Highly sensitive gas-diffusion sequential injection analysis based on flow manipulation

The present paper describes approaches utilizing the powerful flow manipulation capabilities of sequential injection analysis (SIA) to substantially improve the efficiency of gas-diffusion separation compared to its traditional implementation in flow injection analysis (FIA). Ammonia, ethylamine, diethylamine and triethylamine were used as model analytes in this study. Eleven flow manipulation approaches involving continuous flow, stop-flow, oscillating flow, and the introduction of air bubbles to separate the sample zone from the donor solution were tested. Improvement in sensitivity compared to traditional gas-diffusion FIA exceeding one order of magnitude was achieved. It was observed that this improvement increased with the molecular size of the analyte.     

Optimization of a flow injection analysis system for tartaric acid determination in wines

The objective of this work is the development and optimization of a method for tartaric acid analysis in wines that does not require any sample pre-treatment and with adequate accuracy. A flow injection analysis manifold with three channels, using a dialysis unit to eliminate sample matrix interferences and to accomplish on-line dilution, is proposed for the spectrophotometrical determination of tartaric acid in wines making use of its reaction with vanadate. The proposed method is fast, accurate, simple, economic and does not require any sample pre-treatment. Preliminary studies using factorial designs were performed to determine which operational parameters should be included in the optimization stage. The optimization was performed using a modified simplex algorithm with a response function that included sensitivity, deviation from linearity at low concentrations and residence time, used as an inverse measure of sampling rate. The most relevant analytical parameters of the method are presented, including a comparison between the results provided by the proposed method and by an alternative procedure in the analysis of a set of wine samples from Portugal, with tartaric acid values in the range 0.5–4 g l⁻¹.     

Hybrid sequential injection-flow injection manifold for the spectrophotometric determination of total sulfite in wines using o-phthalaldehyde and gas-diffusion

A new automated spectrophotometric method for the determination of total sulfite in white and red wines is reported. The assay is based on the reaction of o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and ammonium chloride with the analyte in basic medium under SI conditions. Upon on-line alkalization with NaOH, a blue product is formed having an absorption maximum at 630 nm. The parameters affecting the reaction - temperature, pH, ionic strength, amount concentration and volume of OPA, amount concentration of ammonium chloride, flow rate and reaction coil length - and the gas-diffusion process - sample and HCl volumes, length of mixing coil, donor flow rate - were studied. The proposed method was validated in terms of linearity (1-40 mg L⁻¹, r = 0.9997), limit of detection (c_L = 0.3 mg L⁻¹) and quantitation (c_Q = 1.0 mg L⁻¹), precision (s_r = 2.2% at 20 mg L⁻¹ sulfite, n = 12) and selectivity. The applicability of the analytical procedure was evaluated by analyzing white and red wine samples, while the accuracy as expressed by recovery experiments ranged between 96% and 106%.     

A review on sequential injection methods for water analysis

The development of fast, automatic and less expensive methods of analysis has always been the main aim of flow methodologies. The search for new procedures that still maintain the reliability and accuracy of the reference procedures is an ever growing challenge. New requirements are continually added to analytical methodologies, such as lower consumption of samples and reagents, miniaturisation and portability of the equipment, computer interfaces for full decision systems and so on. Therefore, the development of flow methodologies meeting the extra requirements of water analysis is a challenging work.Sequential injection analysis (SIA) presents a set of characteristics that make it highly suitable for water analysis. With sequential injection analysis, most routine determinations in waters can be performed more quickly with much lower reagent consumption when compared to reference procedures. Additionally, SIA can be a valuable tool for analyte speciation and multiparametric analysis. This paper critically reviews the overall work in this area.     

An automatic system for acidity determination based on sequential injection titration and the monosegmented flow approach

An automatic sequential injection system, combining monosegmented flow analysis, sequential injection analysis and sequential injection titration is proposed for acidity determination. The system enables controllable sample dilution and generation of standards of required concentration in a monosegmented sequential injection manner, sequential injection titration of the prepared solutions, data collecting, and handling. It has been tested on spectrophotometric determination of acetic, citric and phosphoric acids with sodium hydroxide used as a titrant and phenolphthalein or thymolphthalein (in the case of phosphoric acid determination) as indicators. Accuracy better than |4.4|% (RE) and repeatability better than 2.9% (RSD) have been obtained. It has been applied to the determination of total acidity in vinegars and various soft drinks. The system provides low sample (less than 0.3 mL) consumption. On average, analysis of a sample takes several minutes.     

Developing a sequential injection-square wave voltammetry (SI-SWV) method for determination of atrazine using a hanging mercury drop electrode

This paper describes the development of a sequential injection analysis method to automate the determination of atrazine by square wave voltammetry exploiting the concept of monosegmented flow analysis to perform in-line sample conditioning and standard addition. To perform these tasks, an 800 μL monosegment is formed, composed by 400 μL of sample and 400 μL of buffer/standard solution. To obtain an efficient homogenization, the sample solution is divided in five zones intercalated by four zones of the Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 2.0) in presence of appropriate concentration of NaNO₃ and varying atrazine standard concentrations. This mixture zone is isolated from the carrier solution by two 100 μL air bubbles. After homogenization in an auxiliary reaction coil the mixture zone is injected toward the flow cell, which is adapted to the capillary of a hanging drop mercury electrode, at a flow rate of 50 μL s⁻¹. After a suitable delay time, the potential is scanned from −0.5 to −1.2 V versus Ag/AgCl using a frequency of 300 Hz and pulse height of 25 mV. The linear dynamic range is observed for atrazine concentrations between 1.16 × 10⁻⁷ and 2.32 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹, obeying the linear equation i_p = (−6.91 ± 0.07) × 10⁸[atrazine] + (4 ± 8), with r² = 0.9996, for which the slope is given in nA L mol⁻¹. The detection and quantification limits of the method are 2.1 × 10⁻⁸ and 7.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹, respectively. The sampling frequency is 37 h⁻¹, when the standard addition protocol is followed. This frequency can be increased to 42 h⁻¹ if the protocol to obtain in-line calibration curve is used for quantification. The method was applied for determination of atrazine in spiked river water samples and its accuracy was evaluated by comparison with the batch standard addition approach, which revealed that there is no evidence of statistically significant differences between the two methods.     

Reversed flow injection and sandwich sequential injection methods for the spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) with cuprizone

Two new flow methods, flow injection analysis (FIA) and sequential injection analysis (SIA), for the spectrophotometric determination of Cu(II) in water at trace levels have been developed and optimised. Both methods are based on the reaction with oxalic acid bis(cyclohexylidene hydrazide) (cuprizone) in alkaline media. The two procedures have been developed for the final aim to compare their performances and to offer new rapid heavy metals analysis tools, avoiding the use of extraction steps. A detailed study of the physico-chemical parameters affecting the systems performances has been carried out. The reversed FIA and sandwich SIA approaches offered the best sensitivity. In both cases, an extremely good linearity has been obtained within the range 0.06-4 μg ml⁻¹ (correlation coefficient r=0.9999), whereas the observed detection limits were 0.013 and 0.004 μg ml⁻¹, for FIA and SIA, respectively. Furthermore, due to the great similarity of the diffusion zones in the reaction slugs, our approach offers the opportunity to compare the two methods in analogous conditions. This SIA method, besides keeping its typical reagent saving features, offered analytical performances equivalent to those of FIA. To obtain these results, an original “stop-flow like” method was successfully employed in the SIA approach. Both methods were validated by analysis of real water samples, after copper addition, and certified reference samples of fortified and waste waters.     

Comparison of soluble manganese(IV) and acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection using flow injection and sequential injection analysis for the determination of ascorbic acid in Vitamin C tablets

The limits of detection (3s) for ascorbic acid were 5×10⁻⁸ M with acidic potassium permanganate using both flow injection analysis (FIA) and sequential injection analysis (SIA) whereas the soluble manganese(IV) afforded 1×10⁻⁸ M and 5×10⁻⁹ M for FIA and SIA, respectively. Determinations of ascorbic acid in Vitamin C tablets were achieved with minimal sample pretreatment using a standard additions calibration and gave good agreement with those of iodimetric titration.     

Using sequential injection analysis for fast determination of phosphate in coastal waters

A sequential injection analysis system (SIA) is described which is suited for the fast determination of filterable molybdate reactive phosphate (FRP, 0.2 μm) in coastal waters. It processes up to 270 samples per hour with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.05 μM and is used for surface mapping of phosphate in areas with steep concentration gradients like the Wadden Sea. The determination is based on the reaction of phosphate with acidic molybdate to phosphomolybdate, which builds non-fluorescent ion pairs with rhodamine 6G. The remaining rhodamine fluorescence is detected at 550 nm with an excitation at 470 nm. Syringe pump, valve and detector were controlled by a self made python programme, which was optimised for high speed SIA measurements in monitoring applications.     

Sequential injection flow system with improved sample throughput: determination of glycerol and ethanol in wines

The performance of sequential injection (SI) systems has often been criticized for its low sampling frequency. The present work describes a SI system where an injection valve and an additional pump were incorporated to enhance sample throughput rate. The proposed system was applied to the enzymatic determination of glycerol and ethanol in wines, using spectrophotometric detection and immobilized glycerol and alcohol dehydrogenases. The method proposed was applied to the determination of ethanol between 0.10 and 0.50% (v/v) and glycerol between 0.03 and 0.30 g l⁻¹. These ranges were appropriate for determination in table and port wines, since samples were diluted 50 times before introduction into the system. The results obtained from 15 wine samples were statistically comparable to those obtained by the reference methods, with good repeatability (R.S.D.<3.4%, n=10). The sampling rate was 22.5 h⁻¹, corresponding to 45 determinations per hour. This way, the time required for each determination was decreased by 30% when compared to a conventional SI system.     

Exploiting flow injection and sequential injection anodic stripping voltammetric systems for simultaneous determination of some metals

Flow injection (FI) and sequential injection (SI) systems with anodic stripping voltammetric detection have been exploited for simultaneous determination of some metals. A pre-plated mercury film on a glassy carbon disc electrode was used as a working electrode in both systems. The same film can be repeatedly applied for at least 50 analysis cycles, thus reducing the mercury consumption and waste. A single line FI voltammetric system using an acetate buffer as a carrier and an electrolyte solution was employed. An injected standard/sample zone was mixed with the buffer in a mixing coil before entering a flow cell. Metal ions were deposited on the working electrode by applying a potential of −1.1 V vs Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The stripping was performed by anodically scanning potential of working electrode to +0.25 V, resulting a voltammogram. Effects of acetate buffer concentration, flow rate and sample volume were investigated. Under the selected condition, detection limits of 1 μg l⁻¹ for Cd(II), 18 μg l⁻¹ for Cu(II), 2 μg l⁻¹ for Pb(II) and 17 μg l⁻¹ for Zn(II) with precisions of 2–5% (n=11) were obtained. The SI voltammetric system was similar to the FI system and using an acetate buffer as a carrier solution. The SI system was operated by a PC via in-house written software and employing an autotitrator as a syringe pump. Standard/sample was aspirated and the zone was then sent to a flow cell for measurement. Detection limits for Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were 6, 3, 10 and 470 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Applications to water samples were demonstrated. A homemade UV-digester was used for removing organic matters in the wastewater samples prior to analysis by the proposed voltammetric systems.     

SIAmate-a compact and modular sequential injection analysis controller

A number of sequential injection analysis (SIA) measurement methods have been developed during the last years. Almost all have been used in laboratory conditions with good results, but very few have been implemented as on-line methods, applied to non-stop measurements, producing immediate results for process control. The transfer of an SIA system from laboratory to an industrial facility [J. Ruzicka, Anal. Chim. Acta 261 (1992) 3] requires a whole new range of details to be taken into account. Some SIA platform related topics will be discussed. There are numerous ways of building an SIA system that meets the needs of the industry. One alternative, SIAmate, is presented.     

On-line sample-pre-treatment schemes for trace-level determinations of metals by coupling flow injection or sequential injection with ICP-MS

Within the last decade, the first generation of flow injection (FI) has been supplemented by sequential injection (SI), also termed the second generation, and, recently, by the third generation, i.e., SI-Lab-on-Valve (SI-LOV). As apparent from the literature, FI and/or SI have become dominant as substitutes for labor-intensive, manual, sample-pre-treatment and/or solution-handling procedures prior to analyte detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The present review presents and discusses the progress of the state of the art in implementing miniaturized FI/SI systems for on-line matrix separation and pre-concentration of trace levels of metals with detection by ICP-MS. It highlights some of the frequently applied on-line, sample-pre-treatment schemes, including solid phase extraction (SPE), on-wall molecular sorption and precipitate/(co)-precipitate retention using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) knotted reactor (KR), solvent extraction-back extraction and hydride/vapor generation. It also addresses a novel, robust approach, whereby the protocol of SI-LOV-bead injection (BI) on-line separation and pre-concentration of ultra-trace levels of metals by a renewable microcolumn is interfaced to ICP-MS, as conducted in the present authors' group. It discusses the future outlook in this field.     

A flow sampling strategy for the analysis of oil samples without pre-treatment in a sequential injection analysis system

The present work describes a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system adapted to direct analysis of oil samples. In this way, the flow system was designed by incorporation, in the SIA system, of an injection valve that was responsible for the sample insertion. With the developed sampling strategy the sample pre-treatment outside the flow system is avoided and also the problems associated with viscous samples in flow systems.The developed SIA system was applied to the determination of iron (Fe(III)) in edible oil samples and was based on the formation of a red complex (λ = 510 nm) between Fe(III) and thiocyanate in organic medium. A mixture of methanol:chloroform (85:15) was used as carrier solution and possible refractive index associated with the spectrophotometric detection was avoided by introduction of a mixing chamber in the flow system. The presented methodology produced 4.2 ml of effluent and consumed 150 μl of sample and 0.95 mg of thiocyanate per determination.Linear calibration plots were obtained for Fe(III) concentrations up to 25 mg l⁻¹ and the detection limit of the determination was 0.31 mg l⁻¹. The developed methodology exhibited a good precision, with an R.S.D. < 3.5% (n = 15) and a determination frequency of 20 determinations h⁻¹. The results of the analysis were evaluated by recovery studies (96.5-104.5%) and by the analysis of two AOCS reference samples.     

Microfabricated electroosmotic pump for capillary-based sequential injection analysis

A microfabricated electroosmotic pump with an integrated serpentine isolation channel was developed on a glass chip and applied to a capillary-based sequential injection analysis (SIA) system for an enzyme inhibition assay. The pump chip contains an anode reservoir, an ion-exchange membrane electric field decoupler (EFD) that also serves as a cathode reservoir, parallel pump channels and an isolation channel. A two-step etching process was adopted to etch the pump channels to a depth of 20 μm and the isolation channel to a depth of 90 μm. The pump flow rate was very stable: the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the pump rate was 1.9% for propulsion and 2.3% for aspiration. The pump chip was successfully applied to a capillary-based sequential injection analysis system with a confocal fluorescence detector. For repetitive analysis of a 13 μM fluorescein solution, an RSD of 0.6% was attained, which demonstrated the flow stability of the EOF pump. The system was then applied to an enzyme inhibition assay, the diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) inhibition of the β-galactosidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of fluorescein di(β-d-galactopyranoside). Reproducible results (RSD<3.0%) were obtained.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminum in drinking waters by sequential injection analysis

A selective procedure for the determination of Al³⁺ in drinking and natural waters is proposed. The analytical procedure is based both on the complex formation between Al³⁺ and 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQS) and on a fluorimetric detection of the complex. The reaction was carried out in presence of thioglycolic acid as a masking agent. This procedure has been adapted to a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system. Operative conditions both for batch and SIA procedures were investigated including reagent concentration, volumes, pH and wavelengths used for the fluorimetric detection. Batch procedure allows determination of Al³⁺ at ppb level (LOQ: 2.8 μg l⁻¹) within a working range of 2.2-300 μg l⁻¹. The SIA procedure was successfully employed for the determination of Al³⁺ in several commercial drinking and tap waters.     

Simple sequential injection analysis system for rapid determination of microalbuminuria

A simple, specific and sensitive sequential injection analysis (SIA) system based on non-immunoassay fluorescent detection has been developed for the determination of urinary albumin. The specific binding of the dye Albumin Blue 580 (AB 580) to albumin in urine generated high emission fluorescent signals. The excitation and emission wavelengths were set at 590 and 610 nm, respectively. The analytical range was obtained from 1 to 100 mg L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 0.3 mg L⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The SIA system gave high precision with relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) of 0.9% and 1.4% when evaluated with 15 and 100 mg L⁻¹ albumin (n = 15), respectively. The method exhibited good reproducibility, as assessed by performing four analytical curves on different days, and intra-run CVs (2.3-3.3%) and inter-run CVs (3.8%) were obtained. Rapid operation was achieved with a sample throughput of 37 h⁻¹. This method was successfully applied to the determination of urinary albumin, and the method was highly correlated with the immunoturbidimetric method (r² = 0.965; n = 72).     

Automated portable analyzer for lead(II) based on sequential flow injection and nanostructured electrochemical sensors

A fully automated portable analyzer for toxic metal ion detection based on a combination of a nanostructured electrochemical sensor and a sequential flow injection system has been developed in this work. The sensor was fabricated from a carbon paste electrode modified with acetamide phosphonic acid self-assembled monolayer on mesoporous silica (Ac-Phos SAMMS) which was embedded in a very small wall-jet (flow-onto) electrochemical cell. The electrode is solid-state and mercury-free. Samples and reagents were injected into the system and flowed through the electrochemical cell by a user programmable sequential flow technique which required minimal volume of samples and reagents and allowed the automation of the analyzer operation. The portable analyzer was evaluated for lead (Pb) detection due to the excellent binding affinity between Pb and the functional groups of Ac-Phos SAMMS as well as the great concern for Pb toxicity. Linear calibration curve was obtained in a low concentration range (1-25 ppb of Pb(II)). The reproducibility was excellent; the percent relative standard deviation was 2.5 for seven consecutive measurements of 10 ppb of Pb(II) solution. Excess concentrations of Ca, Ni, Co, Zn, and Mn ions in the solutions did not interfere with detection of Pb, due to the specificity and the large number of the functional groups on the electrode surface. The electrode was reliable for at least 90 measurements over 5 days. This work is an important milestone in the development of the next-generation metal ion analyzers that are portable, fully automated, and remotely controllable.     

At-line determination of formaldehyde in bioprocesses by sequential injection analysis

A sequential injection analysis (SIA) method for the at-line determination of formaldehyde in a cultivation process of Pichia pastoris is presented. A genetically modified yeast strain was used for cultivation processes wherein methanol feed induced the production of the recombinant protein 1-3del I-TAC. Recurring measurements of culture medium, its blank and including standard addition were performed with Nash reagent using an automated syringe device and photometric detection. The apparatus was coupled via a laboratory-made flow-through adapter to a continuous filtered and cell-medium flow from the bioreactor. At-line monitoring of formaldehyde was performed at two cultivations, each of 250 h during fed-batch phases with glycerol and methanol as carbon sources. High reliability, robustness and reproducibility of the method, the software and the instrumentation as well as the high selectivity of the reaction were demonstrated.     

Exploiting sequential injection analysis with lab-at-valve (LAV) approach for on-line liquid-liquid micro-extraction spectrophotometry

Sequential injection analysis (SIA) with lab-at-valve (LAV) approach for on-line liquid-liquid micro-extraction has been exploited. Sample, reagent and organic solvent were sequentially aspirated into a coil attached to a central port of a conventional multiposition selection valve, where the extraction process was performed. The aqueous and organic phases were separated in a conical separating chamber LAV unit attached at one port of the valve. The organic phase containing extracted product was then monitored spectrophotometrically. The system offers a novel alternative on-line automated extraction in a micro-scale and has been successfully demonstrated for the assays of diphenhydramine hydrochloride (DPHH) in pharmaceutical preparations and anionic surfactant in water samples.