Determination of paraquat by flow-injection spectrophotometry

The flow-injection determination of Paraquat (1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium) is based on its reduction with sodium dithionite in alkaline medium and detection at 605 nm. Linear calibration plots are obtained for 0.1–1.0, 1.0–10 and 5.0–30.0 mg l^?1 Paraquat, the lower limit being 40 times less than that of the usual spectrophotometric method. The method is applied to determine Paraquat in spiked potable water and potatoes after preconcentration by column ion-exchange. The determination of Paraquat in different herbicide samples yielded results in good agreement with those obtained by polarographic and manual spectrophotometric methods.     

The trace determination of some heavy metals in waters by flow-injection spectrophotometry and potentiometry

Three automated flow-injection systems are proposed for the determination of traces of manganese(II), lead and copper(II) in waters. The first system utilizes the catalytic effect of manganese(II) on the oxidation of N,N-diethylaniline by potassium periodate at pH 6.86–7.10 (30°C) and is used for spectrophotometric determination at 475 nm in the range 0.02–1.00 μg1^?1; the system involves reagent injection and stopped flow. The determination of lead in the range 0.7–100 μg1^?1 is based on spectrophotometric detection of the lead 4/(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol complex at 525 nm after on-line preconcentration of the sample (5–50 ml) on a minicolumn filled with Chelex-100 or Dowex 1-X8 resin. A potentiometric flow-injection system with a copper ion-selective electrode is applied for the determination of 0.5–1000 μg 1^?1 copper(II) after on-line preconcentration of 50–500 ml of sample on Chelex-100 resin. The procedures are tested on synthetic and real water samples, including sea water and waste-waters.     

On-line electrochemical derivatization combined with diode-array detection in flow-injection analysis : Rapid Determination of Etoposide and Teniposide in Blood Plasma

On-line electrochemical derivatization combined with diode-array u.v./visible detection in flow-injection systems greatly enhances the selectivity. The system is applied for the determination of the antineoplastic agents etoposide (VP 16-213) and teniposide (VM 26) in blood plasma. The optimum oxidation potential, detection wavelength, solvent composition, pH and flow rate are established. Calibration graphs for spiked plasma are linear in the range 1–50 μg ml^?1 for both etoposide and teniposide. The detection limit in absolute amount is 6 ng for each compound at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The injection frequency can be as high as 40 h^?1. The method is validated by quantifying teniposide in plasma of a patient treated with teniposide.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of calcium and magnesium with chlorphosphonazo-III by flow injection analysis

In this flow-injection method, the total concentration of calcium and magnesium is determined by using triethanolamine/hydrochloric acid buffer (pH 7.0) and chlorphosphonazo-III (CPA-III) in the flow streams, and the concentration of calcium alone is determined by using 1.6×10^?3 M hydrochloric acid and CPA-III in the flow treams. At pH 7.0, medium, the linear calibration ranges were 0–2.00 mg l^?1 for both calcium and magnesium and the detection limits were each 0.02 mg l^?1; at pH 2.2, the linear calibration range for calcium and the detection limit were 0.20–2.00 mg l^?1 and 0.1 mg l^?1, respectively. Injection rates are 200 h. The method is suitable for analyzing natural waters.     

Flow-injection analysis with a coated tubular solid-state copper(II)-selective electrode

The incorporation, behaviour and suitability of a home-made coated tubular solid-state copper(II)-selective electrode into the conduits of a flow-injection system is described. The compact tubular sensor (volume 7.8 μl) is constructed from a copper tube and Tygon tubing, treated with ammonium sulphide to give the copper/copper sulphide electrode and conditioned in an ascorbic acid medium. Interferences of foreign ions are similar to those found in batch analysis, but are less severe in the flow-injection system. Changes in carrier stream pH between 1 and 3 affected the electrode response, but sample pH has no or little influence in the range 1–7 depending on the copper(II) ion concentration in the samples. With 30-μl samples the flow-through electrode system covers a working range up to 5000 mg dm^?3 with a detection limit of 0.5 mg dm^?3. The system is suitable for the determination of copper(II) in effluent and tap water (relative standard deviation < 1.75% for 0.5–912 mg dm^?3 copper) and acidic copper sulphate plating solutions (relative standard deviation < 1.21% for 87–4135 mg dm^?3 copper) at a sample frequency of about 80 h^?1. The results obtained agree well with results by a standard atomic absorption spectrometric method.     

Phosphorescence detection in flowing systems: selective determination of aluminium by flow-injection liquid room-temperature phosphorimetry

The concept of the micelle stabilized liquid room-temperature phosphorescence (MS-LRTP) was applied to the determination of a metal (aluminium) in a flowing system. A three-line flow-injection manifold was developed and various parameters were optimized. A linear calibration graph was obtained for 0–4 μg ml^?1 aluminium. The limit of detection was 50 ng ml^?1 and the relative standard deviations for 0.1 and 1.0 μg ml^?1 aluminium were 2.7 and 1.3% respectively. The proposed procedure is fairly selective. More than 20 common ions studied did not interfere with the determination of aluminium or could be masked by appropriate reagents. The flow-injection method proposed was applied without any preliminary separation to the determination of aluminium in simulated synthetic samples in water and in clinical samples of particular importance in the control of aluminium toxicity in renal failure patients.     

Enzymatic determination of l-lysine by flow-injection techniques

An enzymatic assay that is highly selective for l-lysine, based on flow-injection techniques combined with spectrophotometric detection, is presented. l-Lysine-α-oxidase (E.C. 1.4.3.14) from Trichoderma viride and horseradish peroxidase were used in a coupled enzyme assay. Peroxide produced in the first reaction was converted by peroxidase with phenol and 4-aminoantipyrine to a quinoneimine dye detectable at 500 nm. An analytical enzyme reactor filled with coimmobilized enzymes was incorporated in the flow-injection system. The assay has a measuring frequency of 30 samples h^?1 and a response time of less than 2 min. To adapt the assay to high concentrations of l-Lysine and to minimize interferences, the injected sample volume was reduced to 2 μ-l, resulting in a linearity range of 1–16 mM l-lysine with a sensitivity of 6–7 mV 1 mmol^?1, a limit of detection (3σ) of 1 mM and a reproducibility of 0.5% (repetitive injection of a 10 mM l-lysine sample). The enzyme cartridge is stable for several months and thousands of measurements.     

Flow injection method for antimony(III) based on its enhancement of the molybdenum blue reaction

A simple flow-injection methodology is described for the determination of antimony using spectrophotometric detection. The method is based on the enhancing effect of antimony in the molybdenum blue reaction. Phosphate and heptamolybdate reagents are premixed and pumped as a reagent stream, into which the antimony sample is injected. This allows the formation of a mixed heteropoly complex, which is then rapidly reduced by ascorbic acid to form the intense blue complex, the absorbance of which is monitored at 660 nm. A continuous-flow procedure is used and 120 samples can be processed per hour. The measurement range is 0–100 mg l^?1 antimony, with a detection limit of 0.5 mg l^?1. The relative standard deviation is 0.65–2.1% in the range 20–5 mg l^?1. Arsenic and silica cause interferences of ?4% and +4.6%, respectively, when present at concentration equal to that of the antimony.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of isoniazid with electrogenerated hypochlorite

A flow-injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of isoniazid based on the sensitizing effect of isoniazid on the chemiluminescence generating luminol-hypochlorite reaction is described. The hypochlorite was electrogenerated on-line by constant current electrolysis, thus, eliminating instability of hypochlorite solution prepared from commercially available sodium hypochlorite. The calibration graph is linear in the range 1 × 10^–8 to 1 × 10^–6 g mL^–1, and the detection limit is 6 × 10^–9 g mL^–1. The relative standard deviation for determination of 5 × 10^–8 g mL^–1 is 2.8%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of isoniazid in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Flow-Injection Spectrophotometric Determination of Cysteine in Biologically Active Dietary Supplements

A procedure is developed for the flow-injection spectrophotometric determination of cysteine in dietary supplements based on the formation of a reduced phosphomolybdic complex by the analyte in mixing a sample solution with a solution of ammonium 18-molybdophosphate. For the flow-injection determination of cysteine, a polymethyl methacrylate chip is fabricated, in the channels of which the analytical form was obtained and detected. The detection limit for cysteine is 3 × 10^–6 M and the throughput is 240 determinations per hour. The procedure was tested in the analysis of different samples of dietary supplements; the results obtained were verified by HPLC.     

Flow-injection determination of proteins based on the lowry spectrophotometric method

The flow-injection system is based on the use of Folin-Ciocalteus reagent, with 1,4-dithio-D,L-threitol to accelerate the formation of the coloured complex. The calibration graph for bovine serum albumin is linear between 0.01 and 0.1 mg ml^?1; the detection limit is 0.005 mg ml^?1 albumin and up to 0.5 mg ml^?1 can be determined. The injection frequency is 20 h^?1. The results obtained by the flow-injection method and by the manual Lowry procedure show excellent correlation. Egg lysozyme, alkaline phosphatase and β-lactoglobulin are also tested.     

Flow-injection analysis based on a membrane separation module and a bulk acoustic wave impedance sensor – determination of the volatile acidity of fermentation products

A novel flow-injection analysis (FIA) system has been developed for the rapid determination of the volatile acidity of some fermentation products like vinegars and juices. The proposed method is based on the diffusion of volatile acids, mainly acetic acid, across a PTFE gas-permeable membrane from an acid stream into an alkaline stream, and the acids trapped in the acceptor solution are determined online by a bulk acoustic wave impedance sensor based on changes in the conductivity of the solution. It exhibited a linear frequency response up to 10 mmol · L^–1 acetic acid with a detection limit of 50 μmol · L^–1, and the precision was better than 1% (RSD) at a through-put of 72 h^–1. The effects of operating voltage for the detector, cell constant of the electrode, composition of acceptor stream, flow rates and temperature on the FIA performance were also investigated.     

Chemiluminescence determination of bufrenorphine hydrochloride by flow injection analysis

A direct, simple and rapid flow-injection method is described for determining buprenorphine hydrochloride (10^?8–10^?4 M) based on its chemiluminescent oxidation with potassium permanganate in polyphosphoric acid. The limit of detection is 1 × 10^?8 M (0.5 pmol per injection) and the log-log calibration is linear up to 1 × 10^?4 M; the r.s.d. is 0.7% for a 10 μg ml^?1 solution (n = 10). The method is directly applicable to aqueous solutions of tablets containing the drug (0.2 mg/tablet).     

Constant-potential pulse polarographic detection in flow-injection analysis without deaeration of solvent or sample

A constat-potential pulse waveform is applicable for the polacographic analysis of buffered solutions (pH ?= 7) of cathodically active metal ions without voltammetric interference from dissolved oxygen. The technique is demonstrated at a dropping mercury electrode for detection of lead(II) and cadmium(II) in a conventional polarographic Cell (ca. 75 ml) as well as for small samples (2 ml) in a flow-injection system. The flow-injection polarographic technique is recommended for higher sample throughout than conventional polagraphy and is demonstrated for an electroless copper plating solution containing about 1.5 × 10^–2 M copper(II).     

Differential pulse voltammetry with fast pulse repetition times in a flow-injection system with a copper-amalgam electrode

The reductive determination of cadmium and zinc is used to illustrate the effects of pulse repetition times in differential pulse voltammetry at solid electrodes. With 100-ms repetition times, signal-to-background ratio is shown to improve in flow-injection response studies at a copper-amalgam working electrode for both voltage scanning and amperometric operation, allowing scan rates up to 100 mV s^?1, and detection limits of 0.07–0.15 ng for cadmium and zinc after deaeration of sample solutions. Peak widths at baseline in the range 12–30 s, depending on flow rate, are obtained in the flow-injection system for cadmium and zinc at working potentials of ?0.77 and ?1.27 V, respectively. Interferences occur when cadmium is in large excess over zinc, although the voltammetric peaks do not overlap.     

Trace metal enrichment by automated on-line column preconcentration for flow-injection atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line column preconcentration technique for flow-injection atomic absorption spectrometry was developed. Diverse metal ions (Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Cr³⁺) in solution were concentrated quantitatively by a microcolumn (7-mm × 4-mm i.d.) packed with Muromac A-1, which is an iminodiacetate chelate resin, in a flow-injection system. From the pH dependence of the uptake of the ions, all the divalent metals examined were recovered quantitatively in the pH range 3–5 and the trivalent metals were recovered at a maximum pH of 1. Enrichment factors using 20-ml samples were in the range 90–180-fold for the seven elements and the sampling rate was 13 h^?1. The 3σ detection limits were in the range 0.14–2.1 μg l^?1 and the relative standard deviations for replicate measurements (n=3–4) were in the range 0.7–1.7%. The method was compared with flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Application to the determination of cadmium and copper in several standard reference materials is described.     

Flow-injection chemical vapor-generating procedure for the determination of Au by atomic absorption spectrometry

Volatile Au species in an acidified medium were generated at room temperature by reduction with NaBH₄ in acidified aqueous medium using a flow-injection chemical vapor-generation atomic absorption spectrometric (FI–CVG–AAS) system in the presence of micro amounts of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC). Precision of 2.0% RSD (n = 11, 2.0 mg L^–1 level) was obtained at a sample throughput of 180 h^–1. A detection limit of 24 ng mL^–1 (3σ) was obtained with 300 μL sample solution. The method was used for the determination of gold in ore sample digests, and the results obtained agreed well with those obtained by flame AAS.     

Spectrophotometric determination of pH by flow injection

Flow injection is used for the determination of pH over a wide range. Using an appropriate combination of pH-indicating dyes, plots of absorbance vs. pH are linear in the range pH < 1–8 for static measurements and pH 3.6–6.8 in the flow-injection experiment. In the current configuration, the flow-injection method has the capability of measuring approximately 100 samples h^?1 with a precision and accuracy of ±0.2 pH. The reasons for the linear calibration graphs, effects of ionic strength and day to day reproducibility are presented together with results for lake-water samples.     

Extraction-spectrophotometric determination of anionic surfactants with a flow-injection system

Anionic surfactants are preconcentrated from 5-ml samples by extraction as the ion-pair with ethyl violet into toluene. The absorbance of aliquots of the toluene phase is measured at 610 nm in a flow-injection system. A phase converter is located prior to the injection valve to convert a water stream to, pumped with ordinary pump tubing, to a toluene stream. The working range was 0.01–1.0 mg l^?1 and the reproductibility (r.s.d, n = 10) was 2% for 0.4 mg l^?1 sodium dodecyl sulphate. The non-aqueous flow-injection system serves to miniaturize the extraction from separatory funnel (200 ml) to test tube (10 ml) scale without loss of precision or validity.     

Indirect atomic absorption spectrometric determination of perchlorate by liquid-liquid extraction in a flow-injection system

The determination is based on the continuous liquid-liquid extraction of the copper(I)/6-methylpicolinealdehyde azine/perchlorate ion-pair into 4-methyl-2-pentanone in a flow-injection manifold. The organic fills a loop of an injector situated in an integrated feed system of an atomic absorption spectrometer. Measurement of the copper atomic absorption signal from the organic phase allows the indirect determination of 0.5–5 μg ml^?1 perchlorate, giving a 3-fold increase in sensitivity over the conventional spectrophotometric method. The detection limit is 70 ng ml^?1. The sampling frequency is 45 ± 5 h^?1. The method is highly selective, and has been used for the determination of perchlorate added to serum and urine samples.