Determination of molybdenum, chromium and aluminium in human urine by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using fast-programme methodology

Rapid and direct procedures for the determination of molybdenum, chromium and aluminium in human urine samples are developed. Fast-programme methodology is used to simplify the heating cycles. Hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid and Triton X-100 are added to the urine samples which are directly introduced into the furnace. For molybdenum, two successive injection steps are required due to the low level of this element in the samples analyzed. Calibration is carried out using aqueous standards for aluminium and the standard additions method for both molybdenum and chromium. The reliability of the procedures is checked by analyzing two certified reference materials.     

Determination of pesticides in waters by capillary gas chromatography with atomic emission detection

Capillary gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (GC-AED) was successfully used to separate and quantify 14 pesticides (organochlorines, organophosphorus compounds and pyrethrins) in water samples after liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Monitoring the emission lines for elements such as chlorine, bromine and sulfur ensures nearly specific chromatograms for these elements, and markedly increases selectivity. Calibration curves were obtained by plotting peak area versus concentration and the correlation coefficients relating to linearity were at least 0.999. Each chromatographic separation takes 21 min and, since two injections are necessary, it requires approximately 1 h to analyze one sample. The method shows a precision of 4.3-8.2% (RSD), depending on the compound. The application of liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate led to recoveries from spiked samples ranging from 76 to 113%. The sensitivity and linearity for the elements chlorine, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus were checked under the optimized conditions at their customary emission wavelength. The sensitivity and linearity for these compounds decreased in the order (atom and emission wavelength) Cl (479 nm)>S (181 nm)>P (178 nm)>N (174 nm). A study of the GC-AED system's response to chlorine concentration in eight pesticide molecules was performed and a linear relationship was found with a correlation coefficient of 0.987.     

Creatinine biosensor based on ammonium ion selective electrode and its application in flow-injection analysis

A new, highly sensitive, fast responding and stable potentiometric biosensor for creatinine determination is developed. The biosensor is based on an ammonium ion-selective electrode. Creatinine deiminase (EC 3.5.4.21) is chemically immobilized on the surface of the polymeric ion-sensitive membrane in the form of monomolecular layer using a simple, one-step carbodiimide covalent attachment method. The resulting enzyme electrodes are useful for measurement under flow injection analysis (FIA) conditions. The biosensors exhibit excellent operational and storage stability. The enzyme electrodes retain over 70% of initial sensitivity after ten weeks of work under FIA conditions. The storage stability at 4 °C is longer than half a year without loss of sensitivity. Under optimized conditions near 30 samples per hour can be analyzed and the determination range (0.02-20.0 mmol l⁻¹) fully covers creatinine concentrations important from clinical and biomedical point of view. The simple biosensor/FIA system has been successfully used for determination of creatinine in urine, serum and posthemodialysate samples.     

Enzyme catalysis in organic solvents: a promising field for optical biosensing

The ability of enzymes to work in non-aqueous media offers new and almost unexploited possibilities for the development of new optical biosensors. The advantages of performing biocatalytic reactions in non-aqueous media are discussed in relation to their possible application in optical biosensor design. Attention is focused on the factors that influence enzymatic catalysis in organic solvents, including the role of enzyme-associated water, criteria for solvent selection and the alteration of enzyme specificity. Recent examples of relevant applications and future prospects of organic-phase optical biosensing are discussed.     

Quantum effects in ice Ih

Quantum and classical simulations are carried out on ice Ih over a range of temperatures utilizing the TIP4P water model. The rigid-body centroid molecular dynamics method employed allows for the investigation of equilibrium and dynamical properties of the quantum system. The impact of quantization on the local structure, as measured by the radial and spatial distribution functions, as well as the energy is presented. The effects of quantization on the lattice vibrations, associated with the molecular translations and librations, are also reported. Comparison of quantum and classical simulation results indicates that shifts in the average potential energy are equivalent to rising the temperature about 80 K and are therefore non-negligible. The energy shifts due to quantization and the quantum mechanical uncertainties observed in ice are smaller than the values previously reported for liquid water. Additionally, we carry out a comparative study of melting in our classical and quantum simulations and show that there are significant differences between classical and quantum ice.     

Curve-fitting overlapped bands: quantification and improvement of curve-fitting robustness in the presence of errors in the model and in the data

Estimation of the band parameters of overlapped bands often relies on curve-fitting. It has been demonstrated that curve-fitting provides the maximum likelihood estimation of band parameters under a series of assumptions. One of these assumptions is that the curve-fitting model is correct and any error in the data is random. Under real conditions, we have to acknowledge the unavoidable presence of errors in the model and systematic errors in the data. Here, we derive an expression for the estimation of how these errors affect the quality of the parameters obtained from curve-fitting. In addition, we derive theoretical expressions to quantify the extent to which different methods can improve the curve-fitting robustness to these errors. The methods considered are: (i) deterministic and (ii) probabilistic constraints in the band parameters, (iii) curve-fitting band-narrowed data, and (iv) building a more accurate model. The theoretical expressions obtained are tested in the curve-fitting of a synthetic noisy spectrum with either baseline or band shape errors, and in the curve-fitting of the experimental infrared amide I band of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Ethyl 5-Amino-1-[（5′-methyl-1′- t-butyl-4′-pyrazolyl）carbonyl]-3-methylthio-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylate

1INTRODUCTIONPolarizedketenedithioacetalshavebeenex-tensivelyusedasbuildingblocksinorganicsyn-thesis,especiallyinthesynthesisofheterocycliccompounds[1～6].Pyrazoleanditsderivativesrepre-sentoneofthemostactiveclassesofcompoundspossessingwidespectraofbiologicalactivities.Overthepastfewyears,considerableevidenceshavebeenaccumulatedtodemonstratetheefficacyofpyrazolederivatives,suchasantibacterial[7],fun-gicidal[8],herbicidal[9],insecticidal[10]andotherbiologicalactivities[11,12].Uptonow,alarg…     

Preliminary characterization of anhydrous ethanol used in Brazil as automotive fuel

This work reports preliminary studies on the characterisation of anhydrous ethanol (AEA) used as an automotive fuel mixed with gasoline in Porto Alegre (South Brazil). Pre-concentration of the impurities contained in 1000 ml of AEA was carried on through solid-phase extraction using XAD4 resin. The main compounds in the extract were identified by means of spectral data from the library of the equipment. The concentrate was then fractionated using a preparative liquid chromatographic column filled with activated silica gel and the elution procedure was carried out with, n-hexane, n-hexane-benzene (1:1, v/v) and dichloromethane. Prior to analysis by GC-MS, each fraction was reduced to 1 ml with a gentle stream of nitrogen. Saturated linear hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons eluted in the first fraction and oxygenated compounds such as aldehydes. ketones and alcohols, eluted in the second one. were the main compounds detected in the sample.