Ultrasound-enhanced surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography for determination of ketoconazole and econazole nitrate in human blood

A simple and efficient method, based on ultrasound-enhanced surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (UESA-DLLME) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been developed for extraction and determination of ketoconazole and econazole nitrate in human blood samples. In this method, a common cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was used as dispersant. Chloroform (40 μL) as extraction solvent was added rapidly to 5 mL blood containing 0.068 mg mL⁻¹ CTAB. The mixture was then sonicated for 2 min to disperse the organic chloroform phase. After the extraction procedure, the mixture was centrifuged to sediment the organic chloroform phase, which was collected for HPLC analysis. Several conditions, including type and volume of extraction solvent, type and concentration of the surfactant, ultrasound time, extraction temperature, pH, and ionic strength were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, linear calibration curves were obtained in the ranges 4–5000 μg L⁻¹ for ketoconazole and 8–5000 μg L⁻¹ for econazole nitrate, with linear correlation coefficients for both >0.99. The limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) and enrichment factors (EFs) were 1.1 and 2.3 μg L⁻¹, and 129 and 140 for ketoconazole and econazole nitrate, respectively. Reproducibility and recovery were good. The method was successfully applied to the determination of ketoconazole and econazole nitrate in human blood samples.     

Determination of zinc in water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction

In this study, a new and simple homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction (HLLE) method based on a pH-independent phase-separation process was developed using a ternary solvent system [water-tetrabutylammonium ion (TBA ⁺)-chloroform] for the preconcentration of Zn²⁺ ions. A Schiff’s base ligand was used as the chelating agent prior to Zn²⁺ ions extraction. Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry using acetylene-air flame was used for the quantification of analyte after preconcentration. The phase separation occurred due to ion-pair formation of TBA and perchlorate ion. The sedimented phase was then separated using a 100 μL micro-syringe and diluted to 1.0 mL with ethanol. The sample was introduced into the flame by conventional aspiration. After the optimization of complexation and extraction conditions such as pH 9.0, [ligand] = 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ M, [TBA⁺] = 2.0 × 10⁻² M, 100.0 μL of [CHCl₃] and [CLO₄⁻] = 2.0 × 10⁻² M, a preconcentration factor of 100 was achieved for only 10 mL of the sample. The relative standard deviation was 2.3% (n = 10). The limit of detection was sufficiently low and at ppb level. The proposed method was applied to the extraction and determination of Zn²⁺ in natural water samples with satisfactory results.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled to liquid chromatography for thiamine determination in foods

A miniaturized dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) procedure coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) with fluorimetric detection was evaluated for the preconcentration and determination of thiamine (vitamin B₁). Derivatization was carried out by chemical oxidation of thiamine with 5 × 10⁻⁵ M ferricyanide at pH 13 to form fluorescent thiochrome. For DLLME, 0.5 mL of acetonitrile (dispersing solvent) containing 90 μL of tetrachloroethane (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected into 10 mL of sample solution containing the derivatized thiochrome and 24% (w/v) sodium chloride, thereby forming a cloudy solution. Phase separation was carried out by centrifugation, and a volume of 20 μL of the sedimented phase was submitted to LC. The mobile phase was a mixture of a 90% (v/v) 10 mM KH₂PO₄ (pH 7) solution and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile at 1 mL min⁻¹. An amide-based stationary phase involving a ligand with amide groups and the endcapping of trimethylsilyl was used. Specificity, linearity, precision, recovery, and sensitivity were satisfactory. Calibration graph was carried out by the standard additions method and was linear between 1 and 10 ng mL⁻¹. The detection limit was 0.09 ng mL⁻¹. The selectivity of the method was judged from the absence of interfering peaks at the thiamine elution time for blank chromatograms of unspiked samples. A relative standard deviation of 3.2% was obtained for a standard solution containing thiamine at 5 ng mL⁻¹. The esters thiamine monophosphate and thiamine pyrophosphate can also be determined by submitting the sample to successive acid and enzymatic treatments. The method was applied to the determination of thiamine in different foods such as beer, brewer’s yeast, honey, and baby foods including infant formulas, fermented milk, cereals, and purees. For the analysis of solid samples, a previous extraction step was applied based on an acid hydrolysis with trichloroacetic acid. The reliability of the procedure was checked by analyzing a certified reference material, pig’s liver (CRM 487). The value obtained was 8.76 ± 0.2 μg g⁻¹ thiamine, which is in excellent agreement with the certified value, 8.6 ± 1.1 μg g⁻¹.     

Determination of Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water by Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction then Gas Chromatography with Electron-Capture Detection

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been used for preconcentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water. In DLLME an appropriate mixture of an extraction solvent (20.0 μL carbon disulfide) and a disperser solvent (0.50 mL acetone) was used to form a cloudy solution from a 5.00-mL aqueous sample containing the analytes. After phase separation by centrifugation the enriched analytes in the settled phase (6.5 ± 0.3 μL) were determined by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection (GC–ECD). Different experimental conditions, for example type and volume of extraction solvent, type and volume of disperser solvent, extraction time, and use of salt, were investigated. After optimization of the conditions the enrichment factor ranged from 116 to 355 and the limit of detection from 0.005 to 0.040 μg L⁻¹. The linear range was 0.01–50 μg L⁻¹ (more than three orders of magnitude). Relative standard deviations (RSDs) for 2.00 μg L⁻¹ THMs in water, with internal standard, were in the range 1.3–5.9% (n = 5); without internal standard they were in the range 3.7–8.6% (n = 5). The method was successfully used for extraction and determination of THMs in drinking water. The results showed that total concentrations of THMs in drinking water from two areas of Tehran, Iran, were approximately 10.9 and 14.1 μg L⁻¹. Relative recoveries from samples of drinking water spiked at levels of 2.00 and 5.00 μg L⁻¹ were 95.0–107.8 and 92.2–100.9%, respectively. Comparison of this method with other methods indicates DLLME is a very simple and rapid (less than 2 min) method which requires a small volume of sample (5 mL).     

Optimization of the Extraction Conditions and Simultaneous Quantification by RP-LC of Six Alkaloids in Evodiae Fructus

A reversed phase liquid chromatographic (LC) method coupled with DAD (250 nm) has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of six alkaloids, dehydroevodiamine (1), wuzhuyuamide-I (2), 5-hydroxyrutaecarpine (3), 14-formyldihydrorutaecarpine (4), evodiamine (5) and rutaecarpine (6), in 12 batches evodiae fructus [the dried, unripe fruits of Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. or E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang] as a traditional Chinese medicine. The method was carried out by a C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm) with a gradient mobile phase of methanol, acetonitrile, and phosphoric acid–triethylamine–buffer solution. The contents of 1–6 in the evodiae fructus could easily be determined within 70 min. The experimental results were satisfactory for the intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy of the method for simultaneous determination. The linear calibration ranges of 1–6 were 40–1,000, 20–500, 1–100, 10–500, 40–1,000 and 80–1,000 μg mL⁻¹. The recoveries of 1–6 were 97.43–103.73% with RSDs from 0.21 to 1.99%. The limits of detection for 1–6 were 2.0, 2.0, 0.1, 1.0, 5.0 and 5.0 μg mL⁻¹, and the limits of quantification were 6.6, 6.6, 0.3, 3.3, 16.5 and 16.5 μg mL⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of six alkaloids in the evodiae fructus.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and spectrophotometric determination of cobalt in water samples

A new simple and rapid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been applied to preconcentrate trace levels of cobalt as a prior step to its determination by spectrophotometric detection. In this method a small amount of chloroform as the extraction solvent was dissolved in pure ethanol as the disperser solvent, then the binary solution was rapidly injected by a syringe into the water sample containing cobalt ions complexed by 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN). This forms a cloudy solution. The cloudy state was the result of chloroform fine droplets formation, which has been dispersed in bulk aqueous sample. Therefore, Co-PAN complex was extracted into the fine chloroform droplets. After centrifugation (2 min at 5000 rpm) these droplets were sedimented at the bottom of conical test tube (about 100 µL) and then the whole of complex enriched extracted phase was determined by a spectrophotometer at 577 nm. Complex formation and extraction are usually affected by some parameters, such as the types and volumes of extraction solvent and disperser solvent, salt effect, pH and the concentration of chelating agent, which have been optimised for the presented method. Under optimum conditions, the enhancement factor (as the ratio of slope of preconcentrated sample to that obtained without preconcentration) of 125 was obtained from 50 mL of water sample, and the limit of detection (LOD) of the method was 0.5 µg L^?1and the relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5) for 50 µg L^?1 of cobalt was 2.5%. The method was applied to the determination of cobalt in tap and river water samples.     

Development of spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of levosulpiride in pharmaceutical formulation

Simple, accurate, rapid, and sensitive spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of levosulpiride in pharmaceutical formulation were developed utilizing its fluorescence reaction with Fe³⁺ (method A) and Al³⁺ (method B). The calibration curves were found to be linear in the concentration range 0.239–3.44 μg/mL and 0.310–2.730 μg/mL with limit of detection 0.005 μg/mL and 0.0032 μg/mL, respectively, for method A and method B. The reaction conditions were studied and optimized. In addition, the complexation of Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ was also studied. In all cases, an enhancement in fluorescence emission of levosulpiride upon formation of complex with metal ions was observed. A 2: 1 (drug: metal) stoichiometry for all the complexes was established. Benesi-Hildebrand method was applied for calculation of association constant at 25 and 35°C. The thermodynamic parameters obtained in this study revealed that the interaction process was spontaneous and mainly ΔS-driven.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-UV detection as a very simple,rapid and sensitive method for the determination of bisphenol A in water samples

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-UV detection was applied for the extraction and determination of bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. An appropriate mixture of acetone (disperser solvent) and chloroform (extraction solvent) was injected rapidly into a water sample containing BPA. After extraction, sedimented phase was analyzed by HPLC-UV. Under the optimum conditions (extractant solvent: 142 μL of chloroform, disperser solvent: 2.0 mL of acetone, and without salt addition), the calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.5–100 μg L⁻¹ with the detection limit of 0.07 μg L⁻¹ for BPA. The relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5) for the extraction and determination of 100 μg L⁻¹ of BPA in the aqueous samples was 6.0%. The results showed that DLLME is a very simple, rapid, sensitive and efficient analytical method for the determination of trace amount of BPA in water samples and suitable results were obtained.     

RP-LC-UV Determination of Proanthocyanidins in Guazuma ulmifolia

A simple, reproducible, and efficient liquid chromatographic method was developed with UV detection. Water (0.05% TFA):acetonitrile (0.05% TFA) was used as the mobile phase in a gradient system for the determination of procyanidin B2 (PB2) and epicatechin (EC) in the bark of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. The analysis was performed using a Phenomenex Gemini RP C₁₈ column (5 μm) as stationary phase, at 30 °C, with a flow rate of 0.8 mL min⁻¹, at a wavelength of 210 nm for detection and determination. The main validation parameters of the method were also determined. Calibration curves were found to be linear, with ranges of 20.00–150.00 (PB2) and 10.00–110.00 μg mL⁻¹ (EC). The correlation coefficients of linear regression analysis were between 0.9981 and 0.9988, and the detection limits were between 2.89 and 2.54 μg mL⁻¹. The contents of PB2 and EC were successfully determined, with satisfactory reproducibility and recovery. Recoveries of the PB2 and EC were 103.00 and 104.01%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of procyanidins in the bark of G. ulmifolia.     

Size control of self-assembled nanoparticles by an emulsion/solvent evaporation method

A novel and simple method for size control of self-assembled nanoparticles is suggested in this paper. Polymeric nanoparticles were prepared from amphiphilic chitosan derivatives fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated glycol chitosans (FGCs). The attachment of hydrophobic FITC onto hydrophilic glycol chitosan induced the amphiphilic conjugate to form self-assembled nanoparticles in aqueous media, depending on degree of substitution. The size of self-assembled nanoparticles was controlled by a novel emulsion/solvent evaporation method. Adding a small amount of an immiscible solvent with water (chloroform) to FGC nanoparticle suspensions in aqueous media followed by ultrasonification and solvent evaporation led to partial dissociation and subsequent reformation of nanoparticles. The evaporation of chloroform facilitated the hydrophobic association, which resulted in more dense and hardened hydrophobic cores. The size of nanoparticles was closely related with the FGC concentration in the emulsion. The mean diameters of self-assembled nanoparticles were 150–500 nm at the FGC concentrations of 0.3–2.5 mg/ml. Higher FGC concentration resulted in larger particles. The polydispersity factors (μ ₂/Γ ²) of the reformed nanoparticles were fairly low (0.001–0.094), indicating narrow size distribution. The FGC nanoparticles were stable in phosphate-buffered saline at 37°C up to 20 days. Lactose was a good excipient for maintaining the structural integrity of nanoparticles during freeze-drying. Without lactose, the freeze-dried nanoparticles were not homogeneously redispersed in aqueous media. However, the freeze-dried nanoparticles with lactose were spontaneously redispersed in aqueous milieu with their own sizes.     

Selective determination of 4-aminobenzoic and 4-aminosalicylic acid derivatives in mixtures by flow-injection analysis

The working conditions were found for the determination of medicinal substances anesthesin (benzocaine,I), novocaine (II), novocainamide (procainamide,III), and sodium 4-aminosalicylate (IV) as their 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan derivatives by flow-injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection (λ 510 nm). The best conditions were attained using a mixture of ethanol (methanol) and a buffer solution of pH 6.68 (30: 70 vol %). The analytical range for the analytes was 0.08-5.0 μg/mL. The detection limits (3σ,n = 4) were 0.04 (I), 0.05 (II), 0.07 (III), and 0.03 (IV) μg/mL. Procedures for determining 4-aminobenzoic and 4-aminosalicylic acid derivatives in pharmaceuticals containing ephedrine, atropine, dimedrol, and inorganic salts and in biological fluids (protein hydrolyzate, blood plasma, and whole blood) were developed.     

Different coordination modes of the dimethyldisulfide ligand in trimethylplatinum(IV) complexes

The reaction of [PtMe₃(bpy)(Me₂CO)](BF₄) (2) (prepared from [PtMe₃I(bpy)] (1) plus Ag(BF₄)) with MeSSMe resulted in the formation of [PtMe₃(bpy)(MeSSMe-κS)](BF₄) (3). A single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed in the octahedral Pt(IV) complex (configuration index: OC-6-33), a conformation of the monodentately κS bound MeSSMe ligand (C–S–S–C 92.7(4)°) being very close to that in non-coordinated MeSSMe, thus allowing some hyperconjugative interaction stabilizing the S–S bond. The reaction of [K(18C6)][(PtMe₃)₂(μ-I)(μ-pz)₂] (4; 18C6 = 18-crown-6, Hpz = pyrazole) with Ag(BF₄) and MeSSMe resulted in the formation of dinuclear complexes [(PtMe₃)₂(μ-pz)₂(μ-MeSSMe)] existing at room temperature in acetone solution as different fast interconverting isomers. At –40 °C, two isomers with a μ-1κS:2κS (5a) and a μ-1κS:2κS′ (5b) coordinated MeSSMe ligand in the ratio 2:1 could be identified ¹H NMR spectroscopically. DFT calculations of type 5 complexes revealed the existence of two conformers with a μ-MeSSMe-1κS:2κS ligand, which differ mainly in the C–S–S–C dihedral angle (66.4 vs. 180.0° 6a/6a′). They have essentially the same energy and a very low activation barrier in acetone as solvent (1.3 kcal/mol) for their mutual interconversion. A further equilibrium structure was identified to be an isomer having a μ-MeSSMe-1κS:2κS′ ligand (6b) that proved to be only 1.9 kcal/mol higher in energy than 6a/6a′.     

Determination of imidacloprid in paddy water and soil by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of imidacloprid in paddy water and soil was developed using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS). Separation of imidacloprid was carried out on a Shimadzu C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 4.6 μm) with an acetonitrile-water (50: 50, v/v) mobile phase containing 0.1% of acetic acid. The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min in isocratic mode. The product ion at 209 m/z was selected for quantification in multiple-reaction monitoring scan mode. Imidacloprid residues in soil were extracted by a solid-liquid extraction method with acetonitrile. Water samples were filtered and directly injected for analysis without extraction. Detection limits of 0.5 μg/kg and 0.3 μg/L were achieved for soil and water samples, respectively. The method had recoveries of 90 ± 2% (n = 4) for soil samples and 100 ± 2% (n = 4) for water samples. A linear relationship was observed throughout the investigated range of concentrations (1–200 μg/L), with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.999 to 1.000.     

Spectrophotometric determination of selenium(IV) with 4-methyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">o</Emphasis>-phenylenediamine based on piazselenol formation

A method has been developed for the spectrophotometric determination of selenium(IV) using 4-methyl-o-phenylenediamine (MOPDA) as a chromogenic reagent. In hydrochloric acid media at about pH 2, MOPDA forms a piazselenol complex with selenium(IV), which gives an absorption maximum at 332 nm. After transfer of the formed piazselenol complex into organic phase with n-hexane, the absorbance of the piazselenol complex was measured by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The effective parameters of the experimental conditions such as pH, formation time of the complex, amount of MOPDA, ionic strength, volume of sample and effects of diverse ions, were investigated. The detection limit of the proposed method was found to be 0.95 μg/L Se(IV) (n = 14, 3σ). The method was successfully applied to tap water, sea water and wastewater samples from washings of flue gases with satisfactory results.     

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and liquid chromatographic determination of pentachlorophenol in water

A simple and sensitive dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method for extraction and preconcentration of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in water samples is presented. After adjusting the sample pH to 3, extraction was performed in the presence of 1% W/V sodium chloride by injecting 1 mL acetone as disperser solvent containing 15 μL tetrachloroethylene as extraction solvent. The proposed DLLME method was followed by HPLC-DAD for determination of PCP. It has good linearity (0.994) with wide linear dynamic range (0.1–1000 μg L⁻¹) and low detection limit (0.03 μg L⁻¹), which makes it suitable for determination of PCP in water samples.      

Solvent extraction-spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of fluoxetine in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple, reproducible, and sensitive extraction-spectrophotometric method for the determination of fluoxetine (FL) in pharmaceutical formulations is reported. The FLH⁺ cation, which is formed in an acidic solution, can form an ion-pair with Orange II, (OR II), an anionic dye. The FLH⁺-OR II⁻ ion pair was quantitatively extracted into dichloromethane solvent and its absorption was measured at 482 nm. The calibration graph is linear over the FL concentration range of 0.2–9.0 μg/mL and the regression coefficient is 0.9995. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of ten replicate determinations of 5.0 and 1.4 μg/mL of FL are 0.022 and 0.038, respectively, and the limit of detection (LOD) of the method is 0.17 μg/mL. The method was successfully applied to the determination of an FL amount in pharmaceutical formulations (10.0-and 20.0-mg capsules). The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

[Cu2(μ-(3,4,5-meo-ba)2bn)(μ-I)2]n, a new 1D polymeric copper(I) chain Synthesis, crystal structure, spectral and thermal studies

New 1D-chain copper(I) complex [Cu₂(μ-(3,4,5-MeO-ba)₂bn)(μ-I)₂] _n (1), where (3,4,5-MeO-ba)₂bn = N,N′-bis(3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)-butane-1,4-diamine, involving a new bidentate Schiff-base containing a flexible spacer (=N–C–C–C–C–N=) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses (CHN) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of 1 was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and shows the (3,4,5-MeO-ba)₂en acts as a bridging ligand with the nitrogen atoms of the two imine functions and leading to the dinuclear [Cu₂((μ-(3,4,5-MeO-ba)₂en)] groups. Such dinuclear [Cu₂((μ-(3,4,5-MeO-ba)₂en)] groups are bridged by two iodine anions [(μ-I)₂] to form a neutral 1D-chain copper(I) iodide coordination polymer. The coordination polyhedron about the copper(I) center in 1 is best described as a distorted trigonal planar. Thermogravimetric analyses reveal the thermal stability and decomposition pattern of 1.     

Rapid determination of amide herbicides in environmental water samples with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

This paper describes a novel, simple and environmentally friendly method for rapid determination of the amide herbicides metoalchlor, acetochlor, and butachlor. It is based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Factors that may influence the enrichment efficiency, such as type and volume of extraction solvent, type and volume of dispersive solvent, extraction time, and content of NaCl, were investigated and optimized in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection of metoalchlor, acetochlor, and butachlor were 0.02, 0.04, and 0.003 μg L⁻¹, respectively. The experimental results indicated that there was linearity over the range 0.1–50 μg L⁻¹ and good reproducibility with relative standard deviations over the range 1.6–3.0% (n = 5). The proposed method has been applied for the analysis of real-world water samples, and satisfactory results were achieved. Average recoveries of spiked herbicides were in the range 80.3–108.8%. All of these indicated that the developed method would be an efficient method for simultaneous determination of the three herbicides in environmental water samples.     

Determination of some sulfonylurea herbicides in soil by a novel liquid-phase microextraction combined with sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A novel method for the determination of five sulfonylurea herbicides in soil was developed by a dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) clean-up followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME), prior to sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). In the DSPE-DLLME, 10 g of soil sample was first extracted with 10 mL of acetonitrile containing 5% formic acid (pH 3.0). The extract was then cleaned-up by a DSPE with C₁₈ as sorbent. A 1 mL aliquot of the resulting extract was then added into a centrifuge tube containing 5 mL of water adjusted to pH 2.0 and 60.0 μL chlorobenzene (as extraction solvent) for DLLME procedure. Then, the organic sample extraction solution was evaporated to dryness, and reconstituted with 20.0 μL of 1.0 mmol L⁻¹ Na₂HPO₄ (pH 10.0) for sweeping-MEKC analysis after DLLME. Under optimized conditions, the method provided as high as 3,000- to 5,000-fold enrichments factors. The linearity of the method was in the range of 3.3–200 ng g⁻¹ for chlorimuron ethyl and bensulfuron methyl, and in the range of 1.7–200 ng g⁻¹ for tribenuron methyl, chlorsulfuron and metsulfuron methyl, with the correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.9965 to 0.9983, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 ng g⁻¹. The intraday relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 5) were below 5.3% and interday RSDs (n = 15) within 6.8%. The recoveries of the method for the five sulfonylureas from soil samples at spiking levels of 5.0, 20.0, and 100.0 ng g⁻¹ were 76.0–93.5%, respectively. The developed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of the target sulfonylurea herbicide residues in soil samples with a satisfactory result.     

Extraction–thermal lens quantification of cobalt with Nitroso-R-Salt in two-phase aqueous systems with water-soluble polymer polyethylene glycol

A novel method is proposed for the extraction-thermal lens quantification of cobalt with Nitroso-R-Salt based on the distribution of the colored complex in a two-phase aqueous system on the basis of poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) and an ammonium sulfate solution followed by its thermal lens detection in the extract. The limit of detection is 0.3 μM (20 ng/mL); the lower limit of the analytical range is 0.7 μM (40 ng/mL); the relative standard deviation for the concentrations 1–50 μM makes 1–3% (n = 6, P = 0.95). In the determination of cobalt by spectrophotometry under the same conditions, the detection limit is 10 μM (0.6 μg/mL) and the lower limit of the analytical range is 40 μM (2.5 μg/mL). The precision of thermal lens measurements in PEG solutions is higher in comparison to that in aqueous ones because of the weaker interference of convection in aqueous solutions of PEG.