Sensitized extraction spectrophotometric determination of Hg(II) with dithizone after its flotation as ion-associate using iodide and ferroin

This paper describes a simple and highly selective method for the separation, preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of extremely low concentration of mercury. The method is based on the flotation of an ion-associate of HgI₄²⁻ and ferroin between aqueous and n-heptane interface at pH 5. The ion-associate was then separated and treated with ammonia and dithizone solutions to extract only the mercury chelate with CH₂Cl₂. The measurement is feasible when the volume of the water sample containing Hg(II) was varied over 50-800 ml. Beer's law was obeyed over the concentration range of 8 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.6 × 10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ with an apparent molar absorptivity of 6.53 × 10⁶ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ for a 500 ml aliquot of the water sample. The detection limit (n = 7) was 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol l⁻¹ and the R.S.D. (n = 5) for 8.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ of Hg(II) was 3.7%. A notable advantage of the method is that the determination of Hg(II) is free from the interference of almost all cations and anions found in the environmental and waste water samples. The determination of Hg(II) in tap, synthetic sea water and human hair samples was carried out by the present method and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). The results were satisfactorily comparable so that the applicability of the proposed method was confirmed to the real samples.     

Determination of thallium(I) by flotation-spectrophotometric method using iodide and rhodamine B.

A method for the trace amount determination of Tl(I), via its preconcentration, is proposed. The method is based on the reaction of iodide, Tl(I) and Rhodamine B in a weakly acidic medium. In this process an ion-associated complex is formed, which is floated at the interface of aqueous-cyclohexane layers. Various amounts of Tl(I) by a subsequent separation and dissolution of the floated complex in methanol could be determined, spectrophotometrically. Beer's law was obeyed for the Tl(I) content in the range of (0.8-8.0) x 10(-7) mol l(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9974. The conditional molar absorptivity was found to be 1.0 x 10(6) l mol(-1) cm(-1) at 560 nm, which indicated the considerable sensitivity of the procedure. The detection limit (DL) was 4.7 x 10(-8) mol l(-1) and the RSD (n = 5) for 4 x 10(-7) mol l(-1) of Tl(I) was 3.34%. None of the alkaline cations was interfered, and the interference of many other metal ions was eliminated via ion-exchange separation using a cation-exchanger resin, Amberlite IR-120, before the flotation step. The reliability of the procedure was confirmed by determining the Tl(I) contents of synthetic laboratory waste water by both flotation spectrophotometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The recovery was 92.3-95.4% for 1 x 10(-7) and 4 x 10(-7) mol l(-1), respectively. The precision and accuracy of the results were comparable via F and t tests at the 95% confidence level.     

Selective flotation-spectrophotometric determination of trace copper(II) in natural waters, human blood and drug samples using phenanthraquinone monophenylthiosemicarbazone.

Copper(II) forms 1:1 and 1:2 intense red complexes with phenanthraquinone monophenylthiosemicarbazone (PPT) at pH 3-3.5 and > or =6.5, respectively. These complexes exhibit maximal absorbance at 545 and 517 nm, the molar absorptivity being 2.3 x 10(4) and 4.8 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1), respectively. However, the 1:1 complex was quantitatively floated with oleic acid (HOL) surfactant in the pH range 4.5-5.5, providing a highly selective and sensitive procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of CuII. The molar absorptivity of the floated Cu-PPT complex was 1.5 x 10(5) l mol)(-1) cm(-1). Beer's law was obeyed over the range 3-400 ppb at 545 nm. The analytical parameters affecting the flotation process and hence the determination of copper traces were reported. Also, the structure of the isolated solid complex and the mechanism of flotation were suggested. Moreover, the procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of CuII in natural waters, serum blood and some drug samples.     

Potentiometric flow titration of iron(II) and chromium(VI) based on flow rate ratio of a titrant to a sample

A new potentiometric flow titration has been proposed based on the relationship of the flow rates between titrant and sample solutions. A sample solution is pumped at a constant flow rate. The flow rate of the titrant solution is gradually increased at regular time intervals and a flow rate for the titrant solution in the vicinity of the equivalence point is obtained. The concentration of the sample is calculated by C(S) (mol l(-1))=(R(T) (ml min(-1))xC(T) (mol l(-1)))/R(S) (ml min(-1)), where C(S), C(T), R(S), and R(T) denote the unknown sample concentration, titrant concentration in the reservoir, the flow rate of the sample solution which is a constant rate, and the flow rate of the titrant solution at an inflection point, respectively. The potentiometric flow titration of iron(II) with cerium(IV) and of chromium(VI) with iron(II) has been presented. The titration time of the proposed method is about 10 min per sample. An R.S.D. of the method is 0.77% for seven determinations of 1x10(-3) mol l(-1) iron(II). Similarly, the flow titration of chromium(VI) with iron(II) is carried out over the range 1x10(-4)-1x10(-3) mol l(-1) chromium(VI) and is successfully applied to the determination of chromium in high carbon ferrochromium.     

Flotation separation and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of thallium in wastewater samples

The proposed method is a simple process for the determination of trace amount of thallium(I) in the environmental wastewater samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The wastewater samples were obtained from the environment of a cement plant and subjected to a simple treatment, such as adjusting pH and masking the interfering ions, to prepare for the flotation process in which the thallium(I) content was floated as an ion-association complex using iodide and Rhodamine B at the interface of aqueous/cyclohexane layers. The floated layer was then separated and dissolved in 2 ml of a solution, which was 1% to H2SO4 and 50% to methanol, respectively. Aliquots of 10-microl of this solution were subjected to the graphite furnace to determine the thallium(I) content. The flotation process can be carried in a weak acidic medium in which the interfering effects owing to certain metal ions were eliminated by masking them as neutral citrate chelates. The dynamic range for the determination was found to be 1.0 x 10(-8) - 1.0 x 10(-7) mol l(-1). The RSD was 3.2% and the DL was 2.5 x 10(-9) mol l(-1) (calculated as 3SD of the blank). The reliability of the method is demonstrated by the analysis of a synthetic wastewater in which the recovery was found to be 94%.     

Flow-injection chemiluminometric determination of some thioxanthene derivatives in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids using the [Ru(dipy)3(2+)]-Ce(IV) system.

A flow-injection (FI) methodology using tris(2,2'-dipyridyl)ruthenium(II), [Ru(dipy)3(2+)], chemiluminescence (CL) was developed for the rapid and sensitive determination of three thioxanthene derivatives, namely zuclopenthixol hydrochloride, flupentixol hydrochloride and thiothixene. The method is based on the CL reaction of the studied thioxanthenes with [Ru(dipy)3(2+)] and Ce(IV) in a sulfuric acid medium. Under the optimum conditions, calibration graphs were obtained over the concentration ranges 0.002-6 migrograms/ml for zuclopenthixol hydrochloride, 0.5-15 micrograms/ml for flupentixol hydrochloride and 0.05-7.5 micrograms/ml for thiothixene. The limits of detection (s/n = 3) were 4.2 x 10(-9) mol/l zuclopenthixol hydrochloride, 2 x 10(-8) mol/l flupentixol hydrochloride and 4.5 x 10(-8) mol/l thiothixene. The method was successfully applied to the determination of these compounds in dosage forms and biological fluids.     

Separation and preconcentration of Ag(I) in aqueous samples by flotation as an ion-associate using iodide and ferroin followed the determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple method for separation/preconcentration and determination of Ag(I) in aqueous samples is described. The method is based on formation of an ion-associate between Ag(I)-iodide complex and ferroin, which can be floated at the interface of the aqueous/n-heptane phases. The flotation process was carried out using 500-ml aliquot of the aqueous solution and the floated layer was dissolved in 5 ml of 1 M HNO3 containing methanol (50% v/v) as the solvent. The Ag(I) content was then determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The method so could be considered as an enrichment process, was achieved to a quantitative feature, when the pH of the solution was adjusted to 4 and the concentrations of iodide and ferroin were about 3.2 x 10(-4) M and 6.25 x 10(-5) M, respectively. The LOD and RSD (n = 7) were obtained 1.0 x 10(-8) M and 2.4%, respectively. It was found that a large number of cations and anions even at high considerably foreign ion/Ag(I) ratios were not interfered. The method was applied satisfactorily to recovery of Ag(I) from different aqueous samples.     

Flotation-spectrophotometric determination of trace of germanium with isochromatic dye ion-pairs formed by rhodamine 6G and tetrabromofluorescein

A flotation spectrophotometric method for the determination of germanium with isochromatic dye ion-pairs is described. The molar ratio of germanium to rhodamine 6G to tetrabromofluorescein is 1:5:5. The apparent molar absorptivity is 5.8 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1) at 531 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range of 5.0 x 10(-8)-1.25 x 10(-6) mol l(-1). The proposed method is sensitive and accuracy and can be applied satisfactorily to the determination of germanium in vegetables.     

2,4,6-tri(3,5-Dimethylpyrazoyl)-1,3,5-triazine modified carbon paste electrode for trace Cobalt(II) determination by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

A differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry was developed for the sensitive and selective determination of Co(II) at 2,4,6-tri(3,5-dimethylpyrazoyl)-1,3,5-triazine modified carbon paste electrode in 0.1 mol l(-1) NH(4)Cl solution (pH 4.95). The oxidation peak of Co(II) was observed at 0.03 V(vs. Ag/AgCl) by scanning the potential in a positive direction. The analysis procedure consisted of an open circuit accumulation step in stirred sample solution. This was followed by medium exchange to a clean solution and subsequently an anodic potential scan was effect to obtain the voltammetric peak. The current was proportional to the concentration of the Co(II) ion in a range of 1x10(-8)-1x10(-6) mol l(-1) for 3 min accumulation and in the range of 1x10(-9)-1x10(-8) mol l(-1) for 5 min accumulation; most of metal ions do not interfere with the determination. The developed method was applied to Co(II) determination in potable water.     

Spectrophotometric studies on the simultaneous determination of cadmium and mercury with 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol

A new method for direct spectrophotometric determination of cadmium with 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol is reported. Absorption maximum, molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity of the 1:1 (M:L) complex are 510 nm, 2.5 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 3.55 ng cm(-2), respectively. A linear calibration graph is obtained up to 4.49 microg ml(-1). The zero-crossing measurement technique is found suitable for the direct measurement of the first-derivative value at the specified wavelengths. Cadmium(II) (0.42-9.2 microg ml(-1)) and mercury(II) (0.35-7.4 microg ml(-1)) in different ratios have been determined simultaneously. A critical evaluation of the proposed method is performed by statistical analysis of the experimental data. The developed method was applied to the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Cd and Hg in some synthetic mixtures and was found to give satisfactory results.     

Evaluation of a carbon paste electrode modified with organofunctionalised SBA-15 nanostructured silica in the simultaneous determination of divalent lead, copper and mercury ions

The performance of a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with SBA-15 nanostructured silica organofunctionalised with 2-benzothiazolethiol in the simultaneous determination of Pb(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) ions in natural water and sugar cane spirit (cacha?a) is described. Pb(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) were pre-concentrated on the surface of the modified electrode by complexing with 2-benzothiazolethiol and reduced at a negative potential (-0.80 V). Then the reduced products were oxidised by DPASV procedure. The fact that three stripping peaks appeared on the voltammograms at the potentials of -0.48 V (Pb2+), -0.03 V (Cu2+) and +0.36 V (Hg2+) in relation to the SCE, demonstrates the possibility of simultaneous determination of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Hg2+. The best results were obtained under the following optimised conditions: 100 mV pulse amplitude, 3 min accumulation time, 25 mV s(-1) scan rate in phosphate solution pH 3.0. Using such parameters, calibration graphs were linear in the concentration ranges of 3.00-70.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) (Pb2+), 8.00-100.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) (Cu2+) and 2.00-10.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) (Hg2+). Detection limits of 4.0 x 10(-8) mol L(-1) (Pb2+), 2.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) (Cu2+) and 4.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) (Hg2+) were obtained at the signal noise ratio (SNR) of 3. The results indicate that this electrode is sensitive and effective for simultaneous determination of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Hg2+ in the analysed samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of fluoxetine by batch and flow injection methods

A rapid, simple, and accurate spectrophotometric method is presented for the determination of fluoxetine by batch and flow injection analysis methods. The method is based on fluoxetine competitive complexation reaction with phenolphthalein-beta-cyclodextrin (PHP-beta-CD) inclusion complex. The increase in the absorbance of the solution at 554 nm by the addition of fluoxetine was measured. The formation constant for fluoxetin-beta-CD was calculated by non-linear least squares fitting. Fluoxetine can be determined in the range 7.0 x 10(-6)-2.4 x 10(-4) mol l(-1) and 5.0 x 10(-5)-1.0 x 10(-2) mol l(-1) by batch and flow methods, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were respectively 4.13 x 10(-6) mol l(-1) and 1.38 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) for batch and 2.46 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) and 8.22 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) for flow method. The sampling rate in flow injection analysis method was 80+/-5 samples h(-1). The method was applied to the determination of fluoxetine in pharmaceutical formulations and after addition to human urine samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of lead in biological samples with dibromo-p-methyl-methylsulfonazo

A new highly sensitive and selective chromogenic reagent, dibromo-p-methyl-methylsulfonazo (DBM-MSA), was studied for determination of lead. In 0.24 mol l(-1) phosphoric acid medium, which greatly increases the selectivity, lead reacts with DBM-MSA to form a 1:2 blue complex which has a sensitive absorption peak at 642 nm. Under the optimal conditions, Beer's law was obeyed over the range 0-0.6 mug ml(-1) Pb(II). The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity are 1.02x10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.00203 mug cm(-2), respectively. The limit of quantification, limit of detection and relative standard deviations were found to be 7.30 and 2.21 ng ml(-1) and 1.1%, respectively. It is found that, except for Ca(II) and Ba(II), all foreign ions studied do not interfere with the determination. The interference caused by Ca(II) and Ba(II) can be easily eliminated by prior extraction with potassium iodide-methylisobutylketone. The method has been applied to the determination of lead in some biological samples with satisfactory results.     

Spectrophotometric determination of some drugs for osteoporosis

Three simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric methods are developed for the determination of some new drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis: risedronate sodium (I), alendronate sodium (II) and etidronate disodium (III). The first method is based on the measurement of difference in absorbance (Delta A) of risedronate sodium in 0.01 mol l(-1) hydrochloric and 0.1 mol l(-1) sodium hydroxide at 262 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over a concentration range of 15-150 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.75+/-1.22 and molar absorptivity (epsilon) 1.891 x 10(3). The second method is based on the reaction of the primary amino group of (II) with ninhydrin reagent in methanolic medium in the presence of 0.05 mol l(-1) sodium bicarbonate. The colored product is measured at 568 nm, and the linearity range is found to be 3.75-45 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.77+/-0.73 and epsilon 9.425 x 10(3). The third method is based on oxidation of the three mentioned drugs with ceric (IV) sulphate in 0.5 mol l(-1) sulphuric acid at room temperature and subsequent measurement of the excess unreacted cerium (IV) sulphate at 320 nm. The method obeyed Beer's law over a concentration range of 2-24 microg ml(-1) for the three drugs with mean recovery 99.79+/-1.16, 99.73+/-1.38 and 99.86+/-1.13 and epsilon 14.427 x 10(3), 13.813 x 10(3) and 14.000 x 10(3) for drugs I, II, III respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the studied drugs in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. The results were found to agree statistically with those obtained the reported methods. Furthermore, the methods were validated according to USP regulations and also assessed by applying the standard addition technique.     

Chemiluminescence flow injection analysis of 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin in swimming pool water

A new chemiluminescence (CL) flow-injection method is proposed for the determination of 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DDH). The method is based on the chemiluminescent reaction of DDH and luminol-H(2)O(2) in an alkaline medium (pH 12.0-12.5). The concentration of the analyte shows a good linear relationship with the produced luminescence intensity in the range of 3.0x10(-8) to 8.0x10(-6) mol l(-1). The detection limit of the proposed method is 1.0x10(-8) mol l(-1) and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) is 4.7% (n=5) at 5.0x10(-7) mol l(-1). This method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of this disinfectant in water samples obtained from five different swimming pools. Satisfying recovery values were also obtained.     

Use of surface-modified CdTe quantum dots as fluorescent probes in sensing mercury (II)

Thioglycolic acid (TGA)-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in aqueous medium, and their interaction with metal cations was studied with UV-vis absorption, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectra. The results demonstrated that Hg(II), Cu(II) and Ag(I) could effectively quench the QD emission based on different action mechanisms: Cu(II) and Ag(I) quenched CdTe QDs because they bound onto particle surface and facilitated non-radiative electron/hole recombination annihilation of QDs; electron transfer process between the capping ligands and Hg(II) was mainly responsible for the remarkable quenching effect of Hg(II). To prevent the approach of metal cations to QD core, the original TGA-capped CdTe QDs were further coated by denatured bovine serum albumin (dBSA). It was found that the dBSA-coated CdTe QDs could be quenched effectively by Hg(II), but Cu(II) and Ag(I) could hardly quench the QDs even at fairly higher concentration levels because the dBSA shell layer effectively prevented the binding of metal cations onto the QD core. On the basis of this fact, a simple, rapid and specific method for Hg(II) determination was proposed. Under optimal conditions, the quenched fluorescence intensity increased linearly with the concentration of Hg(II) ranging from 0.012 x 10(-6) to 1.5 x 10(-6) mol L(-1). The limit of detection for Hg(II) was 4.0 x 10(-9) mol L(-1). The developed method was successfully applied to the detection of trace Hg(II) in real samples.     

Thermal lens studies of the reaction of iron (II) with 1,10-phenanthroline at the nanogram level

The determination of iron(II) with 1,10-phenanthroline in aqueous solutions was carried out exemplarily by thermal lens spectrometry. The peculiarities of analytical reactions at the nanogram level of reactants can be studied using this method. Under the conditions of the competing reaction of ligand protonation, the overall stability constant for iron(II) chelate with 1,10-phenanthroline was determined at a level of n x 10(-7) mol L(-1), logbeta3 = 21.3+/-0.1. The rates of formation and dissociation of iron(II) tris-(1,10-phenanthrolinate) at a level of n x 10(-8) mol L(-1) were found to be (2.05+/-0.05) x 10(-2) min(-1) and (3.0+/-0.1) x 10(-3) min(-1), respectively. The conditions for the determination of iron(II) with 1,10-phenanthroline by thermal lensing were reconsidered, and ascorbic acid was shown to be the best reducing agent, which provided minimum and reproducible sample pretreatment. Changes in the conditions at the nanogram level improved both the selectivity and sensitivity of determination. The optimum measurement conditions for thermal lensing were determined not only by the absorption of the analyte and reagents, but also by the background absorption of the solvent. The limits of detection and quantification of iron(II) at 488.0 nm (excitation beam power 140 mW) are 1 x 10(-9) and 6 x 10(-9) mol L(-1), respectively; the reproducibility RSD for the range n x 10(-8)-n x 10(-6) mol L(-1) is 2-5%.     

Spectrophotometric determination of glucosamine and its analogous amino sugars with o-hydroxyhydroquinonephthalein and palladium(II).

A simple and highly sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of glucosamine and its analogous amino sugars was established based on fading of the palladium(II)-o-hydroxyhydroquinonephthalein-hexadecyltrimethylammonium complex. In the determination of glucosamine, Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0.02 - 0.18 microg ml(-1), with an effective molar absorptivity at 630 nm and the relative standard deviation being 8.4 x 10(5) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1) and 1.08% (n = 10). This method is about 70-times more sensitive than the Elson-Morgan method. The method was successfully applied to the assay of glucosamine in actual samples.     

Indirect determination of thiocyanate with ammonium sulfate and ethanol by extraction-flotation of copper

A new method for the indirect determination of thiocyanate with ammonium sulfate and ethanol by extraction-flotation of copper in the presence of ascorbic acid is described. A small amount of Cu(II) is reduced to Cu(I) by ascorbic acid, then Cu(I) is precipitated with SCN-. In the course of phase separation of ethanol from water, the precipitated CuSCN stays in the interface of ethanol and water. A good linear relationship is observed between the flotation yield of Cu(II) and the amount of SCN-. Using 1.0 ml of 1 x 10(-3) M ascorbic acid solution, 50 micrograms of Cu(II), 3.5 g of (NH4)2SO4 and 3.0 ml of ethanol with a total volume of 10 ml, the concentration of thiocyanate could then be determined by determining the flotation yield of Cu(II). The detection limit for thiocyanate is 5 x 10(-5) M. Every parameter was optimized and the reaction mechanism was studied. The method is simple and rapid and it was successfully applied to the determination of thiocyanate in urine and saliva of smokers and non-smokers and in venous blood of patients infused with sodium nitroprusside.     

New phase separator for extraction-spectrophotometric determination of anionic surfactants with Malachite Green by flow injection analysis

A simple flow injection spectrophotometric method for the determination of anionic surfactants in river water was studied. A three-channel flow system was assembled. The distilled water as a carrier and 5x10(-5) mol l(-1) Malachite Green (MG) dissolved in 0.1 mol l(-1) CH(3)COONa-CH(3)COOH buffer solution (pH 5) were delivered at 1.94 ml min(-1). The mixed solvent (toluene+methylisobutyl ketone (MIBK)=1+1) was pumped at 0.78 ml min(-1). Other conditions were the extraction coil 0.5 mm i.d.x3 m, the reaction temperature 20 degrees C and the sample size 200 mul. The calibration graph was linear in the range 0.1-0.4 ppm at 626 nm. The detection limit (S/N=3) was 18 ppb and a sample frequency of 20 h(-1) was attained. The relative standard deviation (n=7) for 0.4 ppm standard sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) solutions was 1.1%. And also, new phase separator with a convenient connector was designed. This Fl method was applied to the determination of anionic surfactants in river water.