Analytical procedures for the determination of emerging organic contaminants in plant material: A review

In this review, recent developments for the determination of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in plant tissues are discussed focusing on the homogenization, extraction and determination steps involved. Eleven classes of EOCs, namely antibiotics, analgesics, antiepileptics, antidepressants, antiseptics, plasticizers, fragrances, surfactants, flame retardants, and phenoxy acid herbicides, have been evaluated. Methods are critically reviewed in terms of all the analytical steps involved in the analysis, sampling and sample preparation, separation, and the detection strategies employed. The extraction from tissue samples was performed in most cases by solid–liquid extraction, whereas the clean-up was performed by solid-phase extraction. The identification and quantification of EOCs in crops from the agricultural field (i.e. parts per billion range) is usually performed by using mass spectrometry techniques such as single quadrupole mass spectrometry or tandem mass spectrometry coupled to high resolution chromatographic techniques. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays are more rarely used. New developments such as in vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and the assessment of the bioavailability–bioaccesibility of contaminants in crops are shown. The main scope of this review is to critically evaluate the current state of the art of the analytical techniques used and to identify the research needs in the determination of EOCs in crops.     

Engineering carbon nanocatalysts towards efficient degradation of emerging organic contaminants via persulfate activation: A review

The engineering of carbon nanocatalysts for the persulfate activated elimination of emerging organic contaminants(EOCs) demonstrates promising potential compared with metal-based counterparts due to their unique advantage of high stability and low toxicity. The early reviews introduced the theoretical background of persulfate activation together with a detailed summary of different mechanisms responsible for degradation of EOCs. To further unify the state of knowledge, identify the research gaps...     

Current developments and future trends in solid-phase microextraction techniques for pharmaceutical and biomedical analyses

Sample preparation is important for the isolation and concentration of desired trace components from complex matrices. Sample preparation is the most labor-intensive and error-prone process in analytical methodology, and greatly influences the reliable and accurate determination of analytes. The integration of sample preparation with various analytical instruments is most conveniently achieved by using microextraction techniques and/or microdevices. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is both simple and effective, enabling miniaturization, automation and high-throughput performance. Moreover, SPME has reduced analysis times, as well as the costs of solvents and disposal. This review describes current developments and future trends in novel SPME techniques, including fiber SPME, in-tube SPME and related new microextraction techniques. Especially innovative SPME approaches, including multi-well high-throughput sampling, ligand-receptor binding study for pharmacokinetics, direct in vivo sampling, chip-based microfluidic system, and new sampling techniques using intelligent carbon nanotube and temperature-response polymer in pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis are focused items.     

Overview of nanosorbents used in solid phase extraction techniques for the monitoring of emerging organic contaminants in water and wastewater samples

In this article, we have critically overviewed some interesting articles published in 2015–2019 about the use of the nanosorbents for the extraction of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) from various environmental samples. Properties, advantages, disadvantages, and the applicability of different categories of nanosorbents used for the extraction of EOCs are evaluated and discussed. The potential applications of these nanomaterials as adsorptive phase in solid-phase extraction (SPE) based techniques are reviewed.     

铁基金属-有机骨架及其复合物高级氧化降解水中新兴有机污染物

新兴有机污染物(Emerging organic contaminants,EOCs)是对人体健康及生态环境具有潜在或实质威胁的新型化学污染物.由于其被频繁使用且能在水生生态系统中持久性存在而对水生生物健康和安全造成严重威胁,故引起大众越来越多的关注.以活性污泥法为代表的传统水处理工艺通常不足以消除这些新兴有机污染物....     

Sampling and analysis of pesticides in ambient air

Developments in the sampling and determination of pesticides in ambient air have been discussed and data on the occurrence of pesticides in atmosphere have been presented. Developments in active sampling methods were reviewed and the different materials used for trapping pesticides from gas and particulate phases were discussed. Likewise, the use and developments of passive air samplers were reviewed. This article pays special attention to the analysis of pesticides trapped from ambient air, and recapitulate the procedures for extraction, clean-up and determination of these substances. Improvements in sampling procedures, analytical methods and monitoring activities are necessary to advance the knowledge of occurrence of currently used pesticides in atmosphere and their impact over environment and humans.     

Solid-phase microextraction in bioanalysis: New devices and directions

The primary objective of this review is to discuss recent technological developments in the field of solid-phase microextraction that have enhanced the utility of this sample preparation technique in the field of bioanalysis. These developments include introduction of various new biocompatible coating phases suitable for bioanalysis, such as commercial prototype in vivo SPME devices, as well as the development of sampling interfaces that extend the use of this methodology to small animals such as mice. These new devices permit application of in vivo SPME to a variety of analyses, including pharmacokinetics, bioaccumulation and metabolomics studies, with good temporal and spatial resolution. New calibration approaches have also been introduced to facilitate in vivo studies and provide fast and quantitative results without the need to achieve equilibrium. In combination with the drastic improvement in the analytical sensitivity of modern liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry instrumentation, full potential of in vivo SPME as a sample preparation tool in life sciences can finally be explored. From the instrumentation perspective, SPME was successfully automated in 96-well format for the first time. This opens up new opportunities for high-throughput applications (>1000 samples/day) such as for the determination of unbound and total drug concentrations in complex matrices such as whole blood with no need for sample pretreatment, studies of distribution of drugs in various compartments and/or determination of plasma protein binding and other ligand–receptor binding studies, and this review will summarize the progress in this research area to date.     

液相微萃取技术的研究进展

液相微萃取是近年来发展起来的一种新型的样品前处理技术,该技术集采样、萃取和浓缩于一体,需要有机溶剂量非常少,是一种环境友好的萃取技术,在国内尚未广泛应用。本文综述了液相微萃取的方式、原理、影响因素和应用,引用文献30篇。     

Strategies for the microextraction of polar organic contaminants in water samples

In this paper the most recent developments in the microextraction of polar analytes from aqueous environmental samples are critically reviewed. The particularities of different microextraction approaches, mainly solid-phase microextraction (SPME), stir-bar-sorptive extraction (SBSE), and liquid-phase microextraction (LPME), and their suitability for use in combination with chromatographic or electrically driven separation techniques for determination of polar species are discussed. The compatibility of microextraction techniques, especially SPME, with different derivatisation strategies enabling GC determination of polar analytes and improving their extractability is revised. In addition to the use of derivatisation reactions, the possibility of enhancing the yield of solid-phase microextraction methods for polar analytes by using new coatings and/or larger amounts of sorbent is also considered. Finally, attention is also focussed on describing the versatility of LPME in its different possible formats and its ability to improve selectivity in the extraction of polar analytes with acid-base properties by using separation membranes and buffer solutions, instead of organic solvents, as the acceptor solution.     

Novel Sampling for the Determination of Naphthalene in Air by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Here are reported two new sampling method approaches for the determination of naphthalene in ambient air for concentrations from 0.25 to 18.7?µg/L. The first method used for gas phase naphthalene analysis produced an average recovery of 88.8% and the second method using headspace sampling produced an average recovery of 93.8%. The second method showed better recovery than the former, so it was used for subsequent comparative gas-phase determination of naphthalene. The second method was validated at various naphthalene concentrations and humidity using a naphthalene gas generator to produce various naphthalene standards and a naphthalene-monitoring instrument. The naphthalene concentrations generated using the gas generator and determined second sampling method with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were compared to the sensor measurements and were in good agreement. In summary, the sampling methods presented provided reliable gas-phase naphthalene determination when coupled with GC–MS.     

Headspace sampling of the volatile fraction of vegetable matrices

The evolution of vapour phase sampling of the volatile fraction of vegetable matrices, or of products directly related to them, over the period 1996-2007 is reviewed. High concentration capacity headspace (HCC-HS) and dynamic headspace (D-HS) techniques, that is headspace sampling approaches where the analytes in the vapour phase are concentrated into a sorbent, an adsorbent or a solvent, are considered. Advantages, disadvantages and applications to the vegetable field of several successful techniques based on these approaches are critically presented, including in-tube sorptive extraction (INCAT, HS-SPDE), headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE), solid-phase aroma concentrate extraction (SPACE), large surface area HCC-HS sampling (MESI, MME, HS-STE), headspace liquid-phase microextraction (HS-LPME) and dynamic headspace samplings (D-HS). The developments necessary to overcome some of the limits of the above approaches and techniques are also discussed in view of their application to new fields.     

Determination of Osmium(VIII) by Flow Injection-Kinetic Methods Using Bromopyrogallol Red and Hydrogen Peroxide

A new flow injection-kinetic method has been developed for the determination of trace amount of osmium(WI), based on its catalytic effect on the bromopyrogallol red and hydrogen peroxide reaction. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance at 559 nm. The calibration graph for osmium(VIII) is linear over the range from 0.0040 to 0.10 μg/ml and the detection limit and sampling frequency are 0.0030 μg/ml and 47 per hour, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace amounts of osmium in refined ores and chlorination residues with satisfactory results.     

Long-term sampling: Suitable monitoring strategy for determination of semi-volatile PAHs at outdoor and indoor sites

Summary A new, molecular diffusion-based, sampling device (Analyst 2) has been used for the determination of semi-volatile PAHs in air. It has been developed from a previous model (Analyst), which is suitable for volatile hydrocarbons. The new model is capable of collecting enough gaseous PAHs for GC-MS analysis of enriched samples after 2 months exposure to both urban and suburban air. The adsorbent material adopted for enriching PAHs from air (Carbopack C) gives good recoveries of analytes from naphthalene to chrysene when a single solvent extraction is run at ambient temperature. The results of an experiment for assessing the internal consistency of this device are presented here. Data collected indicate that the “uptake rate” is constant for a 6-month sampling period. Results are also presented and discussed for indoor and outdoor determination of volatile PAHs, collected at both urban and suburban sites over a 12-month period in 2-monthly steps.     

Ion chromatographic separations of phosphorus species: a review

The aim of this paper is to review recent literature regarding the determination of phosphorus species by ion chromatography (IC), and describe the implementation of new developments in sample treatment and ion chromatography methodology for the analysis of these compounds. Ion-exchange methods using both carbonate/hydrogencarbonate and hydroxide selective columns in combination with self-regenerating membrane and solid-phase-based suppressors enable determination of phosphate down to ppb levels. New technology, particularly on-line electrolytic hydroxide generators and electrolytic self-regenerating suppressor devices, has allowed the use of elution gradients in both carbonate/hydrogencarbonate and hydroxide selective systems, improving sensitivity and reducing total analysis time for samples containing phosphate together with other inorganic anions. In addition to a review of these developments, optimization and application of chromatographic methods using reversed stationary phases and cationic and/or zwitterionic surfactants is also discussed.The objective of most of the IC methods developed for phosphorus species is the determination of phosphate and total phosphorus. Therefore, sample treatment and separation conditions specifically developed for this purpose are also described. In addition, application of IC to the analysis of other inorganic (reduced and condensed) and organic (phytates, alkyl phosphate, and phosphonates) phosphorus species is discussed along with methodology and relevant applications in water analysis and other miscellaneous fields.     

Photodegradation of ethylene–octene copolymers with different octene contents

The influence of the octene content on the photodegradation behaviour of ethylene–octene copolymers (EOCs) was revealed by investigating the photooxidation of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and EOCs with different octene contents through a series of characterisation methods. LDPE was very sensitive to ultraviolet light and the photostabilities of EOCs decreased with increasing octene concentration. The photodegradation of all samples produced hydroxyl, carbonyl and vinyl groups. The ease of chain crosslinking and scission was increased as the octene content rose. Crosslinking predominated in late irradiation period of LDPE while chain scission was dominant in that of EOCs. Annealing and chain scission promoted the secondary crystallisation of the crystallisable chain segments. Chain scission enhanced the crystallisation ability of the irradiated EOCs while it decreased that of the weathered LDPE. The photostabilities of crystals could be ranked as follows: the chain-folded lamellar crystals > the bundled crystals > the fringed micellar crystals. The thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of samples decreased with increasing irradiation time and the decreasing extent was correlated with the comonomer content.     

Improved accuracy in the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in air using 24 h sampling on a mixed bed followed by thermal desorption capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A new sampling method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air is described. The method is based on active sampling on sorption tubes consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) foam, PDMS particles and a TENAX TA bed. After sampling, the solutes are quantitatively recovered by thermal desorption and analysed by capillary GC-MS. The new sampling method has been compared to the classical method using high-volume sampling on a glass fiber filter followed by polyurethane foam for 24h sampling of ambient air. Volumes enriched were 144 l on the mixed bed and 1296 m3 with the classical method. The concentrations measured using the new method were significantly higher that the values obtained using the classical method, i.e. a factor 1.2-3 for the high molecular weight PAHs and up to 35 times for naphthalene and 23 times for acenaphthene. The total toxicity equivalence value (TEQ) for PAHs was ca. two times higher compared to the conventional method, illustrating that the concentrations of PAHs in ambient air have been underestimated until now. Some figures of merit (mean value for 17 PAHs) of the method are repeatability 7.4%, detection limit 13 pg/m3, accuracy 105.6% and linearity 0.996. The method also opens interesting perspectives for the determination of other semi-volatile persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in air as illustrated with the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a workplace during removal of transformer oil.     

A diffusive sampling device for simultaneous determination of ozone and carbonyls

A new diffusive sampling method for the simultaneous determination of ozone and carbonyls in air has been developed. In this method, silica gel impregnated with a mixture of trans-1,2-bis(2-pyridyl)ethylene (2BPE) and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) is used as the absorbent; further, a porous sintered polyethylene tube (PSP-diffusion filter), which acts as a diffusive membrane, and a small polypropylene syringe (PP-reservoir) for elution of the analytes from the absorbent are used. The carbonyls present in air react with DNPH in the absorbent to form hydrazone derivatives. Concurrently, ozone in the air reacts with 2BPE to form pyridine-2-aldehyde, which immediately reacts with DNPH to form a pyridine-2-aldehyde hydrazone derivative. All the hydrazones derived from airborne carbonyls, including pyridine-2-aldehyde (formed from ozone), are completely separated and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The sampling rates of ozone (44.6 mL min(-1)) and formaldehyde (72.0 mL min(-1)) are determined by comparison with the rates obtained in an active sampling method. The sampling rates of other carbonyl compounds are calculated from the respective molecular weights according to a rule based on Graham's law. The calculated sampling rates agree with the experimental values. The DSD-BPE/DNPH method is advantageous because it is simple and allows for the simultaneous analysis of ozone and carbonyls.     

Improved analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in atmospheric particulate matter by HPLC-fluorescence

An improved method is reported for determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulate matter by HPLC-FLD. The sampling step (air volume collected during each sampling period varies in the range 10/13 m3) is carried out by means of a medium-flow pumping system (15 L min(-1)) on a glass fiber filter (47 mm diameter) placed as collecting substrate in the sampling-cassette. After sampling, the filter is extracted with 3 ml of acetonitrile in an ultrasonic bath for 30 minutes. As for extraction of PAHs from loaded filters a new criterion here is proposed to evaluate the recovery efficiency of PAHs from the sample, instead of the usual spiking method of standard solution. The extract was then reduced to 100 microL and analysed by HPLC-FLD on line spectra system. The method is rapid (about one hour for extraction and analysis), reproducible and enables to measure with good accuracy the atmospheric concentration of benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF), benzo(k)fluoranthene (BkF), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), benzo(ghi)perylene (BghiP), carcinogenic compounds always present in the urban airborne particulate matter. So it is useful for routine pollution studies and suitable to substitute the official method used now. Monthly average air concentrations, for the four PAHs above mentioned, measured in Rome from July 2001 to June 2002, are reported.     

直接进样电热蒸发-原子荧光光谱法快速测定蒸馏酒中镉

为了快速低成本测定蒸馏酒中痕量重金属镉,利用钨丝电热蒸发器作为直接进样装置,与原子荧光光谱仪原子化器直接连接,构建了用于蒸馏酒中镉测定的直接进样原子荧光光谱检测系统(W-coil ETV-AFS),并对工作气体的气氛和流速、灰化和蒸发电压、样品承载量等参数进行了优化,建立了蒸馏酒中镉的直接进样快速检测方法。在最优条件下,Cd的检出限(LOD)为0.06μg/L(进样量为50μL),在0.5~100μg/L线性范围内回归系数(R²)为0.997;在5μg/L水平下,9个典型蒸馏酒样品的加标回收率在86.0%~116%,相对标准偏差RSD≤8.0%(n=3)。可以直接导入样品,无需复杂的前处理过程,具有良好的灵敏度、准确度和精密度,非常适合蒸馏酒中痕量镉的快速测定。