Benzeneacetaldehyde-4-hydroxy-alpha-oxo-aldoxime as a new analytical reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of cobalt

Benzeneacetaldehyde-4-hydroxy-α-oxo-aldoxime is proposed as a new sensitive and selective reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of cobalt. The reagent reacts with cobalt in the pH range 8.6–9.4 to form a yellow colored 1:3 chelate which is very well extracted in chloroform. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 0.05–1.3 μg ml⁻¹ cobalt. The molar absorptivity of the extracted species is 2.746×10⁴ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 390 nm. The proposed method is highly sensitive, selective, simple, rapid, accurate and has been satisfactorily applied for the determination of cobalt in synthetic mixtures, pharmaceutical samples, biological samples and alloys.     

Ethylisobutrazine hydrochloride as a selective and sensitive reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V) and its application to vanadium-bearing minerals and alloys

Ethylisobutrazine hydrochloride is proposed as a selective and sensitive reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V). It forms a red-colored species with vanadium(V) in 3.5–6.5 M phosphoric acid medium. An eight-fold molar excess of reagent is necessary for the full development of the color. The red species exhibits an absorption maximum at 518 nm with a molar absorptivity of 9.75 × 10³ liters mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹. Sandell's sensitivity is 5.2 ng cm⁻². Beer's law is obeyed over the range 0.1–6.2 ppm of vanadium(V) with an optimum concentration range of 0.4–6.0 ppm. The effects of acidity, time, temperature, order of addition of reagents, reagent concentration, and the interferences from various ions, are reported. The method has been used successfully for the determination of vanadium in ilmenite and vanadium steels that contain chromium, molybdenum, manganese, nickel, copper, tungsten, and titanium.     

Evaluation of a chloramine-T-selective electrode for catalytic titration of silver and mercury(II) based on iodide-catalyzed chloramine-T reactions

Semiautomatic methods are described for the catalytic titrimetric determination of microamounts of silver and mercury(II) using a chloramine-T-selective electrode as monitor. The methods are based on the inhibitory effect of Ag(I) and Hg(II) on the iodide-catalyzed chloramine-T-arsenite and chloramine-T-H₂O₂ reactions. Microamounts of silver in the range 0.2–200 μg (1 × 10⁻⁷−1 × 10⁻⁴ M) and of mercury(II) in the range 0.1–200 μg (2.5 × 10⁻⁸−5 × 10⁻⁵ M) were determined using the chloramine-T-As(III) indicator reaction. Mercury(II) in the range 4–2000 μg (1 × 10⁻⁶−5 × 10⁻⁴ M) was also determined using the chloramine-T-H₂O₂ indicator reaction. The accuracy and precision were in the range 0.1–1%.     

Direct electrochemical reduction of hemin in imidazolium-based ionic liquids

The direct electrochemical reduction of hemin, protoporphyrin(IX) iron(III) chloride, ligated with strong or weak heterocyclic bases, was investigated in the ionic liquids (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]) and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([omim][PF₆]), using cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry. Hemin complexed with N-methylimidazole (NMI) or with pyridine had E_1/2 values slightly (4–59 mV) more positive in IL (without electrolyte) than in methanol (1.0 M electrolyte) using a gold electrode. NMI-ligated hemin had a lower E_1/2 than pyridine-ligated hemin in either IL, consistent with the stronger electron donor characteristic of NMI. [Bmim][PF₆] solutions consistently yielded E_1/2 values 30 mV more negative than [omim][PF₆] solutions. The diffusion coefficients D_o of hemin in the IL ranged between 1.50 and 2.80×10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹, while the heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constants k_s ranged between 3.7 and 14.3×10⁻³ cm s⁻¹. Cyclic voltammetry of hemin adsorbed to a gold surface through 4,4′-bispyridyl disulfide (AT4) linkages showed a large positive shift in the oxidation wave, indicating that adsorption stabilizes the reduced hemin state. The surface concentration Γ_o of the adsorbed hemin was determined to be 1.21×10⁻¹⁰ mol cm⁻², indicating the presence of one or more complete monolayers of hemin. These findings suggest that while hemin is electrochemically active in IL, its behavior is modified by the ligand field strength and surface adsorption phenomena.     

Adsorption of 1,4-Benzenedithiol on Gold and Silver Surfaces: Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Study

The adsorption behavior of 1,4-benzenedithiol (1,4-BDT) on colloidal gold and silver surfaces has been investigated by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). 1,4-BDT chemisorbed dissociatively on both gold and silver surfaces but as mono- and dithiolate, respectively. Regardless of the bulk concentration of 1,4-BDT, only a monolayer was assembled on the silver surface with a flat orientation by forming two Ag–S bonds. On the gold surface, the monothiolate species,1,4-BDT⁻¹, appeared to assume a rather flat orientation at a very low surface coverage, but as the surface coverage was increased, the adsorbate took a perpendicular orientation. Furthermore, when the bulk concentration of 1,4-BDT was close to that required for a full-monolayer coverage limit, a band assignable to the S–S stretching vibration appeared at 536 cm⁻¹ in the gold sol SERS spectra. A separate ellipsometry measurement performed with vacuum-evaporated gold substrates revealed that up to tetralayers could be assembled on gold in 1 mM n-hexane solution of 1,4-BDT while at best a bilayer formed in either methanol or ethanol solution. The different adsorbate structure of 1,4-BDT on gold and silver was overall quite comparable to that of p-xylene-α,α′-dithiol.     

Investigation of the spectral properties of a squarylium near-infrared dye and its complexation with Fe(III) and Co(II) ions

The spectral features of the squarylium near-infrared (NIR) dye NN525 in different solutions and its complexation with several metal ions were investigated. The absorbance maximum of the dye is λ=663 nm in methanol. This value matches the output of a commercially available laser diode (650 nm), thus making use of such a source practical for excitation. The emission wavelength of the dye in methanol is λ_em=670 nm. The addition of either Fe(III) ion or Co(II) ion resulted in fluorescence quenching of the dye. The Stern–Volmer quenching constant, K_SV, was calculated from the Stern–Volmer plot to be K_SV=2.70×10⁷ M⁻¹ for Co(II) ion. The K_SV value for Fe(III) ion could not be established due to the non-linearity of the Stern–Volmer plot and the modified Stern–Volmer plot for this ion. The detection limit is 6.24×10⁻⁸ M for Fe(III) ion and 1.55×10⁻⁵ M for Co(III) ion. The molar ratio of the metal to the dye was established to be 1:1 for both metal ions. The stability constant, K_S, of the metal–dye complex was calculated to be 3.14×10⁶ M⁻¹ for the Fe–dye complex and 2.64×10⁵ M⁻¹ for the Co–dye complex.     

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum(V) in molybdenum steels

An extraction spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of traces of molybdenum present in molybdenum steels which is based on the extraction of the orange-red molybdenum-thiocyanate-acetonethiosemicarbazone complex into chloroform from hydrochloric acid medium. The complex has an absorption maximum at 472 nm with a molar absorptivity of 1.9 × 10⁴ liters mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹. Beer's law is valid over the concentration range 0.1–9.5 ppm of molybdenum with an optimum concentration range of 0.4–9 ppm. The equilibrium shift method indicates 1:4:2 composition for molybdenumthiocyanate-acetonethiosemicarbazone complex. The effect of acidity, reagent concentrations, temperature, and interferences from various ions are reported.     

Preconcentration extractive separation, speciation and spectrometric determination of iron(III) in environmental samples

Preconcentration, speciation and separation with solvent extraction of Fe(III) from samples of different origin, using methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) as a solvent and the sodium salt of 2-carboethoxy-1,3-indandione (CEIDNa) as a complexing agent for Fe(III), were studied. CEIDNa reacts with Fe(III) in the pH range 1.5–3.5 to produce a red colored complex of Fe(III)–CEIDNa (1:3 molar ratio) soluble in MIBK. The investigation includes a study of the characteristics that are essential for solvent extraction, spectrophotometric and flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination (AAS) of iron. A highly sensitive, selective and rapid spectrometric method is described for the trace analysis of iron(III) by CEIDNa. The complex formed obeys Beer's law from 0.06 to 1.8 mg l⁻¹ with an optimum range. A single step extraction was efficiently used with a distribution ratio (D)=10^3.6. The extracted red colored (1:3) Fe–CEIDNa was measured spectrophotometrically at 500 nm with a molar absorptivity of 1.2×10⁴ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹. In addition, the organic phase was directly aspirated to the flame for AAS determination and the signals related to Fe(III) concentration were recorded at 243.3 nm. The complexation of iron(III) with CEIDNa allows the separation of the analyte from alkali, alkaline earth and other elements, which are not complexed. The proposed preconcentration procedure was applied successfully to the determination of trace Fe(III) in soil, milk and natural water samples.     

Oxidation of ascorbic acid in the presence of phthalocyanine metal complexes. Chemical aspects of catalytic therapy of cancer 2. Catalysis by cobalt octacarboxyphthalocyanine. Reaction products

The products of ascorbic acid oxidation in the presence of cobalt octa-4,5-carboxy-phthalocyanine sodium salt (TPH) were identified. These include the ascorbate radical (A^·), hydroxyl radical (OH^·), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The kinetics of accumulation and consumption of the reaction products was studied. For the concentration ranges of ascorbic acid = 0–2.5 ⋅ 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ and the catalyst C _TPH = 0–3.5 ⋅ 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, the the highest possible concentration of the ascorbate radical is ∼10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, the concentration of H₂O₂ is 7 ⋅ 10⁻⁴ (30% of the starting concentration of ascorbic acid) and the concentration of the hydroxyl radical is at most 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2224–2228, October, 2004.     

Diffuse reflectance spectra of iron(III) vanadates

The electronic spectra of solid iron(III) vanadates FeVO₄ and Fe₂V₄O₁₃ were investigated by the diffuse reflectance technique in the spectral range 12 500–50 000 cm⁻¹. The spectra of investigated vanadates contain 2–3 intensive CT bands in the UV region and two lowest energy d–d bands in the 12 000–22 000 cm⁻¹ range. The presence of the weak bands for FeVO₄ and Fe₂V₄O₁₃ at 16 500 cm⁻¹ and 20 500 cm⁻¹ points to the lattice deffects (oxygen deficiency and the presence of the V⁴⁺ ions) in the structure of investigated vanadates.     

Sensitive spectrofluorimetric determination of ruthenium at nanotrace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl) thioquinaldinamide [PTQA]

A new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of ruthenium with nonfluorescent 2-(α-pyridyl) thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) is described. The oxidative reaction of Ru(III) upon PTQA gives oxidised fluorescent product (λ_ex(max)=347 nm; λ_em(max)=486 nm). The sensitivity of the fluorescence reaction between ruthenium and PTQA is greatly increased in the presence of Fe (III). The reaction is carried out in the acidity range 0.01–0.075 M H₂SO₄. The influence of reaction variables is discussed. The range of linearity is 1–400 μg l⁻¹ Ru(III). The standard deviation and relative standard deviation of the developed method are ±1.210 μg l⁻¹ Ru (III) and 2.4%, respectively (for 11 replicate determinations of 50 μg l⁻¹ Ru (III)). The effect of interferences from other metal ions, anions and complexing agents was studied; the masking action is discussed. The developed method has been successfully tested over synthetic mixtures of various base metals and platinum group metals, synthetic mixtures corresponding to osmiridium, certified reference materials in spiked conditions and rock samples.     

Synthesis, spectroscopic, structural and theoretical characterization of hydrogensquarate and mononuclear Au(III)-complex of dipeptide phenylalanyltyrosine

The mononuclear Au(III)-complex ([Au(C₁₈H₁₈N₂O₄)Cl]) and hydrogensquarate ([C₂₂H₂₁N₂O₈]) of dipeptide phenylalanyltyrosine (H–Phe–Tyr–OH) have been synthezised, characterized spectroscopically and structurally by means of solid-state linear-polarized IR-spectroscopy, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, ESI-MS, HPLC-MS–MS, FAB-MS, TGS and DSC methods. The structure of the Au(III)-complex has been predicted theoretically by DFT calculations. The dipeptide coordinated in a tridentate manner via –NH₂, –COO⁻ and N⁻-groups. One Cl⁻ ion is attached to the metal centre as a terminal ligand, yielding a planar AuN₂OCl chromophor. The hydrogensquarate consists in positive charged dipeptide moiety and negative one hydrogensquarate (HSq⁻) anion stabilizing by strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds.     

Synthesis, EPR spectrum and X-ray structure of tetra-n-butylammonium bis(benzene-1,2-dithiolato(2−)-κS,S′)platinate(III)

The new salt, tetra-n-butylammonium bis(benzene-1,2-dithiolato(2−)-κ²S,S′)platinate(III), [NBu₄][Pt(C₆H₄S₂)₂] (1), has been synthesized in ethanol/water, and fully characterized by single crystal X-ray structure determination. The central platinum in the complex ion [Pt(bdt)₂]⁻ is tetracoordinated by the S atoms of the bdt²⁻ ligands (bdt²⁻ is benzene-1,2-dithiolate) in a square-planar geometry. The well-resolved frozen solution EPR spectrum exhibits rhombic symmetry. The room temperature effective magnetic moment (μ_eff = 1.80 Bohr magneton) is in line with this spectrum and strongly supports the Pt(III) oxidation state in 1. This observation is in excellent agreement with previous results reported on closely related Ni(III), Pd(III) and Pt(III) species.     

Automated Method for the Selective Determination of Gold by On-Line Solvent Extraction and Reversed Micellar-Mediated Luminol Chemiluminescence Detection

A new method based on the direct coupling of on-line solvent extraction with chemiluminescence (CL) of luminol in reverse micelles is proposed for the determination of gold(III) in a reverse-flow injection system. In the on-line process, gold(III) is extracted from aqueous hydrochloric acid solution with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide in chloroform, followed by separation through a microporous Teflon membrane. A reversed micellar system of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride-water (buffered with sodium carbonate)-6:5 (v/v) chloroform-cyclohexane was used as a medium for the CL reaction. Linear calibration for gold was established over the concentration range 10-5000 ng ml⁻¹ and the detection limit was 1 ng ml⁻¹. Much higher tolerable levels of potential interfering metal ions were achieved for the present on-line procedure. The present method was applied to the analysis of industrial samples of silver-based alloy.     

Piezoelectric Sensor in Situ Monitoring Adsorption of Fibrinogen and Surfactant onto a Self-Assembled Monolayer of Alkanethiols

This report describes the use of a piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) sensor to investigate the nonspecific adsorption of fibrinogen (FN) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) onto a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of alkanethiols on gold. The change in adsorption mass was monitored in situ by the PQC sensor. A kinetics model was proposed to describe the adsorption of the FN and SDS on the hydrophobic SAM surface. The adsorption kinetics parameters were determined from the responses of the PQC. The adsorption and desorption rate constants of the FN on the SAM surface were estimated to be (6.18 ± 0.53) × 10³ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and (6.74 ± 0.72) × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, respectively. The rate constants for the adsorption and desorption of SDS on the SAM are (24.3 ± 1.4 M⁻¹ s⁻¹) and (1.52 ± 0.11) × 10⁻² s⁻¹, respectively. The adsorption of SDS on the SAM was reversible. The fractional coverage of the FN on the SAM surface was estimated from kinetics analyses to be 42–86% for the FN concentration range 25–400 μg/ml. Over 80% of the FN is irreversibly adsorbed on the SAM surface with respect to dilution of the bulk phase. The fraction of FN reversibly adsorbed increases with the bulk concentration of FN.     

Polyvinyl alcohol–ionic liquid composition for promoting the direct electron transfer and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin

The direct electron transfer and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin (Hb) entrapped in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–room temperature ionic liquid (i.e., 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [OMIM]PF₆) composition has been investigated by using cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry. It is found that the composition can promote the direct electron transfer of Hb and the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) of immobilized Hb is enhanced to 19.9 s⁻¹. The immobilized Hb also shows high electro-catalytic activity towards the redox of oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and nitrite. The Michaelis constants (K_m) decrease to 1.2 × 10⁻⁴ M (for hydrogen peroxide) and 9.4 × 10⁻³ M (for nitrite). The surface concentration of electroactive Hb is estimated and it is ca. 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol cm⁻², meaning that several layers of immobilized Hb take part in the electrochemical reaction. When gold nanoparticles (GNP) is introduced into the composition, the resulting PVA–GNP–[OMIM]PF₆ composition presents better performance. The electrochemical characteristic of immobilized Hb is improved further. Thus PVA–GNP–[OMIM]PF₆ composition is more suitable for the immobilization of Hb. Therefore, it is a good strategy to prepare novel composition for protein immobilization by using several materials with different function.     

Column preconcentration of gold by adsorbing AuCl<Stack><Subscript>4</Subscript><Superscript>−</Superscript></Stack> onto methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride–naphthalene and subsequent atomic absorption spectrometric determination

A sensitive, selective and simple preconcentration method for ultra-trace gold determination has been developed that uses naphthalene–methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride (Aliquat 336s) as an adsorbent. Gold, in the form of AuCl₄^–, was retained by the adsorbent in the column at a flow rate of 1 ml min^–1. After filtration, the solid mass consisting of the gold complex and naphthalene was dissolved out of the column with 5 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and the metal was then determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. In the initial solution, the calibration graph of absorbance versus gold concentration was found to be linear in the range 0.5–150 ng ml^–1 Au(III) with r=0.997 (n =9), and the 3 s detection limit was 0.428 ng ml^–1. The relative standard deviation for eight replicate measurements of 20 g of gold was 2.14%. Preconcentration factors of 390 and 650 were achieved using 5 ml and 3 ml of DMF, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of gold in wastewater, processed pool water, slurry pool water, and raw well-water from the Moteh gold mine, and synthetic samples.     

In vivo molecular evaluation of guinea pig skin incisions healing after surgical suture and laser tissue welding using Raman spectroscopy

The healing process in guinea pig skin following surgical incisions was evaluated at the molecular level, in vivo, by the use of Raman spectroscopy. After the incisions were closed either by suturing or by laser tissue welding (LTW), differences in the respective Raman spectra were identified. The study determined that the ratio of the Raman peaks of the amide III (1247 cm⁻¹) band to a peak at 1326 cm⁻¹ (the superposition of elastin and keratin bands) can be used to evaluate the progression of wound healing. Conformational changes in the amide I band (1633–1682 cm⁻¹) and spectrum changes in the range of 1450–1520 cm⁻¹ were observed in LTW and sutured skin. The stages of the healing process of the guinea pig skin following LTW and suturing were evaluated by Raman spectroscopy, using histopathology as the gold standard. LTW skin demonstrated better healing than sutured skin, exhibiting minimal hyperkeratosis, minimal collagen deposition, near-normal surface contour, and minimal loss of dermal appendages. A wavelet decomposition–reconstruction baseline correction algorithm was employed to remove the fluorescence wing from the Raman spectra.     

Photometric determination of iron (III)

A sensitive colored reaction of tiron with iron (III) is described. It is based on a complex formation between tiron and iron (III) in basic medium. The method is suitable to determine 0.4–10 ppm of iron (III) with a relative standard deviation of 0.45–1.4% depending on the concentration level, molar absorptivity of 5.7 × 10³ liter mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹, and Sandell sensitivity index of 0.0098 μg/cm².Because of being simple and rapid, this method can certainly be used in routine analysis.     

Self-assembled monolayers and electrostatically self-assembled multilayers of polyalkylviologens on sulfonate-modified gold and indium–tin–oxide electrodes

Self-assembly (SA) of polyviologens with linear alkyl spacers PVn (n = 3–10) on sulfonate-primed gold and ITO electrode surfaces has been investigated by CV, QCM, XPS and AFM. The polymers form stable and relatively dense monolayers even from 10⁻⁴ M PVn concentration. The viologen surface density is decreased as n is increased but for n = 10 and on alkylsulfonate-primed surfaces a strong adsorption takes place, with decreased redox potential and very narrow cyclic voltammogram of the absorbed layer due to organized structures on the surface.Stable and regular electrostatically self-assembled (ESA) multilayers are built on sulfonate-primed surfaces with PV3 and polysulfonates. From XPS analysis, the composition of the PVn/polysulfonate multilayers corresponds to a 1:1 ratio of polyanion and polycation charges, i.e., no extra non-polymeric ion is present, independently from the alkane chain length. The rate of electron transfer within the multilayers (diffusion coefficient = ca. 10⁻⁹ cm² s⁻¹) is higher than for analogous bulk materials.