Continuous microwave-assisted extraction coupled on-line with liquid-liquid extraction: determination of aliphatic hydrocarbons in soil and sediments

This paper describes a new extraction method for the determination of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs) in soil and sediment samples, using continuous microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) combined with liquid-liquid extraction, for clean-up purposes. Analytical determinations were carried out by gas chromatography coupled with impact ionization mass spectrometry. The influence of the experimental conditions was tested using an agricultural soil spiked with standards (stored at 4 degrees C for 1 month) as reference soil. Maximum extraction efficiencies (80-90%) were achieved using 0.1-1.0g of sample, 60microl of water and 3ml of n-hexane (extractant) and 5min of extraction time; less than 70% of the most volatile hydrocarbons (C(9)-C(12)) were recovered since many evaporated during the drying step of the sample. MAE was compared with a conventional extraction method such as Soxhlet and a good agreement in the results was obtained (average recovery percentage value of 105% by comparing MAE against Soxhlet). Quality parameters such as linear range (0.5-800microg/g), limits of detection (LODs) (0.1-0.2microg/g) and precision (RSD, 4-6%) were determined using spiked soil samples. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of aliphatic hydrocarbons (C(9)-C(27) including pristane and phytane) in contaminated real samples.     

Flow injection analysis of sulphite by gas-phase molecular absorption UV/VIS spectrophotometry

A flow injection gas-phase molecular absorption spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of sulphite in aqueous solution. The sulphite solution, 200 microl, is introduced into a stream of distilled water. The carrier stream containing a sulphite zone is reacted, in the first mixing coil, with a stream of sulphuric acid (1 M). The evolved sulphur dioxide is purged to the segments of nitrogen flow through the second mixing coil. The gaseous phase is separated from the liquid stream by the use of a purpose built gas-liquid separator and then is swept into a purpose built flow-through cell. The absorbance of the gaseous phase is measured at 200 nm using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Up to 440 microg of sulphite is determined. The limit of detection is 0.8 microg and the R.D.S. for the determination of 70 and 220 microg of sulphite are 1.02 and 0.76%, respectively. Up to 40 samples h(-1) can be analyzed. The effect of several anions and cations on the determination of sulphite was studied and the results showed that the method is relatively free from interferences. The proposed method was applied to the determination of sulphite in a synthetic sample, water sample and lemon juice.     

Continuous solid-phase extraction and gas chromatographic determination of organophosphorus pesticides in natural and drinking waters

A simple, rapid continuous-flow solid-phase extraction method with gas chromatographic detection for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides is proposed. The continuous system consists of an adsorbent column where pesticides are preconcentrated and subsequently eluted with ethyl acetate. Various sorbent materials were assayed of which RP-C18 was found to provide the best results, with a sorption efficiency close to 100%. A comparative study of the determination of pesticides in aqueous samples was conducted using gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus (NPD) and flame ionization (FID) detection. The detection limits of the method for 10 ml of sample were between 50-130 ng/l and 4.5-1 1.7 microg/l with NPD and FID detection, respectively. The method was used to determine organophosphorus pesticides in river, pond, well and tap waters, all with good precision (2.9-4.3%) and recoveries ranging from 93.8 to 104.5%.     

基于轻质萃取剂的溶剂去乳化分散液-液微萃取-气相色谱法测定水样中多环芳烃

以密度小于水的轻质溶剂为萃取剂,建立了无需离心步骤的溶剂去乳化分散液-液微萃取-气相色谱(SD-DLLME-GC)测定水样中多环芳烃的新方法。传统分散液-液微萃取技术一般采用密度大于水的有机溶剂为萃取剂,并需要通过离心步骤促进分相。而本方法以密度比水小的轻质溶剂甲苯为萃取剂,将其与丙酮(分散剂)混合并快速注入水样,获得雾化体系;然后注入乙腈作为去乳化剂,破坏该雾化体系,无需离心,溶液立即澄清、分相;取上层有机相(甲苯)进行GC分析。考察了萃取剂、分散剂、去乳化剂的种类及其体积等因素对萃取率的影响。以40 μL甲苯为萃取剂,500 μL丙酮为分散剂,800 μL乙腈为去乳化剂,方法在20～500 μg/L范围内呈现出良好的线性(r2=0.9942～0.9999),多环芳烃的检出限(S/N=3)为0.52～5.11 μg/L。用所建立的方法平行测定5份质量浓度为40 μg/L的多环芳烃标准水样,其含量的相对标准偏差为2.2%～13.6%。本法已成功用于实际水样中多环芳烃的分析,并测得其加标回收率为80.2%～115.1%。     

Determination of L-carnitine in food supplement formulations using ion-pair chromatography with indirect conductimetric detection

A novel method for the determination of L-carnitine in food supplement formulations was developed and validated, using ion-pair chromatography with indirect conductimetric detection. The chromatographic method was based on a non-polar (C18) column and an aqueous octanesulfonate (0.64 mM) eluent, acidified with trifluoroacetic acid (5.2 mM). The retention time was 5.4 min and the asymmetry factor 0.65. A linear calibration curve from 10 to 1000 microg/ml (r= 0.99998), with a detection limit of 2.7 microg/ml (25 microl injection volume), a repeatability %RSD of 0.8 (40 microg/ml, n = 5) and reproducibility %RSD of 2.6 were achieved. The proposed method was applied for the determination of carnitine in oral solutions and capsules. No interference from excipients was found and the only pretreatment step required was the appropriate dilution with the mobile phase. Recovery from spiked samples was ranged from 97.7 to 99.7% with a precision (%RSD, n = 3) of 0.01-2.1%.     

Quantitative determination of trace concentration of organics in water by solvent extraction and fused silica capillary gas chromatography: aliphatic and polynuclear hydrocarbons

Solvent extraction procedures with six different solvents on aqueous model systems of aliphatic (C12-C22) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs: Naphthalene, acenaphtene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene) were studied for the analysis in the trace concentration range (20-50 ng ml-1) by fused silica capillary gas chromatography. Recovery efficiencies, reproducibilities and detection limits for each analyte and procedure are reported. The effect of the PAHs on the extracting rate of the aliphatic hydrocarbons at the trace concentration range is discussed.     

Simple analysis of four bisphosphonates simultaneously by reverse phase liquid chromatography using n-amylamine as volatile ion-pairing agent

Volatile organic amine was used as the mobile phase addictive during the separation of four bisphosphonates (alendronate, pamidronate, zoledronic acid and etidronate). An isocratic liquid chromatography method with evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD) was developed for these bisphosphonates which are not retained on non-polar column and lack chromophore for detection. The analytes have sufficiently separated from each other on a Phenomenex C18 column. The effects of mobile phase composition and instrumental parameters of ELSD were studied. This newly developed method enables direct measurement for analysis of bisphosphonates without the need of derivatization. This developed method provides high separation and specificity to bisphosphonate analysis. In quantitative analysis, the method showed satisfactory precision (less than 2.8%) and accuracy (higher than 94.4%), good linearity (r=0.9991-0.9997) and sufficient sensitivity (15-18 microg/ml). It can be easily and conveniently adopted for the routine quality control analysis.     

Simultaneous determination of paracetamol and caffeine by flow injection-solid phase spectrometry using C18 silica gel as a sensing support.

A continuous and simple UV-photometric flow-through biparameter-sensing device has been developed for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and caffeine at 275 nm. The sensor is based on temporary sequentiation in the arrival of the analytes to the sensing zone by on-line separation using C18 bonded phase beads (the same as that used in the sensing zone) placed into a minicolumn just before the flow cell. The sample containing these compounds is injected into the carrier solution; paracetamol is determined first because it passes through the minicolumn, while caffeine is strongly retained in it. Then, caffeine is conveniently eluted from the precolumn and develops its transitory signal. Using 200 microl of a sample and deionized water as a carrier, the analytical signal showed a very good linearity in the ranges of 10-160 microg ml(-1) and 3.5-50 microg ml(-1) with detection limits of 0.75 and 0.56 microg ml(-1) for paracetamol and caffeine, respectively. If deionized water with the pH adjusted at 12 was used as a carrier solution, these parameters were 25-400 and 4-55 microg ml(-1) with 2.0 and 0.50 microg ml(-1) as the detection limits, respectively. The biparameter optosensor was satisfactorily applied to the simultaneous determination of these two analytes in pharmaceuticals.     

Native fluorescence flow-through optosensor for the fast determination of diphenhydramine in pharmaceuticals.

A single, rapid flow-through optosensor spectrofluorometric system is proposed for the determination of diphenhydramine in different pharmaceutical preparations. This sensor was developed in conjunction with a monochannel flow-injection analysis system with fluorometric solid-phase transduction. Diphenhydramine was directly injected into a carrier stream of ethanol/water, 50% (v:v), and transitorily retained on a sorption gel Sephadex G-15 placed in the detection area into the cell. The determination was carried out without any derivatization reaction by directly measuring the intrinsic fluorescence of the analyte and using the peak height as an analytical signal. The chemical and instrumental variables were optimized, and the influence of some foreign substances that can be found in typical pharmaceutical samples containing diphenhydramine was also investigated. Diphenhydramine could be determined in the concentration ranges of 0.5 - 8 microg ml(-1) and 0.1 - 1.2 microg ml(-1) with detection limits of 0.088 and 0.019 microg ml(-1) at sampling rates of 30 and 19 h(-1) for 200 and 800 microl of the sample volume, respectively.     

Development of a chemiluminescence ethanol sensor based on nanosized ZrO2

Chemiluminescence was observed on introducing ethanol vapor to the surface of nanosized ZrO2 and this effect could be utilized to design a sensor for trace ethanol detection. The term cataluminescence (CTL) was used to describe this kind of chemiluminescence because the luminescence is generated by the catalytic oxidation of organic vapors on the solid surface. The proposed sensor showed high sensitivity to ethanol at 195 degrees C. The stability of the gas sensor was demonstrated by continuous reaction with ethanol for 100 h. Quantitative analysis was performed at an optimum wavelength of 460 +/- 10 nm. The chemiluminescence intensity was proportional to the concentration of ethanol from 1.6 to 160 microg ml(-1), with a detection limit of 0.6 microg ml(-1) (signal-to-noise ratio = 3:1). The mechanism of the chemiluminescence reaction is discussed and the results show that one of the possible luminescent intermediates is acetaldehyde. The chemiluminescence on nanosized ZrO2 observed in this work demonstrates the possibility of developing new nanomaterials for low-temperature cataluminescence detection.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in waste water by off-line coupling of solid-phase microextraction with column liquid chromatography

A new method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in waste water using solvent-free solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is described. The PAHs are extracted with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber, desorbed in 40 microl acetonitrile and measured with LC and fluorescence detection. The detection limits of this very simple method under the given conditions (extraction from 5 ml sample, extraction time 1 h) are in the range of 1-6 ng l(-1). The standard deviations (n = 6) at a concentration level of 0.8 microg l(-1) are between 1.8 and 14.4%. The procedure was used for the determination of PAHs in contaminated water samples.     

Colour reaction of free chlorine with p-amino-N,N-diethylaniline in the presence of alcohol and its analytical application

A simple, precise, rapid-colour-forming and stable spectrometric method has been developed for determining free chlorine in water. p-Amino-N,N-diethylaniline reacts with free chlorine almost instantaneously in the presence of alcohol to form a red oxidized product with absorption maximum at 513 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the free chlorine concentration range of 0-2 microg ml(-1). The molar absorptivity is 1.79 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1), limit of detection 0.0036 microg ml(-1), relative standard deviation 1.51%, and amount of free chlorine 7 microg. The colour reaction rate and absorbance are independent of temperature in the range 3-45 degrees C and the stable absorptivity lasts for at least 1 h. The method is satisfactory for the determination of free chlorine in aqueous solution.     

Determination of water-soluble UV-filters in sunscreen sprays by liquid chromatography

Liquid chromatography was used for the determination of the three most used water-soluble UV filters, benzophenone-4 (BZ4), terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid (TDS), and phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid (PBS), in aqueous sunscreen sprays. A C18 stationary phase and an isocratic mobile phase of EtOH-20 mM sodium acetate buffer of pH 4.6 (30:70, v/v) were used at a flow-rate of 0.5 ml min(-1). Mobile phase was also used as solvent for samples and standards. UV detection was at 313 nm. The analytical run took 5.5 min. The limits of detection were 0.5, 0.9 and 2 microg ml(-1) for BZ4, TDS and PBS, respectively. The proposed method does not involve highly toxicsolvents.     

Flow injection analysis of nitrite by gas phase molecular absorption UV spectrophotometry

A flow injection method on the basis of gas phase molecular absorption is described for the determination of nitrite in the aqueous solution. 200 mul of nitrite solution is introduced into a carrier stream of distilled water. The carrier stream containing nitrite zone is reacted with a stream of hydrochloric acid (2 M). The stream is then segmented by O(2) gas. The produced gaseous products are purged into the O(2) segments, react with O(2) and are carried toward the gas-liquid separator. The gaseous phase is separated from the liquid stream by the use of home-made gas-liquid separator and then is swept into a home-made flow cell. The absorbance of gaseous phase is measured at 205 nm using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Under selected conditions, two linear ranges, up to 1000 mug ml(-1) and 1000-2000 mug ml(-1) of nitrite were obtained. The limit of detection was 7.5 mug ml(-1) NO(2)(-). The relative standard deviations of repeated measurements of 100 and 500 mug ml(-1) NO(2)(-) were 3.7 and 1.0%, respectively. Up to 30 samples h(-1) can be analyzed. Interferences in the proposed method were few and were readily overcome. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of nitrite in the spiked water samples, a number of meat products and urine.     

C2-C8 hydrocarbon measurement and quality control procedures at the Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory Hohenpeissenberg

A new automated on-line GC-flame ionization detection system for long-term stationary measurements of atmospheric C2-C8 hydrocarbons in the lower ppt range is described. The system is operated at the Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory Hohenpeissenberg (47 degrees 48'N, 11 degrees 01'E) in rural south Germany. Atmospheric mixing ratios of more than 40 different hydrocarbons can be continuously measured in 80 min time intervals. Corresponding detection limits are below 3 ppt, except for propene, butenes and benzene (about 10 ppt). Detailed quality assurance and quality control protocols are described which are applied to routine operation and data analysis. The various error contributions, overall precision, and accuracy for all measured compounds are discussed in detail. Typical ambient air mixing ratios are in the range of a few ppt to a few ppb, and corresponding measurement accuracies are below 10% or 10 ppt. For less than 20% of the analyzed compounds measurement accuracies are worse, mainly because of insufficient peak separation, blank values or reduced reproducibilities. The present system was tested in international intercomparison experiments (NOMHICE, AMOHA). For most of the C2-C8 hydrocarbons analyzed, our results agreed better than +/- 10% (20% NOMHICE phase 5) or +/- 10 ppt with the corresponding reference values.     

Fiber optic multi-channel protein detector for use in preparative continuous annular chromatography

On-line coupling continuous-flow liquid membrane extraction (CFLME) with HPLC, a novel automatic system was developed for the determination of sulfonylurea herbicides in water. After an automatic trace-enrichment process by CFLME, which is the combination of continuous flow liquid-liquid extraction and support liquid membrane (SLM) extraction, the target analytes were concentrated in 50 microl of 0.2 M Na2CO3-NaHCO3 (pH 10.0) buffer. The concentrated sample solutions were injected directly onto a C18 analytical column with a valve, and detected at 240 nm with a diode array detector. Metsulfuron methyl (MSM), and DPX-A 7881 were baseline separated with a mobile phase consisting of methanol and 67 mM KH2PO4-Na2HPO4 (pH 5.91) buffer (45+55, v+v) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml min(-1). With an enrichment time of 10 min and enrichment sample volume of 20 ml, the enrichment factors and detection limits are 100 and 0.05 microg l(-1) for MSM, and 96 and 0.1 microg l(-1) for DPX-A 7881, respectively. The linear range and precision (RSD) are 0.1-50 microg l(-1) and 7.0% for MSM, and 0.2-50 microg l(-1) and 9.2% for DPX-A 7881, respectively. This proposed method was applied to determine MSM and DPX-A 7881 in seawater, tap water, and bottled mineral water with spiked recoveries in the range of 83-95% for MSM and 88-100% for DPX-A 7881, respectively.     

Determination of inorganic cations and anions by ion-exchange chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detection

Evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD) was investigated for the direct determination of alkali and alkaline-earth cations by cation-exchange chromatography. Successful single run analysis of Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ was achieved in 11 min on the Hamilton PRP-X200 column using an aqueous solution of ammonium formate as mobile phase under a salt concentration step gradient mode (20 mM and 100 mM). Surprisingly the use of ELSD reveals a weak retention of inorganic anions (Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-)) onto the polymeric cation exchanger, which enables the simultaneous determination of inorganic anions (C1- and NO3-) associated with the cations analysed (Na+ and K+).     

Determination of light hydrocarbons dissolved in seawater

A practical method for the on board determination of light (C1-C4) hydrocarbons dissolved in seawater has been developed. The gaseous hydrocarbons in seawater were extracted quickly with a vacuum sparge tower and determined gas chromatographically. By using two cryogenic columns at dry ice-ethanol temperature (-80 degrees C) connected in series, it was possible to completely collect the hydrocarbons. The precision and sensitivity were comparable to that of previous methods. The analysis was completed within 45 min for one sample and the sample volume was 500 ml. The method was successfully applied to the northern North Pacific water collected in summer 1997. The concentrations of C2-C4 hydrocarbons in surface seawater ranged from several to several tens pmol l(-1), within the range of concentrations in previous studies.     

Separation and determination of carbohydrates in drinks by ion chromatography with a self-regenerating suppressor and an evaporative light-scattering detector

Analysis of glucose and other carbohydrates are often performed by use of normal phase HPLC methods with acetonitrile as major eluent coupled with evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) or by use of anion-exchange ion chromatography (IC) methods with NaOH as eluent coupled with pulsed amperimetric electrochemical detector. In this work, a novel method for the determination of carbohydrates by IC in conjunction with a self-regenerating suppressor and an ELSD detector was investigated. Three carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) were separated using a KOH eluent generator to avoid the effect of carbon dioxide absorption in the alkaline eluent. Due to the use of the suppressor, non-volatile components were removed and a low salt background (K+ approximately 0.070 microg/mL) can be obtained so the suppressed eluent could directly go into an ELSD detector without obvious interference of inorganic salts. After examining the changes in retention and resolution, an optimized method was established (for IC: using 32 mM KOH as the eluent at a flow rate of 1 mL/min; for ELSD: operated at 95 degrees C, 4.0 bar nitrogen with a gas flow rate of 2.0 L/min) and the linearity, reproducibility, and the limit of detection (LOD) for the three carbohydrates were further evaluated. Regression equations revealed acceptable linearity (correlation coefficients=0.994-0.998) across the working-standard range (100-1000 microg/mL for glucose and sucrose, 150-1000 microg/mL for fructose) and LODs of glucose, fructose, and sucrose were 93, 126, and 90 microg/mL, respectively. This method has successfully been applied to the determination of the three carbohydrates in carbonated cola drinks and fruit juices. The recoveries were between 95 and 113% (n=3) for different carbohydrates.     

Kinetic spectrophotometric analysis of pantoprazole in commercial dosage forms.

A kinetic spectrophotometric method has been developed which is based on the oxidation of pantoprazole with Fe(III) in sulfuric acid medium. Fe(III) subsequently reduces to Fe(II), which is coupled with potassium ferricyanide to form Prussian blue. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the increase in absorbance with time (1-8 min) at 725 nm. The initial rate method is adopted for constructing the calibration graph, which is linear in the concentration range of 5-90 microg ml(-1). The regression analysis yields the calibration equation, nu = 3.467 x 10(-6) + 4.356 x 10(-5)C. The limits of detection and quantitation are 1.46 and 4.43 microg ml(-1), respectively. The proposed method was optimized and validated both statistically and through recovery studies. The experimental true bias of all samples is < +/-2.0%. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of pantoprazole in pharmaceutical preparations.