Determination of aluminum in highly concentrated iron samples: Study of interferences using high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry

High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS AAS) has been used to investigate spectral and non-spectral interferences found with a conventional line source atomic absorption spectrometer in the determination of aluminum in pharmaceutical products containing elevated iron and sugar concentrations. A transversely heated graphite furnace was used as the atomizer in both spectrometers. The two most sensitive aluminum lines at 309.3 nm and 396.2 nm were investigated and it was found that an iron absorption line at 309.278 nm, in the vicinity of the aluminum line at 309.271 nm, could be responsible for some spectral interference. The simultaneous presence of iron and the organic components of the matrix were responsible for radiation scattering, causing high continuous and also structured background absorption at both wavelengths. The aluminum and iron absorption could not be separated in time, i.e., the iron interference could not be eliminated by optimizing the graphite furnace temperature program. However, an interference-free determination of aluminum was possible carrying out the measurements with HR-CS AAS at 396.152 nm after applying least squares background correction for the elimination of the structured background. Analytical working range and other figures of merit were determined and are presented for both wavelengths using peak volume registration (center pixel ± 1) and the center pixel only. Limits of detection and characteristic masses ranged from 1.1 to 2.5 pg and 13 to 43 pg, respectively. The method was used for the determination of the aluminum contamination in pharmaceutical formulations for iron deficiency treatment, which present iron concentrations from 10 to 50 g l^− 1. Spike recoveries from 89% to 105% show that the proposed method can be satisfactorily used for the quality control of these formulations.     

外加铁矿石对哈密低阶煤热解特性影响

为探讨铁矿石对哈密低阶煤热解特性影响,采用热重分析仪(thermal gravity analysis/differential thermal gravity,TG/DTG)和实验室固定床反应器(fixed bed)对哈密低阶煤进行热解实验,研究了两种铁矿石对哈密煤热解反应性、热解气和焦油分布规律的影响。利用傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR)和色谱-质谱分析仪(GC-MS)对焦油中官能团的变化以及焦油中物质组成进行了分析对比。结果表明,当热解温度从室温升高至150℃时,原煤中添加铁矿石的煤样失重速率峰逐渐向高温阶段推移;当热解温度高于450℃时,不同铁矿石对原煤热解的催化作用差异更加明显,且镜铁矿原生矿物质赤铁矿;当两种铁矿石添加量分别为20%时,热解焦油和热解气都能得到较高的收率;对于煤样HM-JT来说,此时焦油产率为7.88%,热解气相产物H_2、CO_2、CH_4、CO产率与未添加镜铁矿的原煤煤样相比分别提高了4.27%、3.76%、4.39%、3.61%。对于煤样HM-CT来说,焦油催化裂解效果一直受到铁矿石添加量的影响。在镜铁矿和赤铁矿添加量分别增加到20%的过程中,煤样热解生成焦油的产率逐渐下降,而轻质焦油产率和轻质焦油分数逐渐增大到6.37%、58.48%、5.34%、56.22%,焦油中氧脱除率分别达到43.16%、36.89%。随着铁矿石的加入,焦油中二甲苯相对含量由4.32%分别降低至3.78%、3.93%,而甲苯相对含量由1.11%升高至1.32%、1.45%;焦油中邻甲酚和二甲酚中分子中的甲基取代基被脱除生成苯酚或甲酚,且镜铁矿对焦油中苯系物和酚类化合物的脱甲基作用强于赤铁矿。     

Fast neutron activation analysis of Kalewa (Myanmar) coal

Aluminium, silicon, copper, iron, magnesium and sulfur in Kalewa (Myanmar) coal were determined by fast neutron activation analysis. For activation a KAMAN A-710 Neutron Generator was used. Kalewa coal was found to be low in sulfur and relatively rich in iron.     

Ion-chromatographic analysis of mixtures of ferrous and ferric iron

Determinations of the aqueous iron species Fe(II) and Fe(III) are essential for a fully-informed understanding of redox processes involving iron. Most previous methods for speciation of iron have been based on the calorimetric determination of Fe(II) followed by reduction of Fe(III) and analysis for total iron. The indirect determination of Fe(III) and the consumption of relatively large sample volumes have limited the accuracy and utility of such methods. A method based on ion-chromatography has been developed for simultaneous direct determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III). Sample pretreatment involves only conventional filtration and acidification. No interferences with the iron(II) determination were found; in determination of iron(III) the only interference observed was an artifact peak (of unknown origin) that occurred only when iron(II) was present, and had an area that was a function of the iron(II) concentration and could hence be corrected for. Solutions of iron(II) free from iron(III) can be prepared by treatment with a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen in the presence of palladium black as catalyst, to reduce the iron(III). Photoreduction of iron(III) in acidified samples increases the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio; no means of circumventing this effect is known, other than storing the samples in the dark and analysing them as soon as possible.     

Label-free detection of a bacterial pathogen using an immobilized siderophore, deferoxamine

Pathogenic bacteria obtain the iron necessary for survival by releasing an iron chelator, termed a siderophore, and retrieving the iron-siderophore complex via a cell surface siderophore receptor. We have exploited the high affinity of Yersinia enterocolitica for its siderophore, deferoxamine, to develop a rapid method for capture and identification of Yersinia. In this methodology, a deferoxamine-bovine serum albumin conjugate is printed onto a gold-plated chip in a parallel line pattern. After flowing a suspension of Yersinia across the siderophore-derivatized chip, any Yersinia that binds to the chip is detected by dark-field microscopy analysis of the scattered light, followed by Fourier transform analysis of the scattering pattern. Since peak intensities are found to correlate with pathogen concentration, pathogen titers as low as 10(3) cfu/ml can be readily detected. Moreover, immobilized deferoxamine can distinguish Y. enterocolitica, which binds ferrioxamine (deferoxamine-Fe), from Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium smegmatis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which don't. Because human pathogens cannot easily mutate their iron retrieval systems without loss of viability, we suggest that few if any mutant Yersinia will emerge that can avoid detection. Together with previous results demonstrating selective capture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by its immobilized siderophore (pyoverdin), these data suggest that pathogen-specific siderophores may constitute effective and immutable capture ligands for rapid detection and identification of their cognate pathogens.     

High resolution chemically bonded fused-silica capillary gas chromatography of organochlorine insecticides and related compounds in arable soil samples

Electron capture gas chromatography with three chemically bonded fused-silica capillary columns (CB-FSCs), OV-17, OV-1701, and SE-52, was performed to evaluate peak separability of 28 organochlorine insecticides and related compounds. Relative retention times and relative peak heights to aldrin were measured and calculated. OV-17 CB-FSC showed the best separability among the three CB-FSCs employed and was applied to analysis of extracts from several soil samples with minimum clean-up procedure. The chromatograms obtained demonstrated steady baseline tracings free of interference. Residue data from soil samples were also tabulated.     

Characteristics and performance of gas chromatographic detectors with glass capillary columns

A comparison of the characteristics and Performance of the flame ionization, electron capture, and flame photometric detectors with capillary columns is described. Factors which may affect the limits of detection, linearity, chromatographic peak shape, and other detector performance characteristics are discussed and compared with the results of a model derived for the behavior of concentration and mass flow-rate dependent chromatographic detectors used with capillary GC systems. Examples are given of highly complex and labile mixtures such as pesticide residues and products from coal hydrogenation.     

Determination of Labile Iron at Low nmol L−1 Levels in Estuarine and Coastal Waters by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

A new method is presented for the determination of electrochemically labile iron in estuarine and coastal seawater. The method is based on differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) at a rotating silver‐alloy disk electrode. The voltammetric parameters include a plating potential of ?1.5 V and an activation potential of ?5 V for 10s; the seawater is at the original sample pH. The main finding is the presence of a peak for low nmol L^?1 levels of iron at ?0.55 V ascribed to elemental iron deposited on the bare silver alloy electrode. The peak increased linearly with the iron concentration between <1 and 14 nmol L^?1 using a 900 s plating time. At higher concentrations an additional iron peak appeared at ?0.7 V which was also found to increase linearly with the iron concentration but at a higher concentration range from ca. 15 to 90 nmol L^?1 using a 300 s plating time. The second peak was ascribed to iron deposited on iron. Additions of chelating agents (EDTA and a siderophore) to seawater caused the iron peak to be masked indicating that this method is suitable for iron speciation as only the electrochemically labile fraction is determined. The detection limit was 0.3 nmol L^?1 using a 900 s plating time. The method was used to determine iron in the range of 5 to 50 nmol L^?1 in samples from the Mersey estuary near Liverpool and its potential use for in situ monitoring was demonstrated by using it to monitor labile iron (at 2–3 nmol L^?1) over a period of 4 days at 1 h intervals in coastal waters in the Trondheim fjord, Norway.     

Determination of cadmium,mercury and lead in coal fly ash by slurry sampling electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Ultrasonic slurry sampling electrothermal vaporization isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (USS-ETV-ID-ICP-MS) has been applied to the determination of Cd, Hg and Pb in coal fly ash samples. Thioacetamide (TAC) was used as the modifier. Since the sensitivities of the elements studied in coal fly ash slurry and aqueous solution were quite different, isotope dilution method was used for the determination of Cd, Hg and Pb in these coal fly ash samples. The isotope ratios of each element were calculated from the peak areas of each injection peak. This method has been applied to the determination of Cd, Hg and Pb in NIST SRM 1633a coal fly ash reference material and a coal fly ash sample collected from Kaohsiung area. Analysis results of reference sample NIST SRM 1633a coal fly ash agreed satisfactorily with the certified values. The other sample determined by isotope dilution and method of standard additions was agreed satisfactorily. Precision was better than 6% for most of the determinations and accuracy was better than 4% with the USS-ETV-ID-ICP-MS method. Detection limits estimated from standard addition curves were in the range of 24–58, 6–28 and 108–110 ng g⁻¹ for Cd, Hg and Pb, respectively.     

Fitting the boron peak and resolving interferences in the 450–490 keV region of PGAA spectra

Prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) is one of the most powerful analytical methods for the determination of boron because of its very large neutron capture cross section. The peak of boron in the PGAA spectra is highly broadened due to the Doppler-effect. An improved method is presented to fit the boron peak, and to resolve interference with the gamma-rays of sodium and other matrix components. The method has been checked on test samples and on geological samples as well.     

Determination of the hydrogen concentration in coal and titanium alloy by prompt gamma neutron activation analysis

The determination of the hydrogen concentrations in coal and metal samples were investigated by using the PGAA system at the HANARO Research Reactor, KAERI. The calibration curve of the hydrogen concentration was obtained from a standard sample and the effects of the interference peaks near the gamma-energy region of hydrogen were investigated. The background in the hydrogen peak of a prompt gamma-ray spectrum was measured for the sample chamber and shielding materials of an atmospheric state. The combined uncertainties estimated for the analysis procedure were in the range of 4–5%. Two kinds of certified reference materials, NIST SRM 1632c (Coal), NIST SRM 173c (Titaniumbase Alloy) and NIST SRM 2453 (Titanium Alloy) were used to verify the accuracy and precision of the measurement. The relative error was in the range of 3–6% and the relative standard deviation were less than 4%.     

Tris(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)iron(III) as a novel spectrophotometric probe for silanol detection.

Tris(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)iron(III) was proposed as a sensitive spectrophotometric silanol-detecting probe based on the coordination ability of silanol groups on the surface of octadecylsylanized silica gel (ODS silica gel) for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. A peak of the iron(III) complex on a chromatogram abruptly collapsed as the silanol content in an ODS column increased, indicating that the iron(III) complex could sense trace amounts of silanol groups. The change of the peak parameters, such as the peak height and the peak area was highly related to the output of some nitrogen-containing compounds used as silanol-detecting probes as a function of the silanol content in an ODS column. The response of the peak height of the iron(III) complex to the silanol content was much more sensitive than the response of the nitrogen-containing probes, and was comparable to that of tris(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)gallium(III), which had been proposed as a fluorometric silanol-detecting probe based on the coordination ability of the silanol groups.     

Sensitive determination of iron(III) by gold electrode modified with 2-mercaptosuccinic acid self-assembled monolayer

Preparation and application of gold 2-mercaptosuccinic acid self-assembled monolayer (Au-MSA SAM) electrode for determination of iron(III) in the presence of iron(II) is described by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Osteryoung square wave voltammetry. The square wave voltammograms showed a sharp peak around positive potentials +0.250 V that was used for construction of the calibration curve. Parameters influencing the method were optimized. A linear range calibration curve from 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 6.0 × 10⁻⁹ M iron(III) with a detection limit of 3.0 × 10⁻¹¹ M and relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 6.5% for n = 8 at 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ M iron(III) was observed in the best conditions. Possible interferences from the coexisting ions were also investigated. The results demonstrated that sensor could be used for determination of iron(III) in the presence of various ions. The validity of the method and applicability of the sensor were successfully tested by determining of iron(III) in natural waters (tap and mineral waters) and in a pharmaceutical sample (Venofer^® ampoule) without interference from sample matrix. The experimental data are presented and discussed from which the new sensor is characterized.     

基于铁薄膜的表面等离子体耦合定向荧光研究

本文报道了以纳米铁膜为基底的SPCDF检测方法. 以荧光素和卟啉为例, 探讨了SPCDF信号的特性, 在固定角度下检测了荧光素-卟啉双荧光团体系的SPCDF信号, 并应用于全血样品的分析.     

Combined adsorption and oxidation mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide on granulated coal ash

Hydrogen sulfide is highly toxic to benthic organisms and may cause blue tide with depletion of dissolved oxygen in water column due to its oxidation. The purpose of this study is to reveal the combined adsorption and oxidation mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide on granulated coal ash that is a byproduct from coal electric power stations to apply the material as an adsorbent for hydrogen sulfide in natural fields. Sulfur species were identified in both liquid and solid phases to discuss removal mechanisms of the hydrogen sulfide with the granulated coal ash. Batch experiments revealed that hydrogen sulfide decreased significantly by addition of the granulated coal ash and simultaneously the sulfate ion concentration increased. X-ray absorption fine structure analyses showed hydrogen sulfide was adsorbed onto the granulated coal ash and successively oxidized by manganese oxide (III) contained in the material. The oxidation reaction of hydrogen sulfide was coupling with reduction of manganese oxide. On the other hand, iron containing in the granulated coal ash was not involved in hydrogen sulfide oxidation, because the major species of iron in the granulated coal ash was ferrous iron that is not easily reduced by hydrogen sulfide.     

原位担载型煤直接液化催化剂的表征

 通过原位担载法将铁系催化剂担载于煤表面,考察了催化剂前驱体的相态、配位环境以及在载体表面的分散状态．采用X射线吸收精细结构和X射线衍射法对原位担载型铁系催化剂前驱体进行了表征．结果表明,催化剂前驱体在煤表面以非晶态、高分散的形式存在,其化学组成主要为FeOOH,且催化剂前驱体的分散程度与载体煤的物理化学性质有关．     

Spectrophotometric determination of aluminium with ferron and a quaternary ammonium salt

The reproducibility of the ferron method for aluminium has been greatly improved by the addition of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMAC). The improvement is attributed to reduction of the reagent blank and increased stability of Al(ferron)(3-)(3). The aluminium-ferron complex formed in the presence of CTMAC has an absorption peak at 385 nm. The interference from iron can be eliminated by application of a correction based on measurement at two wavelengths.     

Gradient ion-pair chromatographic method for the determination of iron N,N'-ethylenediamine-di-(2-hydroxy-5-sulfophenylacetate) by high performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure ionization electrospray mass spectrometry

The most effective remedy for iron deficiency is the use of synthetic iron chelates, specifically chelates derived from polyaminecarboxylic acids as EDDHSA (N,N'-ethylenediamine-di-(2-hidroxy-5-sulfophenylacetic) acid). A gradient ion-pair chromatographic method was developed to quantify the total amount of chelated iron in EDDHSA/Fe3+ fertilizers. Two mobile phases were used containing, respectively, 35 and 75% acetonitrile in a 0.005 M tetrabutylammonium hydroxide aqueous solution at pH 6.0. The stationary phase was a reverse phase C-18 column (150mm x 3.9mm i.d., dp = 5 microm). Two chromatographic peaks appeared and were identified by Electrospray Mass Spectrometry. The first peak corresponds to the monomer of EDDHSA/Fe3+ and the second peak has been assigned to condensation molecules. Quality parameters indicate that the method is suitable for the quantification of iron chelate by EDDHSA fertilizers.     

Analytical importance of some secondary and threshold reactions induced in nuclear reactors

The feasibility of threshold and secondary reactions as analytical alternatives for some special elements is discussed. Examples of applications, at the author's laboratory for determination of lithium, fluorine, titanium and thallium are presented. The importance of threshold reactions as interferences of capture reactions is also discussed. The pairs of elements where the interference was experimentally evaluated were calcium and titanium, scandium and titanium; manganese and iron; copper and zinc.