The application of differential pulse polarography to the determination of a pharmacologically active benzhydrylpiperazine derivative and its major electroactive metabolites in the plasma and urine of animals.

A method for the determination of 1–500 p.p.m. of acid-soluble aluminium and 2–500 p.p.m. of acid-insoluble aluminium in low-alloy and stainless steels by flameless atomic absorption with a HGA 74 graphite furnace is described. A typical value of the relative standard deviation for acid-soluble aluminium at concentrations larger than 10 p.p.m. was 5 %. The steel sample was dissolved in hydrochloric and nitric acid and filtered. Ammonium sulphate was added to the filtered sample in order to overcome interferences caused by hydrochloric acid. No concentration steps were used. Acid-soluble aluminium was determined within 20 min. The influence of iron, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and ammonium sulphate respectively was investigated.     

Determination of phosphorus in low-alloy steels by alpha-particle activation analysis

Determination of phosphorus in low-alloy steels by alpha-particle activation analysis has been studied in detail. After thick target yield curves of main interferences produced from the sample were measured as a function of alpha energy, the working standard for the present experiments was provided by applying the internal standard method coupled with the standard addition method under the most suitable bombarding conditions. Using the above working standard, it was demonstrated that the concentration of phosphorus in several low-alloy steels can be determined accurately and precisely by ordinary alphaparticle activation analysis.     

Laser defocusing effects on laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry: different ablation interactions between the laser and low-alloy steel, Fe pellets, and a pond sediment pellet.

The ablation interaction between a laser and solid samples, which affects the analytical performance for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES), was studied. The emission intensities of elements observed by LA-ICP-AES (LA-ICP-AES element signal intensities) for different solid samples were measured under different laser defocusing conditions with a fixed laser output energy. It was found that the optimum laser defocusing conditions were dependent on the different solid samples with different sample characteristics, and also on the different elements with different elemental characteristics in each solid sample. A low-alloy steel, pellets containing different Fe concentrations (0 - 100% Fe pellet), and a pond sediment pellet were used as different solid samples. The variations of the LA-ICP-AES Fe signal intensities observed under different laser defocus conditions were completely different between the low-alloy steel and the pond sediment pellet. The changes in the LA-ICP-AES Fe signal intensities for 90 and 100% Fe pellets were similar to that of the low-alloy steel. However, pellets with lower Fe concentrations (less than 70%) showed different trends and the defocusing behavior became closer to that of the pond sediment pellet. The LA-ICP-AES signal intensities of other elements were also evaluated, and were compared for different solid samples and different defocusing behavior. It was observed that the changes in the LA-ICP-AES signal intensities of almost all elements in the pond sediment pellet showed a similar trend to those of Fe for different laser defocus positions; that is, the elemental fractionation for these elements in the pond sediment pellet seemed to be relatively small. On the contrary, it was found that the LA-ICP-AES Si, Ti, and Zr signal intensities for low-alloy steel showed different trends compared to those of other elements, including Fe, under different defocusing conditions; that is, the elemental fractionation observed for the low-alloy steel was larger than that of the pond sediment pellet. From these results, different ablation interactions between the laser and the different solid samples were considered, and attributed to the sample characteristics, such as the matrix, hardness, and conductivity. Elemental fractionation was attempted to be explained by using elemental characteristics, such as the melting point and ionization energy of the elements.     

ICP–AES法测定低合金钢中的微量硼

采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP–AES)测定低合金钢中硼元素的含量。采用密闭微波消解法对样品进行溶解,考察了铁基体元素和共存元素对硼元素测定的影响,确定了硼元素的分析线为208.959 nm,通过基体匹配消除基体的影响。硼的质量浓度在0~5.00μg/m L范围内与谱线强度呈良好的线性,相关系数r2=0.999 9,方法检出限为0.004μg/m L,加标回收率为96%~103%,测定结果的相对标准偏差为1.5%~2.9%(n=8)。该方法具有较高的灵敏度和准确度,满足低合金钢中硼元素的分析要求。     

Selective pressurized liquid extraction for multi-residue analysis of organochlorine pesticides in soil

A selective pressurized liquid extraction (SPLE) procedure capable of performing simultaneous extraction and clean-up has been demonstrated for multi-residue analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in soil. The final method was performed at 100 degrees C for 3 x 10 min using acetone/n-heptane (1:1, v/v). Florisil was placed inside the extraction cell downstream the sample to remove interfering compounds. Extraction of two soil samples by SPLE gave a recovery which was over 80% for beta-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE compared to PLE with off-line clean-up. The same trend was observed when applying the SPLE method to a certified reference soil sample (CRM 811-050) containing 13 OCPs, where the SPLE method gave 80-90% recovery vis-à-vis the PLE method with off-line clean-up. Feasibility of the SPLE method was further demonstrated by applying it to five real soil samples collected in Ethiopia.     

电弧制样-电感耦合等离子体光谱分析法直接测定合金钢中的痕量元素

本文提出了电弧制样与电感耦合等离子体(ICP)相结合光谱直接测定合金钢中痕量元素的新方法。采用高压/低电流直流电弧放电作为试样蒸发的蒸发源,由于阴极弧斑在金属表面上方作快速均匀的移动,使试样剥离形成金属气溶胶,它在载气流(Ar)的作用下引入ICP。研究了试样的蒸发行为、放电气体介质、基体组成变化的影响及ICP工作参数等。用本法测定Co、Ni、Cr、Mn、Mo、Nb、Ta、Ti、V、W和Zr的检出限为0。x至xμg/g。分析了低、高合金钢试样,结果与NBS标准值吻合。     

Determination of boron in nickel-base alloys by the dianthrimide method

The dianthrimide method for the determination of boron in iron and low-alloy steels may be applied to nickel-base materials. The sample is dissolved, without any loss of boron, by hydrochloric and sulphuric acids and the resulting boric acid determined spectrophotometrically with dianthrimide. Background corrections are necessary to compensate for the absorbance from ions such as nickel and iron.     

The determination of chromium in low-alloy irons and steels by atomic absorption spectrophotometry

An atomic absorption spectrophotometric procedure for the determination of 0.001–0.50% chromium in low-alloy iron and steel is described. The sample is dissolved in phosphoric-sulphuric acid before atomisation. The method is rapid, preliminary separations are not required and the accuracy obtained with standard samples is well within the permissible range for routine determinations.     

Determination of silicon in Japanese iron reference standard materials by reactor fast neutron activation analysis combined with a simple pre-concentration

A reactor fast neutron activation analysis was used in combinationwith a simple pre-concentration procedure for determining silicon in someiron reference standard materials of Japan Iron and Steel Federation. Thesamples were dissolved with aqua regia and digested with perchloric or sulfuricacid. The precipitated silica was collected on a filter paper and irradiatedin a cadmium case with reactor fast neutrons. Silicon can be determined intool steel SKD6, low-alloy steel Nos 2 and 4 and silico-manganese samplesby a present method measuring 1,273.4 keV rays from 6.63-minute ²⁹Alproduced by ²⁹Si(n,p)²⁹ Al reaction.     

Vacuum-fusion determination of oxygen in aluminium and aluminium-aluminium oxide composites

A copper bath-vacuum fusion method for the determination of oxygen in aluminium was modified because the extensive evaporation of copper at the operating temperature gave trouble in a commercial instrument with unlidded crucibles. The evaporation can be decreased by making use of graphite capsules, where the samples and the copper are sealed before being dropped into the hot crucible. The procedure gives good results for specimens of aluminium and of aluminium-aluminium oxide composites, the oxygen content of which ranged from some tens of p.p.m. to some weight percent. The sensitivity of the method is of the order of 20 p.p.m. for sample weights of 100 mg, if copper of very low oxygen content is used.     

Computerized image processing for evaluation of sampling error in ion microprobe analysis

A method is described for the microscale evaluation of sample heterogeneity as applied to in-situ ion microprobe analysis. Computer feature analysis of digitized ion images is utilized to generate sampling constants, which can be related to the degree of heterogeneity present for a particular constituent in the sample. The expected precision for a series of analyses, or the number of analyses required for a desired precision can also be determined. This approach, which is experimentally verified for NBS SRM-664 low-alloy steel, can be used both to minimize sampling error and to assess the applicability of specific reference materials to microprobe analysis.     

Determination of transition and rare earth elements in low-alloy steels as chelates with 4-(2-Thiazolylazo)resorcinol by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

4-(2-Thiazolylazo)resorcinol (TAR) is used as a chelating reagent in the reversed-phase HPLC separation and determination of transition and rare earth elements in low-alloy steels. A precolumn derivatization method is used, followed by separation on an octadecyl-bonded silica stationary phase with a sodium octane-1-sulphonate-tartaric acid mobile phase. The eluted metal chelates are detected by uv-visible spectrophotometry. The requirements for sample preparation, characterization of precolumn derivatization and the optimum conditions for the sensitive detection of metal ions after liquid chromatography (LC) separation are discussed. The influence of the pH of the chelating medium and the eluent, the concentration of TAR and the eluent were investigated. The results are compared with those of other methods such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).     

Studies on laser defocusing effects on laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry using emission signals from a laser-induced plasma

The effect of laser defocusing on analytical performance of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES) was studied by varying laser focus conditions with respect to the surface of a low-alloy steel and a powdered sediment pellet. Laser-induced plasma (LIP) and LA-ICP-AES emission signals and LIP excitation temperatures (LIP T_ex) were determined and compared for different laser defocus conditions. LIP Fe and LA-ICP-AES Fe emission signals and LIP T_ex decreased when the laser was defocused for the low-alloy steel. On the other hand, when the sediment pellet was ablated, LIP T_ex decreased when the laser was defocused. However, LA-ICP-AES Fe emission signals increased at first, then decreased when the laser was defocused more. It was concluded that LIP T_ex and LIP and LA-ICP-AES Fe emission signals are dependent on laser shot conditions (focus–defocus), and are also dependent on sample type (texture, mineralogy, hardness, conductivity and heat capacity).     

Corrosion and oxidation resistance properties of titanium-containing low-alloy steel

An innovative technique of using conventional low-alloy steel as the prefabricated starting material and pure titanium and aluminium as alloying additions has been employed in this study for obtaining titanium-containing corrosion and oxidation resistant low-alloy steel. Corrosion resistant iron-titanium alloys have also been developed, which may find use in the hardware of phosphoric acid making plants and other equipment. The corrosion and oxidation resistance properties of these alloys have been exhaustively studied using modern electrochemical techniques. Initially the alloying element compatibility range was worked out for titanium in iron, by determining the optimum physicochemical properties of the iron-titanium matrix corresponding to a particular titanium percentage. This value was then extrapolated to the low-alloy steel matrix, assuming the prefabricated low-alloy steel (SAE 8620) to be an impure iron (due to the lower concentration of alloying elements like Mn, Si, P, S, Cr, Ni, Mo, etc.), for obtaining a resistant low-alloy steel. Ti 5%-SAE 8620 low-alloy steel matrix revealed superior resistance to oxidation and corrosion compared to SAE 8620 alloy. Received: 31 May 1999 / Accepted: 19 October 1999     

Application of the MS7 solid source mass spectrometer to the analysis of iron and low-alloy steel

Standard samples of high-purity iron and low-alloy steel have been examined systematically on the AEI MS7 mass spectrometer with a view to determining the general levels of accuracy and reproducibility obtainable for impurities in the range 0.001 % to 0.1 %. Twenty-four elements have been determined in different samples by direct examination on the spectrometer and, with a few exceptions, the mean results were found to be in reasonable agreement with the nominal figures. Many elements gave coefficients of variation between 15% and 35% but certain elements such as sulphur, phosphorus, arsenic and lead showed larger deviations. Use of argon ion bombardment to clean the electrodes to reduce the inherent carbon blank and also to determine gas levels has been investigated. Results of the correct magnitude were obtained for nitrogen and carbon although with poor reproducibility. Blank values were not reduced sufficiently to permit any useful values for oxygen to be obtained.     

Determination of caffeine in solid pharmaceutical samples by FTIR spectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used for the quantitative determination of caffeine in several pharmaceutical products: acetyl salicylic acid, paracetamol and propyphenazone. The method is simple, rapid and selective, and allows the determination of caffeine without sample pretreatment and without separation from the matrix. Two techniques for measuring the infrared spectra of caffeine are described: transmission through pellets and diffuse reflectance from powder (DRIFT). In both methods, samples were diluted (1%) with KBr. Caffeine in pharmaceutical matrices was recovered within 5% error in pellets and 10% by DRIFT. Relative standard deviations were generally 1.5% for repeated measurements on a single pellet and 5% for measurements on different pellets. DRIFT in the vacuum mode gave rather large RSDs. The limit of detection of the pellet technique was about 0.5% caffeine in the original sample.     

Detection of inorganic species by chemical reaction laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry

The oxidation numbers of metals in inorganic compounds were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) by using their acetylacetonates, which are soluble in acetone. For the MALDI analysis of inorganic species insoluble in common solvents used for matrices, such as acetone, methanol, water, etc., a suspension method of sample preparation was developed. Turbid suspensions of inorganic species in the solvent were spotted on the sample holder with chelating reagents, as in the conventional sample preparation for MALDI-MS. Chemical reaction between the inorganic species and the chelating reagents occurred in the plume after irradiation by laser light. Metal oxides were also analyzed by this method, and samples with different oxidation numbers gave different mass spectra. These results suggest that many other metal oxides with different oxidation numbers could be identified if suitable chelating reagents are chosen for sample preparation for MALDI-MS.     

Assessment of the capabilities of capillary zone electrophoresis for the determination of hippuric and orotic acid in whey.

A rapid method was developed for the simultaneous determination of hippuric and orotic acid in rennet whey by capillary zone electrophoresis using an uncoated capillary utilizing a 0.04 M amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (AMPD)-N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) glycine (BICINE) buffer (pH 8.8) with UV detection at 254 and 280 nm. Whey proteins were removed by ultrafiltration. The method was evaluated for external, internal and standard addition procedures for both peak areas and peak heights. The use of an internal standard (sorbic acid) eliminated injection errors and gave, when applied to peak areas, the same levels for hippuric and orotic acid in those obtained with high-performance liquid chromatography. Relative standard deviations were 1-2%. Peak heights gave erratic results owing to sample matrix effects on peak widths.     

The point of zero charge of manganese dioxides

Chemically prepared δ-MnO₂ (sample A) was characterised by chemical and size analyses and by t.g.a. and d.t.a. Sample B was the well-characterised International Common Sample ICS 5, which is a chemical λ-MnO₂. Potentiometric acid/base titration of sample A gave a point of zero charge, p.z.c., at pH 3.3±0.5, which is close to the isoelectric point obtained from sedimentation-coagulation results. Fast acid/base titration of sample B gave a p.z.c. at pH 5.9±0.3, which is close to the isoelectric point estimated from electrophoretic measurements. Temperature in the range 298–346 K (25°–73°C) had a minor effect on the titration results.     

Determination of residual solvents in pharmaceuticals by thermal desorption-GC/MS.

A novel method for the determination of residual solvents in pharmaceuticals by thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS has been established. A programmed temperature pyrolyzer (double shot pyrolyzer) is applied for the TD. This method does not require any sample pretreatment and allows very small amounts of the sample. Directly desorbed solvents from intact pharmaceuticals (ca. 1 mg) in the desorption cup (5 mm x 3.8 mm i.d.) were cryofocused at the head of a capillary column prior to a GC/MS analysis. The desorption temperature was set at a point about 20 degrees C higher than the melting point of each sample individually, and held for 3 min. The analytical results using 7 different pharmaceuticals were in agreement with those obtained by direct injection (DI) of the solution, followed by USP XXIII. This proposed TD-GC/MS method was demonstrated to be very useful for the identification and quantification of residual solvents. Furthermore, this method was simple, allowed rapid analysis and gave good repeatability.