Detection and quantification of additives (urea, biuret and poultry litter) in alfalfas by NIR spectroscopy with fibre-optic probe

The additives (urea, biuret and poultry litter) present in alfalfa, which contribute non-proteic nitrogen, were analysed using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology together with a remote reflectance fibre-optic probe. We used 75 samples of known alfalfa without additives and 75 samples with each of the additives, urea (0.01-10%), biuret (0.01-10%) and poultry litter (1-25%). Using the discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) algorithm, the presence or absence of the additives urea, biuret and poultry litter is classified and predicted with a high prediction rate of 96.9%, 100% and 100%, obtaining the equations of discrimination for each additive. The regression method employed for the quantification was modified partial least squares (MPLS). The equations were developed using the fibre-optic probe to determine the content of urea, biuret and poultry litter with multiple correlation coefficients (RSQ) and prediction corrected standard errors (SEP (C)) of 0.990, 0.28% for urea, 0.991, 0.29% for biuret and 0.925, 2.08% for poultry litter. The work permits the instantaneous and simultaneous prediction and determination of urea, biuret and poultry litter in alfalfas, applying the fibre-optic directly on the ground samples of alfalfa.     

Photometric detection of urea in natural waters

The photometric detection of urea with the use of p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde as a reagent has been develeped. The method allows one to reliably determine 10 mg/L of urea with the volume of an aliquot of 10 mL. The method has been applied for the determination of urea in river water.     

New metallochromic indicator for barium: Determination of sulfate in water and soil extracts

A new metallochromic indicator for barium, Orthanilic NM, is synthesized and proposed. The color reaction of Orthanilic NM with barium ions is compared with the reactions of carboxyarsenazo and other orthanilic group reagents, such as Orthanilic K, nitchromazo, etc. The quantitative characteristics of the reactions are determined. It is shown that Orthanilic NM can be used for the titrimetric (down to 20 mg/L) and photometric (down to 0.2 mg/L) determinations of sulfate. Substantial amounts of conventional anions, alkali, alkaline-earth, and nonferrous metals do not interfere with the titrimetric determination (at pH 2.5). For the photometric determination, a 1:1 Ba²⁺-Orthanilic NM complex is used at pH 2. In these conditions, sulfite and phosphate do not interfere with the determination either. Procedures are developed for the determination of sulfate in various types of water and soil extracts. Examples of their practical application are given.     

Extraction and spectrophotometric determination of copper with thiobenzoylacetone (3-mercapto-1-phenylbut-2-en-1-one)

The copper(II)-thiobenzoylacetone complex, extracted into benzene, is used for photometric determination of copper at 410 nm after excess of reagent has been removed by scrubbing with a buffer at pH12. The extraction is quantitative over a broad pH range (3.5-9.5). The method is highly sensitive for the determination of copper.     

Sensitive method for continuous detection of peptides and proteins using the biuret reaction and a copper-Sephadex reactor (author's transl)

We describe a detection method relying both on the copper displacement from a Sephadex gel by peptides and proteins, and on the subsequent colorimetric determination of the complexed copper. The system described is fully automated and it permits a continuous analysis of column effluents. The choice of cuprizone as a detecting reagent for copper, enables one to bring the detection limit down to 200 ng for albumin and 60 ng for alanylglycylglycin. The specificity of the method is the same as the biuret reaction. Some examples of the possible applications are given.     

Photometric and fluorimetric kinetic determination of manganese by means of the oxidation of sodium 4,8-diamino-1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate

Three kinetic methods for the determination of manganese, two of them by photometric monitoring and another by fluorimetric monitoring, based on the oxidation of sodium 4,8-diamino-1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate are described. A critical comparative evaluation of both monitoring techniques and their effect on the analytical figures of merit of the methods has been made. Manganese contents between 6.5 and 21.7 ng ml can be determined with relative standard deviation of +/- 3.7%. Under appropriate working conditions, the fluorimetric method can be satisfactorily applied to the determination of manganese in environmental samples of tap water and workroom metallic fumes.     

Thermodynamics of alcohols and monosaccharides in aqueous solutions of biuret at 25°C

The excess enthalpies of ternary aqueous solutions of biuret with four aliphatic alcohols or four isomeric pentoses have been determined by flow microcalorimetry at 25°C. The coefficients of the virial expansion of the excess enthalpies have been evaluated and compared with those already reported for urea and thiourea with the same alcohols and pentoses used here. For biuret-alcohol systems, the cross coefficients are positive and depend on the length and branching of the alkyl chain of the alcohols. On the contrary, they are negative for biuret-pentose systems. Hence, biuret, as urea and thioura, is able to differentiate the behavior of families of solutes characterized by the same functional groups. The results are interpreted in terms of the relative stabilities of the hydration cospheres of predominantly hydrophobic or predominantly hydrophilic cosolutes. However, hypotheses about the hydration cospheres of the saccharides, which are more complex than those used previously, seem to be necessary to rationalize their complete behavior in water.     

Einflu\ von Äthylendiamintetraacetat und TriÄthanolaminhydrochlorid auf die Proteinbestimmung mit der Biuret-Methode

Buffers containing triethanolamine hydrochloride and EDTA decrease the sensitivity of the protein determination by the biuret reaction. This effect is not caused by changes in the p_H but is due to an increase in the optical density (O.D. at 540 nm) of the biuret reagent by formation of a triethynolamine-copper complex. By increasing the concentration of the biuret reagent the sensitivity of the biuret method can be increased by about 33%. In the range between 0.05 and 0.23 the ionic strength of the buffers does not influence the O.D. of the biuret reagent. EDTA causes a remarkable decrease in the O.D. of the biuret reagent only at concentrations higher than 5 mM (in the buffer). This effect can be eliminated by increasing the amount of added biuret reagent.     

Die photometrische Phosphorbestimmung über die Phosphorvanadomolybdänsäure bei Chromstählen

Zusammenfassung Nachdem gezeigt wurde, daß die maßanalytische Phosphorbestimmung leicht zu hohe Werte liefert, wurden die bekannten Verfahren der photometrischen Bestimmung über die Phosphorvanadomolybdänsäure überprüft. Die vonSchwarz ² empfohlene Arbeitsweise zur Beseitigung der Störungen durch Ta, Nb, Ti und W konnte voll bestätigt werden. Die behauptete¹ Nchtanwendbarkeit auf Manganstahl erwies sich als nicht zutreffend. Die Schwierigkeiten bei Gehalten über l % Cr wurden durch Nitritzusatz in einfacher Weise behoben.

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The photometric determination of phosphorus in chromium steels via phosphovanadomolybdic acid

Summary After it had been shown that the titrimetric determination of phosphorus easily leads to high results, the known procedures for the photometric determination via the phosphovanadomolybdic acid were reviewed. The method recommended bySchwarz for the removal of the interferences by Ta, Nb, Ti and W was fully confirmed. The asserted non-applicability to manganese steels proved to be false. The difficulties at chromium contents exceeding 1% were removed in simple way by the addition of nitrite.

     

Pyridazines 93. an unexpected reaction behaviour of 3‐aminopyridazine towards 2‐methylphenylisocyanate

Reaction of 3‐aminopyridazine ( 1 ) with 2‐mefhylphenylisocyante ( 4 ) affords not only the desired urea derivative ( 5 ) but also an unexpected side‐product ( 6 ), which could be identified as the corresponding biuret derivative by means of elemental and spectroscopic data as well as crystal structure determination.     

Phase equilibria in binary subsystems of urea–biuret–water system

Joint results of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) experiments were the basis for the fusion enthalpy and temperature determination of the biuret (NH₂CO)₂NH (synthesis by-product of the urea fertilizer (NH₂)₂CO). Recommended values are Δ_m H = (26.1 ± 0.5) kJ mol⁻¹, T _m = (473.8 ± 0.4) K. The DSC method allowed for the phase diagrams of “water–biuret,” “water–urea,” “urea–biuret” binary systems to be studied; as a result, liquidus and solidus curves were precisely defined. Stoichiometry and decomposition temperature of the biuret hydrate identified, composition of the compound in “urea–biuret” system was suggested.     

Determination of anthocyanins in wine based on flow-injection, liquid--solid extraction, continuous evaporation and high-performance liquid chromatography--photometric detection

A continuous method, easy to automate, for the determination of anthocyanins in wine based on the coupling of continuous liquid–solid extraction, evaporation, HPLC individual separation and photometric detection is proposed. The target analytes are removed from the wine in a continuous fashion using a C₁₈ minicolumn and eluted with an aqueous solution (pH 2) with 16% acetonitrile. The eluted fraction is concentrated by solvent evaporation assisted by heat and dragging off the vapour using a flow of N₂. For in-line preconcentration, a continuous evaporation module was designed and located in the manifold between the solid-phase minicolumn and the injection valve of the chromatograph. In this way, injection of the sample into the dynamic system leads the plug through it for liquid–solid extraction of the anthocyanins, partial evaporation of the eluent (with a preconcentration factor as required) and transport to the high-pressure injection valve of the chromatograph, where individual separation and subsequent photometric detection take place. The method thus developed for the determination of malvidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside and peonidin-3-glucoside anthocyanins in Spanish red wines is more sensitive than the batch manual method based on the same steps, has better linearity of the calibrations curves with lower detection limits and much wider determination range for the most abundant anthocyanins in wine. In addition, the method can be fully automated with low acquisition and maintenance costs.     

Determination of total proteins in several tissues of rat: a comparative study among spectrophotometric methods

In the present paper, five spectrophotometric methods — biuret, Lowry modified by Hartree (Lowry/Hartree), p-chloranil, ultraviolet at 280 nm (UV-280 nm), and ultraviolet at 260/280 nm (UV-260/280 nm) — were used for protein determination in several rat tissues and the results were compared. The Lowry/Hartree method showed the highest sensitivity (0.9 μg/ml) and the biuret method the lowest sensitivity (55.7 μg/ml). The results were not statistically different for the following methods and tissues: Lowry/Hartree was compared to biuret for five tissues (adrenal, spleen, whole brain, liver and small intestine), to p-chloranil for two tissues (liver and epididymal fat pad), and to UV-260/280 nm for three tissues (whole brain, liver and pancreas). Since the Lowry/Hartree method needs a larger period of time for a whole assay to be carried out, we recommend for determination of total protein the following methods: UV-260/280 nm for whole brain, liver, and pancreas, p-chloranil for epididymal fat pad, and biuret for other tissues. We do not recommend the UV-280 nm method because there are many interfering substances in the tissues.     

Linear polybiurets: Facile synthesis and characteristic properties

Linear polybiurets have been synthesized by polyaddition of benzyloxyamine and diisocyanates, and properties of the novel polymeric materials have been elucidated. Prior to polymerization, model reactions between benzyloxyamine and phenyl isocyanate were examined in detail and proved to be controlled by the molar ratio of reagents and by catalysts to give the urea (1:1 adduct) and/or biuret (1:2 adduct). Under appropriate conditions, the biuret was synthesized in a quantitative yield. Polymerization of equimolar amounts of benzyloxyamine and diphenylmethane or hexamethylene diisocyanate proceeded smoothly to give polybiurets with inherent viscosities up to 0.52 dL/g. The benzyl group of the model biuret and polybiuret could be removed by catalytic hydrogenation. Both the N-benzyloxy-type and N-hydroxy-type polybiurets showed excellent solubility in common organic solvents. The two kinds of polybiurets as well as model biurets adsorbed metal cations efficiently. The N-hydroxybiuret structure exhibited particularly high affinity for iron(III) and was useful for selective removal of iron from metal cation mixtures. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Vergleichende untersuchungen zur titrimetrischen,photometrischen und ionen-chromatographischen hydrogencarbonat-bestimmung in trink-und mineralwässern: A comparison of titrimetric,spectrophotometric and ion-chromatographic methods for the determination of hydrogencarbonate in drinking and mineral waters

A photometric method for hydrogencarbonate determination in various natural waters is presented, based on measurements with methyl red. Accuracy of the results is demonstrated by comparison with titrimetric and ion-chromatographic methods. The photometric method is suitable for contents in the range of 1–2000 mg l^?1. The linear range of the continous flow method varies form 6–60 mg l^?1 to 12–90 mg l^?1 depending on conditions.     

Trace determination of gaseous chlorine: a comparison between an electrometric method and the methyl orange photometric method

Two methods for the determination of molecular chlorine in air are critically compared. An electrometric method based on measurement of the reduction current of chlorine to chloride is superior to the photometric determination based on bleaching of an acidic solution of methyl orange. The limit of detection for the electrometric method is 50 μg m^-3; the standard error of the mean is better than 2%, and the sensitivity is 5.9 μg m^-3 μ A^-1 at +50 mV applied potential versus SCE with a mercury cathode. The limit of detection for the photometric method is 300 μg m^-3; the precision is of the order of 5%, and the sensitivity is 80 μg m^-3 for an error of 1% in the absorption measurements. The accuracy of the electrometric method is good whereas the photometric method yields consistently low results. The electrometric method is less subject to interferences than the photometric method.     

Determination of total proteins: a study of reaction between quinones and proteins

A previous study was undertaken to test the reaction of several quinones (p-benzoquinone; 2,5-dichloro and 2,6-dichloro p-benzoquinone; tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone; tetrachloro-o-benzoquinone; 2,5-dichloro-3,6-dihydroxy-p-benzoquinone; benz[a]anthracene-7,12-dione) with bovine serum albumin (BSA). From this study, we have devised a spectrophotometric method for determination of total proteins. The quinone, tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone (p-chloranil), showed the best result. The product of reaction between proteins and p-chloranil absorbed at 360 nm and Beer's law was followed up to 200 mug ml(-1) of BSA. The product of reaction of BSA/p-chloranil was stable for 30 min, after that the absorbance increased 16% and kept stable for 24 h. The p-chloranil method showed a limit of detection (1.25 mug ml(-1)) lower than the biuret method (52.0 mug ml(-1)) or p-benzoquinone (PBQ) method (2.6-4.0 mug ml(-1)). The method was applied to spectrophotometric determination of total proteins in blood plasma; the results were compared with the biuret method that is widely used in clinical analysis.     

A Study of the Slow Release of Urea from Microcapsules with TDI as the Wall-Sealing Treatment

The release of urea from ethylcellulose coated microcapsules was efficiently reduced by post-treatment with toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) in n-hexane. Our results show that TDI can be used as a sealant which modifies the shell characteristics of the ethylcellulose film. The modification is rather complicated in that it probably includes cross-linking between ethylcellulose and TDI, a reaction between urea and TDI, and biuret or polyurea formation from TDI absorbed on the microcapsules surface with moisture. The influence of post-treated conditions on the release of urea from ethylcellulose shell was studied.     

A conductometric device for monitoring of enzyme-catalyzed reactions

A new conductometric device is described for measurement of conductance changes during enzyme-catalyzed reactions. The use of platinum resistances inside the cell allows temperature regulation to be obtained without circulating water. Solutions are introduced and removed from the cell with a peristaltic pump. The device is evaluated by assaying serum urea concentrations down to 40 nM. The results correlate well with a spectrophotometric method based on biacetylmonoxime (r=0.997).     

Selective extraction and photometric determination of trace vanadium with cinnamohydroxamic acid in MIBK and its application to steel and rock ore analysis

A sensitive and selective photometric method for the trace determination of vanadium with cinnamohydroxamic acid extracted from 1.8 M HCl in methyl isobutyl ketone is described. The wine-red chelate formed under an optimum acidity of 1.3-2.6 M HCl absorbs with a maximum at 525 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the range 0-8 ppm of vanadium(V) and the optimum range of determination of vanadium is found to be 1-8 ppm. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity are 6.0 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.0086 mug cm(-2) of vanadium(V) at 525 nm. The photometric determination of trace amounts of vanadium in materials such as alloys, minerals and rock ores is also reported. The solvent extraction methods are simple, rapid and highly selective with fluoride used as a masking agent for Fe and Ti. The standard deviations are minimal and the mean error is only 0.015%.