Interaction of atrazine with Laurentian fulvic acid: binding and hydrolysis

Ultrafiltration fractionation and liquid chromatography (LC) have been applied to the study of the binding and hydrolysis of the polar herbicide atrazine on a stoichiometrically well characterized fulvic acid. Binding requires extensive carboxylate site protonation but the binding sites represent a very small fraction of total carboxylate. The data show that binding of atrazine is not competitive with binding of the hydrolytic product hydroxyatrazine. However, smaller molecular weight fractions of the fulvic acid mixture compete with atrazine for sites on the larger molecular weight fraction. Binding equilibrium is not rapid. A model of binding involving hydrogen bonding and/or charge-transfer complexing to specific sites created dynamically by the conformational equilibria of the higher molecular weight polymeric fulvic acid fractions is proposed as the best accommodation of the variety of observed facts.     

New approach to large-volume injection in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography: determination of atrazine and hydroxyatrazine in soil samples

A well established method of direct injection of larger than conventional sample volumes ranging from 0.1 mL to 10 mL in HPLC is the injection valve method in which a loop of tubing is totally or partially filled with sample. Recent HPLC pumps have a flow-rate setting accuracy of +/- 1-2% over a flow-rate range from 0.1 mL/min to 10 mL/min and the flow stability is 0.2% or less. Quarternary low pressure gradient pumps are widely available and used, but all their hydraulic lines are seldom utilised. The idea of using one line of a common commercial HPLC quaternary low-pressure pump for direct on-column injection (pumping) of large sample volumes ranging from 1 mL to 100 mL was tested. This approach was evaluated during practical work on the development of an RP-HPLC method of determination of residual atrazine and hydroxyatrazine. In lysimetric environmental experiments hydroxyatrazine was formed in situ in a soil column by hydrolysis of atrazine. The results proved the applicability of this approach not only in experiments with model mixtures of analytes at microg/L levels in solutions. Analysis of 20 mL of soil leachates and extracts of soil samples containing atrazine and hydroxyatrazine at the 10 microg/kg level (in dry soil) revealed that good figures-of-merit were preserved, even in the presence of a large excess of humic substances.     

Optimization of Liquid Chromatography and Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography for the Determination of Atrazine and its First Degradation Products in Humic Waters Without Sample Preparation

Liquid chromatographic method and micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method were optimized for determination of atrazine, desethylatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine and their polar degradation products in solutions with humic acid without previous sample preparation step. Reversed-phase HPLC method was satisfactory in terms of repeatability and detection limits, which were ± 1.7–12.5% (RSD) and 0.1–0.5 mg L^?1, respectively. However, the most polar products could not be separated from the front peak pertaining to humic acid. With MEKC, excellent separation of both chloro and hydroxy degradation products and parent compounds was achieved in a single analysis, and possible interferences of humic acid were successfully avoided by its retention at the anode. Drawbacks were detection limits, estimated to be 2–4 mg L^?1, and RSD of the migration times was 20% compared to 0.5% with HPLC method. HPLC method was used to monitor degradation of atrazine and its first degradation products in the presence of humic acids, and MEKC was used for confirmation purposes.     

New liquid chromatography columns for highlighting the interaction of ligand candidates with humic acid

Humic acid was the main compound in soil and reduced the availability of some organic compounds in soils. In this work, humic acid was immobilized for the first time on a homemade neutravidin poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) capillary column with a 20 μm i.d. for the screening of potential ligands to humic acid and the evaluation of their molecular recognition mechanism. This homemade humic acid column enabling it to work at very low backpressure (0.60 MPa at 20 nl/min flow rate), had a long lifetime, excellent repeatability, and negligible non-specific binding sites. The performance of this affinity humic acid column was demonstrated by the evaluation of recognition assay for a series of known ligands of humic acid (a series of rodenticide molecules) which is the heart of the fragment-based drug design. In addition, this column was used successfully for highlighting the binding mechanism to humic acid of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2-spike protein. As well this new humic acid miniaturized liquid chromatography column developed in this work could be used in the feature for another solute molecule-humic acid binding studies or for a separative mode.     

Binding constant of thorium with gray humic acid

Humic acid sample was separated from the bottom sediments of Lake Quarun, in Egypt. It was purified and characterized by elemental analysis, potentiometric titration, IR, UV-visible and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. The product of humic acid was very low (0.009%), gray in color and has low carboxylate capacity (2.4 meq/g). The first derivative of the titration curve indicated one maximum only, which implies one kind of carboxylate groups. The binding constant of ²³⁴Th with Lake Quarun humic acid was determined by solvent extraction. Only one parameter, β ₁, was required to fit the binding as a function of carboxylate concentration: the Th⁴⁺ bound to the carboxylate sites in the gray humic acid forming 1:1 complex only. The binding constant increased with the degree of ionization and with the pK_a of the humic acid.     

The interaction of triazine herbicides with humic acids

Summary Although the binding of pesticides to organic carbon in soil, especially to humic acid (HA), is well recognized, the mechanisms have not been completely explained. This publication deals with adsorption of atrazine and terbuthylazine by humic acid under different experimental conditions, including adsorption times longer than those used hitherto. Direct HPLC analysis of HA suspensions is assessed as an alternative to more complicated techniques for estimation of free triazines, and compared with combined solid-phase extraction and HPLC. Experimental conditions such as time of exposure, addition of neutral salt, pH of the suspension, and HA concentration have a significant impact on the extent of triazine adsorption. At alkaline pH, triazines become partitioned in the HA fraction because of its hydrophobicity, whereas at acidic pH hydrogen-bonding probably occurs between triazine molecules and humic acid polymers. Presented at Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 1–3, 1999     

Adsorption of atrazine from aqueous electrolyte solutions on humic acid and silica

The adsorption of, the still widely used, herbicide atrazine on model soil components, such as humic acid and humic acid-silica gel mixtures, was investigated in a series of batch experiments, under different experimental conditions (ionic strength, temperature, and pH). The investigation aimed at obtaining an estimate of the contribution of each of the soil components on the adsorption of atrazine from aqueous solutions. The kinetics of atrazine adsorption on humic acid showed two steps: a fast step, of a few hours duration, and a second slow step, which continued for weeks. The kinetics of adsorption data gave a satisfactory fit to the Elovich equation. Τhe adsorption of atrazine on the test substrates was found to be reversible in all cases. The atrazine uptake data on the test substrates were fitted best with the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The ionic strength of the atrazine aqueous solutions did affect the amount of the atrazine adsorbed on the test substrates, suggesting that electrostatic forces between atrazine molecules and soil play a significant role in the adsorption process. An increase of temperature resulted in a decrease of atrazine adsorption on humic acid at low atrazine equilibrium concentrations. However, for higher levels of equilibrium concentrations (≥3 mg/L) the amount of atrazine adsorbed onto the test substrate increased as temperature increased. The calculated isosteric enthalpies of adsorption ranged between slightly exothermic at low atrazine uptake and slightly endothermic at high atrazine uptake, all values being in the range of physisorption.     

Factors affecting atrazine concentration and quantitative determination in chlorinated water

Although the herbicide atrazine has been reported to not react measurably with free chlorine during drinking water treatment, this work demonstrates that at contact times consistent with drinking water distribution system residence times, a transformation of atrazine can be observed. Some transformation products detected through the use of high performance liquid chromatography–electrospray mass spectrometry are consistent with the formation of N-chloro atrazine. The effects of applied chlorine, pH, and reaction time on the transformation reaction were studied to help understand the practical implications of the transformation on the accurate determination of atrazine in drinking waters. The errors in the determination of atrazine are a function of the type of dechlorinating agent applied during sample preparation and the analytical instrumentation utilized. When a reductive dechlorinating agent, such as sodium sulfite or ascorbic acid is used, the quantification of the atrazine can be inaccurate, ranging from 2-fold at pH 7.5 to 30-fold at pH 6.0. The results suggest HPLC/UV and ammonium chloride quenching may be best for accurate quantification. Hence, the results also appear to have implications for both compliance monitoring and health effects studies that utilize gas chromatography analysis with sodium sulfite or ascorbic acid as the quenching agent.     

固液萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定土壤中阿特拉津及其降解产物

建立了高效液相色谱-串联质谱法(HPLC-MS/MS)同时检测土壤中阿特拉津及其降解产物残留的分析方法。样品以甲醇-水(4∶1,V/V)作为提取溶剂,使用涡旋振荡提取,采用HPLC-MS/MS法进行测定,外标法定量。在0.01、0.2和5.0mg/kg三个添加浓度水平下,阿特拉津及其降解产物的平均回收率在73.7%~104.7%之间,相对标准偏差为0.4%~5.1%;阿特拉津,羟基阿特拉津在土壤样品中的方法检出限均0.045μg/kg,而脱乙基阿特拉津、脱乙基脱异丙基阿特拉津及脱异丙基阿特拉津在土壤样品中的方法检出限则分别为0.090、0.45和0.90μg/kg。本方法的灵敏度较高,且简便、快速,能较好的解决目标物极性差别大及样品基质对检测结果的干扰等问题,可以满足土壤中阿特拉津及其降解产物残留检测的需要。     

The Adsorption of Herbicides and Pesticides on Clay Minerals and Soils. Part 2. Atrazine

The adsorption of atrazine and two model compounds,2-chloropyrimidine and 3-chloropyridine on clay minerals(bentonite, montmorillonite and kaolinite), organic matter (humic acid) and soil (with and without organic matter) has beenstudied using FT-infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), high pressureliquid chromatography (HPLC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).3-Chloropyridine, 2-chloropyrimidine and atrazine were adsorbedthrough hydrogen bonding on bentonite, montmorillonite, humic acid and soil. In addition tohydrogen bonding, protonation of 3-chloropyridine and atrazine was also observed.In the adsorption of 2-chloropyrimidine on bentonite and montmorillonitean ion exchange mechanism also occurred. No adsorption of 3-chloropyridine or 2-chloropyrimidine wasobserved on the kaolinite clay mineral.Both the clay minerals and organic matter of soil contribute tothe adsorption of organic compounds on soil but the clay minerals bentonite and montmorilloniteplay a major role in their adsorption on soil.     

Speciation of uranyl ions in fulvic acid and humic acid: a DFT exploration

The speciation of uranyl ions in fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA), based on models of larger sizes, is systematically studied using density functional theory (DFT). Four uranyl binding sites are suggested for FA and based on their energetics, the preferential binding sites are proposed. The computed binding sites include two chelating types, one through the carboxylate group and one via the hydroxo group. A systematic way to attain the possible structure for Stevenson's HA model is carried out using a combined molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum chemical approach. Calculated structures and energetics reveal many interesting features such as conformational flexibility of HA and binding of hydrophobic molecules in agreement with the experimental suggestions. Five potential binding sites are proposed for uranyl binding to HA and the calculated geometries correlate nicely with the experimental observations. Our binding energy calculations reveal that apart from uranyl binding at the carboxylate functional group, binding at other functional groups such as those involving quinone and hydroxo sites are also possible. Finally, based on our cluster calculations the strength of uranyl binding to HAs and FAs is largely influenced by neighbouring groups via hydrogen bonding interactions.     

Interactions of Eu3+ and Am3+ with humic acid extracted from soil of Yongkwang in the Okchon Basin of the Korean Peninsula

Summary The stability constants of Eu³⁺ and Am³⁺ with the site specific humic acid (YKHA) have been determined. The humic acid has been extracted from the soil of Yongkwang area belonging geologically to the Okchon Basin of the Korean Peninsula, where the nuclear power plant is located. The total carboxylate capacity, the acidity constant (pKa), and the binding constants with Eu³⁺ and Am³⁺ have been determined for humic acid.     

Characterization of a covalent triazine-humic acid conjugate by gas chromatography

The aim of the described method was the characterization of a “atrazine-mercaptopropionic acid” humic acid conjugate, which was required for the calibration of immunoassays to determine bound residues. In order to estimate the amount of bound triazine, an oxidative nucleophilic substitution reaction of the covalently linked “atrazine-mercaptopropionic acid” to a new triazine derivative “atrazine-methoxyethanol” was performed. This cleavage product was quantified by gas chromatography. The conditions for this cleavage procedure were optimized and applied to the “atrazine-mercaptopropionic acid” humic acid conjugate and to a humic acid blank. The amount of bound “atrazine-mercaptopropionic acid” was calculated to 16.6 ± 2.5 μmol triazine per gram humic acid, which is equivalent to 0.39 ± 0.07% atrazine. Received: 7 August 1997 / Accepted: 12 September 1997     

Silver binding by humic acid as determined by equilibrium ion-exchange and dialysis

One of the major challenges in environmental analytical chemistry is to develop methods for determining metal speciation in natural waters that contain low metal concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Because of its complex heterogeneous nature, metal binding to DOM cannot be predicted accurately using equilibrium models. Two independent speciation methods, the equilibrium ion-exchange technique (IET) and equilibrium dialysis (EqD), were used to determine silver binding by standard Suwannee River humic acid. Both approaches gave very similar results, although for a given silver loading, the concentration of free silver obtained by IET was somewhat higher than that determined by EqD. Our results suggest that any high-affinity binding sites present within the humic acid are likely saturated at [Ag(T)] > 10(-9) M. This comparison of free metal ion concentrations with two independent methods provides useful speciation information in the absence of reliable complexation constants for the reaction of silver with humic acid.     

Ultra-trace-level determination of polar pesticides and their transformation products in surface and estuarine water samples using column liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

A method is developed for the determination of polar pesticides and their transformation products [atrazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine, diuron, 3,4-dichlorophenylmethylurea, 3,4-dichlorophenylurea (DPU), monuron, bentazone, anthranil-isopropylamide, chloridazon, metolachlor] in surface, estuarine and sea water samples at the low ng/l level. Solid-phase extraction is combined off-line with column liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-ESI-MS-MS). The applicability of two solid-phase materials, i.e., LiChrolut EN cartridges and graphitized carbon black extraction disks, is evaluated. The influence of the organic solvent used in gradient LC, as well as the amount of co-extracted humic material on the ESI process is studied. The eluotropic strength of the organic solvent was found to have a distinct effect on the sensitivity of ESI-MS if coupled with LC gradient separations. Methanol gave much better results than acetonitrile and phenylurea compounds are more susceptible to solvent changes than triazines. Co-extracted humic material causes signal suppression in ESI-MS-MS detection. The degree of suppression depends upon the sample pH and the nature of the samples, i.e., surface or estuarine water. Detection limits in LC-ESI-MS-MS ranged from 0.2 to 2 ng/l, with the exception of DPU (8 ng/l). The applicability of the procedure was demonstrated by analyzing surface and estuarine water.     

Reactions of pyrazolylborate-zinc-hydroxide complexes related to beta-lactamase activity

Simple beta-lactams and their hydrolysis products, the beta-amino acids, react with TpZn-OH under deprotonation. The latter become semibidentate carboxylate ligands with a NH...O hydrogen bond, and the former become N-bound beta-lactamide ligands. Likewise the antibiotic derivatives 6-aminopenicillanic acid and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid are incorporated as carboxylate ligands. beta-Lactams bearing nitrophenyl or acyl substituents at the nitrogen atoms are opened hydrolytically by TpZn-OH, and the resulting N-substituted beta-amino acids are attached to zinc by their carboxylate functions. Only with trifluoroacetyl as the N-substituent does the hydrolytic cleavage occur at the external amide bond, yielding the free beta-lactam and TpZn-trifluoroacetate. The kinetic investigation of the opening reactions has shown them to be of second order like all other TpZn-OH-induced hydrolytic cleavages, thereby supporting the four-center mechanism for the monozinc beta-lactamases.     

Rapid selective accelerated solvent extraction and simultaneous determination of herbicide atrazine and its metabolites in fruit by ultra high performance liquid chromatography

A selective accelerated solvent extraction procedure achieved one step extraction and cleanup for analysis of herbicide atrazine and its metabolites in fruit. Using a BEH C18 analytical column and the gradient mode with 2 mM ammonium acetate aqueous solution/acetonitrile as a mobile phase achieved effective chromatographic separation of the five analytes within 4 min. The calibration curves were linear over two orders of magnitude of concentration with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.9996?0.9999. The method limit of quantification was 1, 2, 1.5, 3, and 2 μg/kg for atrazine, desethylatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, desethyldesisopropylatrazine, and hydroxyatrazine, respectively, in the case of atrazine it is at least two orders of magnitude lower than the maximum residue limit (0.25 mg/kg). The intra‐day and inter‐day precisions of the five analytes were in the range of 2.1–3.5 and 3.1–4.8 %, respectively. The recoveries of the five analytes at three spiked levels varied from 85.9 to 107% with a relative standard deviation of 1.8–4.9% for pear and apple samples. The ultra high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection method was proved to be fast, inexpensive, selective, sensitive, and accurate for the quantification of the analytes in pear and apple samples.     

Montmorillonite as an adsorbent for extraction and concentration of atrazine, propazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine and hydroxyatrazine

Adsorption properties of the clay mineral montmorillonite in the potassium homoionic form (KMT) was investigated to achieve the extraction and concentration of the herbicides atrazine (AT) and propazine (PROP), as well as the main degradation products of atrazine, namely deethylatrazine (DEA), deisopropylatrazine (DIA) and hydroxyatrazine (ATOH). A batch approach was proposed, with recovery percentages for AT, PROP and DIA higher than 90% at concentrations of 0.50 and 2.50 μg L⁻¹. For DEA and ATOH, however, low recoveries were obtained. For DEA, this fact can be explained by its low K_d with KMT, contrary to ATOH, which interacts strongly with the mineral surface, hindering the complete desorption and hence, generating low recovery percentages. The influence of pH, ionic strength and humic acid was studied, and a comparison with the C₁₈ phase as SPE cartridges was carried out. Montmorillonite showed a similar performance to commercial cartridge for concentrations of AT, DEA and PROP, but better recoveries for DIA was obtained using the clay mineral. For ATOH the recovery was also higher on the clay mineral, although for this compound the most suitable SPE cartridge is constituted by cation exchange resin. After the concentration and elution steps, the 0.50 and 2.50 μg L⁻¹ gave chromatographic peak areas that could be easily quantified with an analytical curve obtained in the concentration range between 7.5 and 100 μg L⁻¹. The obtained concentration factors are suitable to allow the application of the method to the monitoring of triazine residues in drinking water.     

N-(6-Methyl-2-pyridyl)acrylamide: a case of amide hydrolysis without the assistance of acid or base in the synthesis of water-driven H-bonded polymeric chains

Amide hydrolysis of N-(6-methyl-2-pyridyl)acrylamide without the assistance of either acid or base produces the aminopyridinium carboxylate salt at low or room temperature. The carboxylate ion and the free amine functionalities are cooperatively involved in hydrogen bonding with lattice water to form a new hydrogen-bonded polymeric chain.