the release of glycine molecules, except for the 0.7gly adduct, which exhibits two glycine mass loss steps. From d.s.c. data, the enthalpy values associated with the glycine mass loss can be calculated: MnCl₂ · 0.7gly = 409 and 399 kJ mol^–1, MnCl₂ · 2.0gly = 216 kJ mol^–1, MnCl₂ · 4.0gly = 326 kJ mol^–1 and MnCl₂ · 5.0gly = 423 kJ mol^–1, respectively. The enthalpy associated with the ligand loss, plotted as function of the number of ligands for the n = 2.0, 4.0 and 5.0 adducts, gave a linear correlation, fitting the equation: H (ligand loss)/kJ mol^–1 = 67 × (number of ligands, n) + 76. A similar result was achieved when the enthalpy associated with the ligand loss was plotted as a function of the _a(COO^–) bands associated with the coordination through the carboxylate group, 1571, 1575 and 1577 cm^–1, respectively, for the n = 2.0, 4.0 and 5.0 adducts, giving the equation H (ligand loss) /kJ mol^–1 = 33.5 × _a(COO^–) /cm^–1 – 52418.5. This simple equation provides evidence for the enthalpy associated with the ligand loss being very closely related to the electronic density associated with the metal–amino acid bonds.     

LC Method for the Determination of Multiple Components in a Compound Cold Formulation

An isocratic liquid chromatographic method for determination of acetaminophen (AMP), caffeine (CAF), chlorphenamine maleate (CPM) and guaiacol glyceryl ether (GGE) in a compound cold formulation is described. Separation and quantitation were achieved on a Diamonsil C18 column using a binary mixture of methanol and 1.5% aqueous acetic acid (55: 45, v/v, pH 3.6) as mobile phase delivered at 0.4 mL min^–1. Single wavelength detection was at 220 nm for all four drugs and the run time was < 10 min. The linearity, accuracy and precision of the method were found to be acceptable over the concentration ranges: 16.0–127.8 g mL^–1 for AMP, 6.0–48.2 g mL^–1 for CAF, 5.0–40.0 g mL^–1 for CPM and 10.1–80.6 g mL^–1 for GGE.     

Heteropoly acids in the determination of phosphorus by neutron activation analysis

Phosphorus is selectively extracted as molybdovanadophosphoric acid (MVPA) and determined indirectly using⁵²V. Silicon, germanium, arsenic, fluoride and tannic acid do not interfere. The sensitivity for phosphorus was 1421±13 counts⁵²V per ng P ml^–1 with a detection limit of 0.2 ng P ml^–1. The precision is ±10% over the range 0.7±70 ng P ml^–1. The sensitivity is four orders of magnitude greater than for conventional neutron activation analysis (NAA) using the³¹P(n, )²⁸ Al reaction and a SLOWPOKE II reactor. Greater selectivity for phosphorus is obtained than by direct measurement of³²P by beta ray spectroscopy.