A comparative analysis of gold-rich plant material using various analytical methods

During 2003 a field demonstration of gold phytoextraction technology was conducted in Brazil. As there is no commercially available biogeochemical standard reference material with an elevated concentration of gold, the trial biomass was analysed for its gold content using five analytical methods, at five laboratories, to confirm the concentration of gold in the harvested plant material. Nitric and hydrochloric acid digest followed by ICP-OES solution analysis of a doré bead prepared through fire assay of vegetative material was considered the benchmark analytical method to which the other results were compared. The gold concentrations reported by the five laboratories varied widely. Flame atomic absorption analysis of a solution prepared through the digest of plant ash by aqua regia proved the most accurate analytical method relative to fire assay. Gold concentrations reported by a New Zealand commercial laboratory using ICP-MS and a standard ‘biological materials digest’ procedure were affected by the digest method employed. X-ray fluorescence results may have been affected by synthetic standards that were prepared specifically for this investigation. Alternatively, matrix effects may not have been fully corrected for using XRF. Analysis of metal-rich biomass is becoming more common due to the popularity of studies that use plants to absorb heavy metals. The results of our comparative investigation emphasise that due care and consideration must be given to the selection of the analytical method chosen to analyse such plant material. Our results also highlight the need for standard reference materials that are suitably enriched in metals, such that these may be of use to phytoextraction studies.     

Systematic Errors in the Determination of Trace Metals by GFAAS Technique,Part I

The behaviour of solutions containing 7 metals in trace range (pH=2) prepared in borosilicate glass and polyethylene containers and transferred into commercial polyethylene–polypropylene and home-made quartz autosampler cups for measurements were studied using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The different interactions between metal solution and vessel material were observed for the metals studied. The most significant losses of chromium and nickel occurred on a polyethylene surface, while the highest absorbance signals were registered from quartz containers. Higher absorbance signals from quartz containers were also obtained for cadmium and copper solutions. Contrary to these results, the absorbance signals for lead solutions were lowest when measured from quartz vessels. The container material had no influence on the analytical signals of cobalt and manganese.Received January 15, 2003; accepted April 15, 2003 published online August 22, 2003     

Quantification of heavy metals for the recycling of waste plastics from electrotechnical applications

Analytical data on element concentrations in plastics is an important prerequisite for the recycling of technical waste plastics. The chemical resistance and high additive contents of such materials place a high demand on analytical methods for quantifying elements in thermoplastics from electrotechnical applications. The applicability of three common independent analytical methods (EDXRF, AAS, ICP-AES) for the quantification of heavy metals in such technical waste plastics of varying composition was studied. Following specific sample pre-treatments, such as closed vessel microwave assisted digestion and wet ashing with H(2)SO(4), three hazardous metals (Pb, Cd, Sb) were determined. Conditions were investigated to minimize matrix effects for all analytical techniques employed. The trueness for the quantification of Cd was checked by using the certified reference material VDA 001-004 (40-400 mug g(-1) Cd in polyethylene), and no significant differences to certified values were found. The best detection limits were found to be 2, 1.3 and 7.9 mug g(-1) for Cd, Pb and Sb, respectively. In technical waste polymers, Sb was detected to be in the range 1-7%, Cd in the range 80-12 000 mug g(-1) and Pb in the range 90-700 mug g(-1). The precision reached for the analysis of this complex material, is comparable for all methods, and can be expressed by a relative standard deviation smaller than 8%. Application of multivariate analysis of variances (MANOVA) showed no differences between the mean results, except for the ICP-AES analysis following wet ashing with H(2)SO(4).     

Fast Analytical Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF) of Polypropylenes

Analytical temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) is a complementary technique of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for the analysis of polyolefin structure. By connecting a high-temperature GPC with a gas chromatograph (GC) oven it is possible to build a fast analytical TREF, which permits a dramatic reduction in analysis time by directly injecting the polymer solution onto the cold column, as compared with the traditional TREF in which the slow cooling step usually takes more than 40 h. The method was successfully applied on six commercial random and homo polypropylenes for which similar thermograms were obtained for fast- and slow-cooling TREF. The obtained results show subtle differences in the behavior of polypropylene melting in solution as compared with previously analyzed polyethylene. The most important is the difference of 12.6°C between the melting temperatures in the presence of trichlorobenzene and xylene, which is much higher for polypropylene than the 3.7°C measured for polyethylene.     

Multielement determination of trace metals in seawater by ICP-MS with aid of down-sized chelating resin-packed minicolumn for preconcentration

The multielement determination of trace metals in seawater was carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with aid of a down-sized chelating resin-packed minicolumn for preconcentration. The down-sized chelating resin-packed minicolumn was constructed with two syringe filters (DISMIC 13HP and Millex-LH) and an iminodiacetate chelating resin (Chelex 100, 200-400 mesh), with which trace metals in 50 mL of original seawater sample were concentrated into 0.50 mL of 2 M nitric acid, and then 100-fold preconcentration of trace metals was achieved. Then, 0.50 mL analysis solution was subjected to the multielement determination by ICP-MS equipped with a MicroMist nebulizer for micro-sampling introduction. The preconcentration and elution parameters such as the sample-loading flow rate, the amount of 1 M ammonium acetate for elimination of matrix elements, and the amount of 2 M nitric acid for eluting trace metals were optimized to obtain good recoveries and analytical detection limits for trace metals. The analytical results for V, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd, Pb, and U in three kinds of seawater certified reference materials (CRMs; CASS-3, NASS-4, and NASS-5) agreed well with their certified values. The observed values of rare earth elements (REEs) in the above seawater CRMs were also consistent with the reference values. Therefore, the compiled reference values for the concentrations of REEs in CASS-3, NASS-4, and NASS-5 were proposed based on the observed values and reference data for REEs in these CRMs.     

Optimised method of coal digestion for trace metal determination by atomic absorption spectroscopy

Understanding the transport of trace elements through a coal-fired power plant requires reliable analytical methods for these elements in all the ingoing and outgoing mass streams. Coal and different kinds of ashes comprise the most abundant mass streams in such a plant. As a continuation of our previous work, we have optimised a digestion method for the AAS determination of heavy metals in coal samples. It has become evident that complete dissolution of metals in coal samples and accurate results in subsequent analysis can be obtained by means of applying pressurised digestion under microwave heating. The combination of HNO₃ (conc.) and HF (conc.) in the volume ratio of 50?:?1 attacked the sample well enough, and good recoveries for all the metals studied were obtained. Surprisingly good results were obtained also when HNO₃ alone was used as the digestion acid.     

The Application of ICP-MS for Non-ferrous Metals Analysis

This paper reviews the current application of ICP-MS in non-ferrous metals analysis. Many analytical techniques that deal with the samples preparation,samples introduction, spectroscopic matrix interference, calibration and data treatment for non-ferrous metals analysis of ICP-MS are discussed. More and more fields such as geological,environment, biology and industry adopt ICP-MS as main analytical means for non-ferrous metals.     

Optimised method of coal digestion for trace metal determination by atomic absorption spectroscopy

Understanding the transport of trace elements through a coal-fired power plant requires reliable analytical methods for these elements in all the ingoing and outgoing mass streams. Coal and different kinds of ashes comprise the most abundant mass streams in such a plant. As a continuation of our previous work, we have optimised a digestion method for the AAS determination of heavy metals in coal samples. It has become evident that complete dissolution of metals in coal samples and accurate results in subsequent analysis can be obtained by means of applying pressurised digestion under microwave heating. The combination of HNO₃ (conc.) and HF (conc.) in the volume ratio of 50 : 1 attacked the sample well enough, and good recoveries for all the metals studied were obtained. Surprisingly good results were obtained also when HNO₃ alone was used as the digestion acid. Received: 18 June 1998 / Revised: 23 September 1998 / Accepted: 24 September 1998     

Comparison between the distributions of excitation temperatures and the analytical line intensities of noble metals in two-jet arc plasmatrons used in atomic emission analysis

The results of a study of DGP-50 and new EDP-355 argon two-jet plasmatrons, which are used in the atomic emission analysis of geological samples, are reported. The distributions of temperatures and the analytical line intensities of noble metals with torch height were measured for either of the plasmatrons. It was found that the temperature reached in the EDP-355 plasmatron was higher than that in the DGP-50 plasmatron at equal flow rates of a plasma-forming gas. A decrease in the flow rate of a plasma-forming gas in the EDP-355 plasmatron resulted in an increase in the analytical lines of noble metals by a factor of 1.5–2. It was found experimentally that the EDP-355 plasmatron is a promising source for emission spectral analysis in the determination of noble metals.     

Validation of an analytical method to determine trace metal impurities in fluoride compounds by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy

 The development of an analytical method for the determination of some heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Co, Zn and Ni) in fluoride compounds [Cu(BF₄)₂, Sn(BF₄)₂, Pb(BF₄)₂ and HBF₄] by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy is described. This method is to be used as a routine analytical method in an industrial quality control laboratory. To this end the "performance characteristics" of an instrumental analytical method such as matrix effects, sensitivity, linearity, detection and quantitation limits, precision and accuracy were evaluated for every system under study. The results of these investigations showed that non-spectral interferences (due to the presence of large concentrations of major metals such as Cu, Sn and Pb) were observed. Nevertheless it was possible to define a matrix concentration interval where matrix effects were not statistically significant, and therefore a direct calibration approach could be used as the calibration tool whenever the major metal concentration was not higher than 40×10^–3 kg l^–1. A guide to the developement of an analytical method for trace metal determination is provided. General tools for quality control have been used in order to show how an analytical method can be tested daily and evaluated in a convenient manner. Received: 29 January 1997 Accepted: 11 March 1997     

基于超高效液相色谱-质谱法的肽段分析中非特异性吸附评估及通用型最小化策略北大核心CSCD

蛋白质组学技术在多肽和蛋白质类新型治疗药物的开发、临床诊断生物标志物的深入发掘中应用广泛。然而,多肽和蛋白质类大分子的非特异性吸附性质给分析方法的开发带来极大挑战,亟须一种通用型的策略去评估和降低非特异吸附对超高效液相色谱-质谱(UPLC-MS)大分子检测造成的负面影响。研究以牛血清白蛋白(BSA)为模型,探讨其酶解后多肽组理化性质与吸附程度之间的相关性;根据肽段的响应和吸附程度设计分级策略;针对高响应、强吸附的ClassⅡ类肽段,从样品制备中离心管、进样瓶的选择,乃至液相色谱系统中色谱柱固定相、流速、梯度、柱温、洗针液的选择全过程设计试验,探讨非特异吸附的影响因素及其通用型最小化策略。结果显示,肽段的被吸附程度与其理化参数HPLC指数(HPLC Index)、肽段长度等显著相关(p<0.05),但仅凭上述参数仅能解释30%肽段的被吸附程度。改性的聚丙烯材料可使肽段溶液在储存或前处理过程中获得较高的回收率(24 h内回收率大于80%)。在对液相色谱条件的考察和优化过程中发现,C_(8)填料的色谱柱、高流速、缓梯度以及强洗针液,可使残留量降至最低(降低为原来的1/150)。柱温对残留的影响在肽段间存在较大个体差异,需要对不同的肽段具体分析以得到较少量的残留。研究以详实的数据考察并最小化模型肽段组在分析过程中的非特异吸附,提示了蛋白质类大分子药物分析方法建立中应重点关注的影响因素及其有效的解决方案。     

Analyse du titane et de ses alliages par spectrométrie d'émission dans l'ultraviolet-vide

The large ultraviolet spectrograph for analysis in vacuum (VUV spectrograph) developed by ONERA and described in a previous article, has been used for multielements quantitative analysis: in pure titanium, concentrations of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon have been determined as well as silicon and iron impurities; in titanium-based alloys, addition metals at high concentration, Al, V, Mo, Zr, Si, have also been determined simultaneously with the gaseous elements and impurities. The analytical lines located between 200 and 2600 Å and corresponding to highly ionized atoms (II to VI) have been selected. The stability of the equipment has been tested and the repeatability of results has been investigated. This new analytical technique allows the study of various surface phenomena such as the variations in oxygen, nitrogen and carbon concentrations with a resolution in depth of a few microns. The method allows it to envisage the quantitative analysis of surface phenomena on metal films with a thickness below one micron.     

Evaluation of sorption and desorption characteristics of cadmium, lead and zinc on Amberlite IRC-718 iminodiacetate chelating ion exchanger

A chelating type ion exchange resin (Amberlite IRC-718), containing iminodiacetate groups as active sites, has been characterized regarding the sorption and subsequent elution of Cd, Zn and Pb, aiming to metal preconcentration from solution samples of different origins. The methodology developed is based on off-line operation employing mini columns made of the sorbent. The eluted metals were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The effect of column conditioning, influent pH and flow rate during the sorption step, and the nature of the acid medium employed for desorption of the retained metals were investigated. Working (breakthrough) and total capacities were measured under dynamic operating conditions and the results compared with those obtained with Chelex-100, a resin extensively employed for analytical preconcentration. Structural information on the complexation of metals by the chelating groups was obtained by Fourier Transform infrared spectrometry. The analytical response of the Amberlite sorbent was assessed for the analysis of water samples and digestates of marine sediments.     

Recent developments in assessment of bio-accessible trace metal fractions in airborne particulate matter: A review

In the last years a great deal of research has been focused on the determination of harmful trace metals such as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni or Pb in airborne particulate matter (APM). However, the commonly applied determination of total element concentrations in APM provides only an upper-end estimate of potential metal toxicity. For improved risk assessment it is important to determine bio-accessible concentrations instead of total metal contents. The present review gives an overview of analytical procedures reported for measurement of bio-accessible trace metal fractions in APM. The different approaches developed for extraction of soluble trace metals in APM are summarized. Furthermore the analytical techniques applied for accurate determination of dissolved trace metals in the presence of complex sample matrix are presented. Finally a compilation of published results for bio-accessible trace metals in APM is included.     

The use of the microtron for the activation analysis of pure metals and alloys

Oxygen and carbon concentrations up to 0.06 ppm and 0.03 ppm respectively were determined in high purity metals such as Fe, Cu, Nb, Mo, In and some others. Analytical procedures and results of the determination of alloying additives in a number of rare metal alloys are given. The relative standard deviation constitutes 0.02 to 0.04. Accuracy of the procedures used is confirmed by a comparison of experimental results with those of the other analytical methods. Experimental data on the sensitivity of determining 35 elements are reported on irradiating them with thermal neutrons and a bremsstahlung emitted by the microtron. For most elements (for radioactive isotopes having a half-life of above 2 min.) sensitivity of the analysis is 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁸, g, at the microtron current of 30 μA and irradiation time of less than 10 min.     

Heavy metals in lake water: a review on occurrence and analytical determination

Many lakes especially in Asia are source of livelihood for the surrounding communities. With increased urbanisation and industrialisation, however, these lakes are threatened with emerging environmental contaminants, including heavy metals. Some heavy metals are harmful to human health and the environment. This review aims to describe the different sampling, sample preparation and pretreatment, and instrumental methods of analysis for heavy metals in lake water. Filtration and acid digestion are common sample treatment methods used prior to analytical determination. Atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively-coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are typical analytical techniques but nowadays ICP-MS is frequently used. This review also describes the sources and extent of heavy metals contamination in different lakes. Although some lakes still have natural levels of heavy metals in the water, many have elevated concentrations due to anthropogenic sources, such as vehicular, household, agricultural, industrial and mining activities.     

Application of flowing stream techniques to water analysis Part III. Metal ions: alkaline and alkaline-earth metals, elemental and harmful transition metals, and multielemental analysis

In the earlier parts of this series of reviews [1] and [2], the most relevant flowing stream techniques (namely, segmented flow analysis, continuous flow analysis, flow injection (FI) analysis, sequential injection (SI) analysis, multicommuted flow injection analysis and multisyringe flow injection analysis) applied to the determination of several core inorganic parameters for water quality assessment, such as nutrients and anionic species including nitrogen, sulfur and halogen compounds, were described.In the present paper, flow techniques are presented as powerful analytical tools for the environmental monitoring of metal ions (alkaline and alkaline-earth metals, and elemental and harmful transition metals) as well as to perform both multielemental and speciation analysis in water samples. The potentials of flow techniques for automated sample treatment involving on-line analyte separation and/or pre-concentration are also discussed in the body of the text, and demonstrated for each individual ion with a variety of strategies successfully applied to trace analysis. In this context, the coupling of flow methodologies with atomic spectrometric techniques such as flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) or hydride-generation (HG)/cold-vapor (CV) approaches, launching the so-called hyphenated techniques, is specially worth mentioning.     

Determination of Arsenic,Cadmium, Cobalt,Chromium, Nickel,and Lead in Cosmetic Face-Powders: Optimization of Extraction and Validation

An analytical method for the quantification of toxic metals in face-powders is presented and discussed. Acid digestion with HNO₃-H₂O₂ or HNO₃-HCl was performed and compared with total digestion by HF. The digestion with HNO₃-H₂O₂ was the most suitable for these purposes. Analyses were performed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), whose performances were compared by analyzing three different certified reference materials. The analysis of five commercial face-powders revealed the presence of all the considered metals in the range 0.06–8.0 µg/g. To simulate the bioaccessibility of metals in physiological conditions, a digestion with a simulated sweat solution was performed. In this case, the analysis of the same face-powder samples provided results below the limit of quantification, suggesting low bioaccessibility of the considered trace elements.     

Potentiometric Determination of Non‐Ionic Surfactants by Liquid Membrane Electrodes

It is well known that non‐ionic surfactants (NIS) influence remarkably the potentiometric measurements with liquid membrane ion selective electrodes (ISEs), interfering particularly on performance of ISEs for earth‐alkali metals, for which the loss of selectivity with regard to alkali metals has been documented. These studies indicate that such interferences are due to the extraction of surfactants within the membrane, where a competition takes place between the originally present ionophore and the surfactant which also acts as a ligand for alkali metals. The interpretation of such phenomena enabled one to exploit this interference for analytical purposes by membrane/solution extraction experiment monitored by UV measurements and by impedance FRA analysis on coated wire electrodes. Using Ca/Mg ISEs based on the neutral ionophore ETH 4030, it has been established that the logarithm of the Ca/Mg over Na potentiometric selectivity constant is linearly correlated with the concentration of NIS like Tegopren 5863 and Triton X‐100. The proposed method has been applied for the development of a new potentiometric analytical procedure for the determination of Tegopren 5863 in synthetic seawater (SSW), ranging from 0.25 to 5 ppm. Our procedure consists in the exposure of the electrode to stirred SSW containing the surfactant; the progressive extraction of Tegopren 5863 causes a growth in electrode's sensitivity to Na⁺ and K⁺, losing selectivity for Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. In turn this induces an increase of EMF, as all these ions are present in the studied matrix. The potential drift was monitored for 15 hours, showing that the process reaches thermodynamic equilibrium after about 12 hours of exposure. This method presents a value of 210 ppb of Tegopren 5863 as detection limit.     

Comparison of photon activation analysis with other modern analytical methods as tools for the solution of actual analytical problems

A 35 MeV linear electron accelerator is used to investigate how far photon activation analysis can be used within the broad spectrum of analytical methods applied in BAM. The irradiation facilities are described. Examples are given for the application of PAA in the analysis of oxygen in metals and compared with conventional heat extraction and other nuclear analytical methods. It is further shown that PAA is a very useful tool for the analysis of traces of noble metals in Cu compared with other methods. Finally the possibilities of PAA in the field of multielement analysis are demonstrated taking ancient roman potsherds and bronze as examples. The results are compared with those of XRF and AAS. It is concluded that PAA is a valuable tool in the analysis of light elements with at least partly unique possibilities, that it can serve as an independent method for the certification of Reference Materials in many cases and that PAA can be very useful applied for multielement analysis.