Further improvements in the 2,4-xylenol spectrophotometric method for nitrate

Improvements are described for the 2,4-xylenol spectrophotometric method for nitrate that reduce the elapsed and working time. Diluted (22 + 3) sulfuric acid is added quickly to the sample solution while the flask is immersed in tap water. 2,4-xylenol solution is added, the 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol formed is steam-distilled into a composite ammonia—isopropanol reagent, and the absorbance of the ammonium salt of 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol is measured. Further possible interferences are described. Br₂, I₂, ClO^-, CIO₃^-, BrO₃^-, and I0₄^-, cause low results by deactivating or destroying the 2,4-xylenol. Azide, hydrazine, and elemental carbon cause low results by reducing the nitrate in the strong sulfuric acid solution. Se⁺ causes low results because 2,4-xylenol is consumed in reducing Se⁴⁺ to the element. Pt⁴⁺ and Os⁸⁺ cause high results. Interferences from Br₂, I₂, ClO^-, ClO₃^- lO₃^-, and I0₄^- can be eliminated by reduction to the halide with sulfurous acid and precipitation with silver sulfate. Sulfurous acid reduction also eliminates interferences from V⁵⁺. Mn⁷⁺, Cr⁶⁺, S₂O₈^2-, and H₂0₂. Interferences from N₃^-, Br₂, I₂, and S₂0₈^2- are eliminated merely by boiling a 0.5% sulfuric acid solution for 30 min (and precipitating any residual halide with silver sulfate).     

Organic interferences and their elimination in the 2,4-xylenol spectrophotometric method for nitrate

The 2,4-xylenol spectrophotometric method for nitrate involves formation of 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol, which is steam-distilled into an ammonia—water—isopropanol mixture. The yellow color of the ammonium salt of 6-nitro-2,4-xylenol is measured at 455 nm. A detailed study of the possible interferences from 123 representative organic compounds is described; 61 compounds interfered (when present in amounts of 0.1 g in the original sample). The interfering compounds can be classified according to their mode of interference: (1) compounds that are readily nitrated or oxidized by nitrate in the sulfuric acid medium used cause low results; (2) compounds containing the ONO₂ group that hydrolyze to nitrate cause high results; (3) compounds that steam-distil to produce colored solutions; (4) compounds that steam-distil to produce turbid solutions; (5) compounds that hydrolyze, either in water or sulfuric acid solution, to produce inorganic ions or compounds (e.g. Cl^-, S^2-, and H₂O₂) that repress the color development. Three procedures are described for the elimination of the interferences: (1) oxidation of the organic compound with permanganate, reduction of the excess of permanganate with hydrogen peroxide, and destruction of the peroxide by boiling in the presence of Fe(III) catalyst (this is unsuitable for organic compounds containing nitrogen, as there is invariably some oxidation to nitrate); (2) extraction of interfering organic compounds with methyl isobutyl ketone; (3) precipitation—adsorption method involving treatment with zinc sulfate and sufficient sodium hydroxide to precipitate most of the zinc as zinc hydroxide, addition of 3 g of activated carbon, digestion at 55–65°C for 20 min. cooling, dilution, and filtration. Method (3) is applicable to all organic compounds tested except formaldehyde. The amount of organic compound used to test the methods was normally 0.25 g in the solution being treated.     

Effects of γ-radiation on spectrophotometric determination of uranium as thiocyanate

The effects of γ-radiation on the spectrophotometric determination of uranium as the thiocyanate complex in water and acetone-water solutions have been studied. When tin(II) chloride is present, the absorbance of uranium thiocyanate in aqueous solution decreases with increasing radiation dose until the appcarance of radiolytic elemental sulfur causes an apparent increase. In the absence of tin(II) chloride, the turbidity caused by radiolytic sulfur causes an increase in absorbance over the whole dose range studied. In acetone-water solution, similar but much more severe effects occur. Observations of radiation effects of some of the individual reagents used in the spectrophotometric determinations are included, as well as indications of the errors caused by specific radiation doses.     

Indirect spectrophotometric determination of cyanide by means of the colour reaction of silver with cadion 2B in presence of triton X-100

Silver gives a colour reaction with cadion 2B in the presence of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100, and the suppression of the colour by competitive complexation of the silver can be used for the spectrophotometric determination of cyanide. Cyanide in waste water can be separated by distillation from other ions that also interfere, and then determined.     

The determination of nitrite and nitrate by the ring-oven technique

Determinations of nanogram amounts of nitrite and nitrate individually and together, based on a variation of the ring-oven technique, are described. In the “segment technique” used, a stable standard scale is not necessary. Interferences have been studied. Nitrite in sausages can be determined.     

Spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum and tungsten in niobium with dithiol

A new procedure for the determination of molybdenum and tungsten in niobium has been developed. The method involves the formation of the intensely colored complex of molybdenum with toluene-3,4-dithiol in an aqueous medium and its extraction into carbon tetrachloride followed by the reduction of tungsten and the formation and extraction of its complex. The recommended reagent is stable for at least 90 days. Both the molybdenum and the tungsten dithiol complexes are formed quantitatively within 5 min. Interlaboratory evaluation of the method reveals within-laboratory and between-laboratory relative standard deviations of about 1.5% and 2.9% respectively.     

Fluorimetric determination of aromatic aldehydes with 2,2'-dithiobis(1-aminonaphthalene)

A sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of aromatic aldehydes is based on their reaction in dilute sulfuric acid with a new reagent, 2,2'-dithiobis(l-amino-naphthalene) in the presence of tri-n-butylphosphine, sodium sulfite and sodium phosphite at ambient temperature. The fluorescences produced are fairly characteristic of individual aldehydes. The method is extremely selective for aromatic aldehydes and very sensitive, especially for p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, o-methoxybenzaldehyde, p-methoxybenzaldehyde and p-tolualdehyde which can be determined at concentrations of as little as 3–5 ng ml^-1.     

The analysis of volatile liquid mixtures by thermal conductivity measurements on their vapors

The composition of solutions of volatile liquids can be determined by volatilization into a stream of inert gas and measurement of the thermal conductivity of the resulting gas mixture. The method is directly applicable to binary liquid mixtures which do not show maxima or minima in the conductivity-composition curve and, with modification, it may be applied to the analysis of other mixtures.The observed and calculated thermal conductivities for the acetone— water— nitrogen system showed good agreement that was typical of a number of systems     

Molecular emission cavity analysis13-a new flame analytical technique : Part II.The determination of selenium and tellurium

The determination of 0.4–4 μg of selenium by molecular emission cavity analysis is described. Selenium in organic compounds is determined after oxygen flask combustion. Metal ion interferences are eliminated by reduction of selenium to the element, filtration onto a glass-fibre paper, and direct incorporation of the filter into the cavity. Applications to the determination of selenium in inorganic and organic compounds are described. The determination of μg-amounts of tellurium is also outlined.     

Spectrophotometric determination of carbon monoxide with ruthenium(II) octaethylporphyrin

A novel spectrophotometric method for the estimation of carbon monoxide at levels from 2 to 250 ppm is presented. The method is empirical and based on formation of a carbonyl complex of ruthenium(II) octaethylporphyrin and measurement of the difference in absorbance at 393.5 nm between this complex and the porphyrin reagent. Oxygen and nitrogen do not interfere and up to 300 ppm of sulphur dioxide and about 1500 ppm of carbon dioxide can be tolerated in determination of carbon monoxide at the 4 and 10 ppm levels. Hydrogen sulphide interferes and must be removed before the determination. The method has been tested over the range 2-45 ppm of carbon monoxide with 16 synthetic and 2 commercial standard air samples. The average error was +/- 3%. Application to urban-air samples and car-exhaust gases yielded acceptable results. The main disadvantages are the tedious preparation of the initial ruthenium(III)-porphyrin compound and the decomposition of the reagent in the presence of hydrazine.     

An immobilized immuno-stirrer for the determination of creatine kinase-mb isoenzyme in blood serum

An immobilized immuno-stirrer is described for the determination of creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme in blood serum. The IgG antibodies are immobilized on alkylamine glass beads using glutaraldehyde as cross-linking reagent, and the beads are packed into a rotating porous cell. After incubation with stirring, the CK-M isoenzymes in the blood serum sample are inhibited and are bound to the antibodies inside the stirrer. The residual CK-B isoenzyme activity is then determined spectrophotometrically or electrochemically. The binding capacity of the immuno-stirrer to CK-M isoenzyme was estimated to be 800 Ul^-1 with an average inhibitory efficiency of 97.8%. The within-day and day-to-day coefficients of variation were 5% and 4%, respectively, over a period of 52 days. An immuno-stirrer loaded with antibodies attached to cyanogen bromide-activated cellulose beads was also characterized, but the antibodies were not as stable as on glass beads.     

An extraction—spectrophotometmc method for the determination of non-ionic surfactants

The surfactant is extracted into 1,2-dichlorobenzene as a neutral adduct with potassium tetrathiocyanatozincate(II), and zinc(II) in the extract is determined spectrophotometrically after addition of l-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol and triethanolamine. With a 150-ml water sample, the limit of detection is 15 μg l^-1 (as Triton X-100). The method requires only one extraction and is applicable, without modification, to fresh, estuarine and sea-water samples.     

Peptides-XXXIV: Synthesis of the 1–16 fragment of a lysozyme analogue

The synthesis of the 1–16 fragment of a lysozyme analogue is described. Three protected subfragments 1-4, 5-10 and 11-16 were combined using the N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide method. The fully protected hexadecapeptide was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex LH-60 eluting with N-methylpyrrolidone.     

The determination of tellurium by nondispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometry using the hydride generation technique

Atomic fluorescence spectrometry with a nondispersive measuring system is combined with a hydride generation technique for the determination of tellurium. Atomic fluorescence measurement is based on the reduction of tellurium by either metallic zinc or sodium borohydride, introduction of the generated tellurium hydride into a premixed argon (entrained air)-hydrogen flame, and excitation with a tellurium electrodeless discharge lamp. The comparison of the zinc and the sodium borohydride reduction methods is discussed in terms of detection limit, precision and interference. The best attainable detection limits for tellurium are 2ng (0.1 $\text{ng}\text{ml}$) and 30 ng (1.5 $\text{ng}\text{ml}$) with the zinc and the sodium borohydride methods respectively. Analytical working curves obtained from peak-height and peak-area measurements are linear over a range of approximately 4 orders of magnitude. Of the mineral acids examined in the range up to 2.0 m. nitric acid gives a depressing interference in the range greater than 0.5 m in the zinc method, whereas all of the acids greater than 1.0 m give a slight enhancement of the signal in the sodium borohydride method. The presence of several elements including other hydride-forming elements in 1000-fold ratio to tellurium causes a depressing interference, while enhancing interferences from tungsten and vanadium are observed in the zinc and the sodium borohydride methods, respectively. The present system coupled with the zinc method has been applied to the determination of tellurium in several samples of high-purity copper metal after separation of the analyte from copper by passing an ammoniacal solution of the sample through Chelex-100 resin. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.     

Use of the vanadium(V)-xylenol orange mixture as an improved reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of traces of hydrogen peroxide

The reaction in V(V)-xylenol orange (XO)-H₂O₂ system was studied by spectrometry. On the addition of hydrogen peroxide to the mixture of vanadium(V) and XO (V-XO reagent), the absorption peak of V(V)-XO complex (λ_max = 582 nm) decreased significantly. The decrease in the absorbance (denoted as ΔA) was proportional to the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The constant values of ΔA were obtained under the condition of [XO]/[V(V)] = 0.5 ~ 1.2 and in the pH 3.5 ~ 4.5 region. Based on these results, the conditions for the use of the V-XO reagent in the colorimetric determination of hydrogen peroxide were examined in detail. The V-XO reagent was found to be useful for the trace analysis of hydrogen peroxide with high sensitivity, and the data were little affected by the presence of some inorganic and organic substances. The lower limit of the determination is about 1 × 10^?6M.     

A colorimetric determination of thorium

A colorimetric method for the determination of thorium is proposed. It is based upon the precipitation of thorium with a standard solution of oxalic acid and the subsequent reaction of the excess oxalic acid with a standard solution of potassium permanganate. The absorbancy of the remaining permanganate solution is directly proportional to the thorium present. The variables affecting this method have been critically studied. Reliable determinations can be made in the range of 3 to 30 mg of thorium in 1 cm cells when the colored solution is diluted to 250 ml. Most interfering substances can be removed by electrolysis in a mercury cathode cell or by the precipitation of thorium with potassium iodate.     

A computational approach to the spectrophotometric determination of stability constants-II Application to metalloporphyrin-axial ligand interactions in non-aqueous solvents

The ability of the computer program SQUAD to deduce a plausible equilibrium model, associated stability constants and spectra of individual species is described. The original version of SQUAD has been extensively modified and these changes are detailed. In particular a "user-friendly" method of data input has been implemented that simplifies familiarization with the program. Brevity of program code has been sacrificed in favour of the new data input and error-checking features of SQUAD, with beneficial results. The application of SQUAD to five non-aqueous metalloporphyrin-axial ligand interactions exemplifies the program's ability to handle widely different types of equilibrium systems.     

Carbocyclization in natural products—II : Brominative cyclization of dihydrocostunolide

Treatment of dihydrocostunolide 1 with NBS in aqueous acetone at room temperature furnished bromolactones 3, 4 and 5. Structural evidence for these bromolactones rests upon spectral data and chemical correlations with santanolide “c” 10. Mass spectral fragmentation patterns for the bromolactones, with special reference to 4, have been also discussed.