Spectrochemical determination of lithium,sodium, potassium and rubidium in rocks and minerals using the stallwood jet

A D C, spectrochemical method using the STALLWOOD jet has been developed for the determination of Li, Na, K and Rb in silicate minerals and rocks. Samples are mixed with graphite and Cs₂CO₃ in tho ratio 2 : 1 : 1, and Cs serves as internal standard. Precision and accuracy is satisfactory.     

Development of a pulsed-laser,fiber-optic-based fluorimeter: determination of fluorescence decay times of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water

A fiber-optic-based system for remote measurement of time-resolved fluorescence emission spectra is described and characterized. A pulsed nitrogen laser is used to induce fluorescence and a time-gated, one-dimensional photodiode array is used to measure the decay of the fluorescence emission spectra. The results compare favorably with reported values for well characterized compounds having fluorescence decay times in the range 4–50 ns. The potential of using time-resolved fluorimetry (TRF) over fiber-optic cables as a means of improving the specificity of remote fluorescence determinations of spectrally similar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water is demonstrated.     

Mutual Solubilities of Water and Alkanes

Summary.  The evaluation of mutual solubility data for systems water with n-alkanes, isoalkanes, and cycloalkanes along the three phase line is reported and a formula for the prediction of solubility of alkanes in water is developed. Then a cubic equation of state with an added term, which accounts for hydrogen bonding is used for correlation of liquid–liquid equilibrium data and for prediction of solubility of water in hydrocarbons using alkane in water solubility data. Comparison of the predicted and experimental solubilities is performed using all accessible experimental data. With this approach it is possible to predict the solubilities of water in alkanes with good accuracy over the temperature range up to about 20 K below critical temperature. Solubility of alkanes in water can also be calculated using experimental data for solubility of water in alkanes but results of these calculations are more sensitive to experimental errors of the data. Corresponding author: E-mail: macz@ichf.edu.pl Received August 5, 2002; accepted (revised) September 13, 2002 Published online March 13, 2003 RID="a" ID="a" Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H. Gamsj?ger on the occasion of his 70^th birthday anniversary     

The design of boronic acid spectroscopic reporter compounds by taking advantage of the pK(a)-lowering effect of diol binding: nitrophenol-based color reporters for diols

The complex that forms between a boronic acid and a diol is often much more acidic than the starting boronic acid. In conditions where the solution pH is between the two pK(a) values, the boron atom will convert from a neutral trigonal form to an anionic tetrahedral form upon complexation. Such a change is likely to dramatically alter the electron density of neighboring groups. Utilizing this effect, we have designed and synthesized two nitrophenol-based boronic acid reporter compounds that change ionization states and therefore spectroscopic properties upon diol binding. Both compounds show significant UV changes upon addition of saccharides. For example, a blue shift of the absorption max from 373 to 332 nm was observed with the addition of D-fructose to 2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenylboronic acid at neutral pH. Such a reporter compound can be used as a recognition and signaling unit for the construction of polyboronic acid sensors for the selective and specific recognitions of saccharides of biological significance.     

Amino acid analysis by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection: application to nanolitre-volume biological samples from Arabidopsis thaliana and Myzus persicae

Amino acids were derivatised with 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzo-2,1,3-oxadiazol (NBD-F), separated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and detected by argon-ion (488 nm) laser-induced fluorescence. The optimised MEKC background electrolyte conditions were: 40 mM sodium cholate, 5 mM beta-cyclodextrin in 20 mM aqueous borate buffer, pH 9.1, with 7% v/v acetonitrile. Using these conditions, 19 amino acids were separated within 17 min. The limits of detection were in the range of 7.6-42.2 pmol/mL and limits of quantitation from 0.05-0.14 nmol/mL. The method was systematically validated for injection volume error, migration time variation, calibration linearity, accuracy, precision, and recovery. Nanolitre volume samples of phloem sap of individual sieve element cells from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and honeydew from the aphid Myzus persicae were directly analysed with this method. Quantitative amino acid concentrations in these two biological matrices were profiled for the first time. This method is particularly important because it allows the complete profile of the amino acids obtained from individual phloem elements, allowing cell to cell and plant to plant variation to be quantified, which to date has not been possible with Arabidopsis thaliana.     

Quantum yield of the iodide-iodate chemical actinometer: dependence on wavelength and concentrations

The quantum yield (QY) of the iodide-iodate chemical actinometer (0.6 M KI-0.1 M KIO3) was determined for irradiation between 214 and 330 nm. The photoproduct, triiodide, was determined from the increase in absorbance at 352 nm, which together with a concomitant measurement of the UV fluence enabled the QY to be calculated. The QY at 254 nm was determined to be 0.73 +/- 0.02 when calibration was carried out against a National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable radiometer or photometric device. At wavelengths below 254 nm the QY increased slightly, leveling off at -0.80 +/- 0.05, whereas above 254 nm the QY decreases linearly with wavelength, reaching a value of 0.30 at 284 nm. In addition, the QY was measured at different iodide concentrations. There is a slight decrease in QY going from 0.6 to 0.15 M KI, whereas below 0.15 M KI the QY drops off sharply, decreasing to 0.23 by 0.006 M KI. Calibration of the QY was also done using potassium ferrioxalate actinometry to measure the irradiance. These results showed a 20% reduction in QY between 240 and 280 nm as compared with radiometry. This discrepancy suggests that the QY of the ferrioxalate actinometer in this region of the spectrum needs reexamination.     

Infrared spectroscopic studies of polystyrene emulsion polymers: Effect of oxidation during polymerization

Infrared spectroscopy was empolyed to study the nature of the structural changes which occurred through oxidation during the emulsion polymerization of styrene. Aliphatic carboxylic, amino, and phosphate emulsifiers and hydrogen peroxide and potassium persulfate initiators were empolyed for polymer preparation. In addition, a polystyrene dispersion prepared in the absence of any emulsifier or stabilizer was examined. Irrespective of the nature of the initiator–emulsifier combination employed, all of the polymer spectra revealed bands at 1705 and 1770 cm.^?1. The band at 1705 cm.^?1 was assigned in part to the carbonyl stretching mode of dimertic carboxylic acid, formed by oxidation, in the polystyrene chains. Absorption at 1770 cm.^?1, which was very weak, was tentatively attributed to the carbonyl stretching mode of the monomeric form of this acid. The structure of the acid endgroup was not established, but the results obtained suggest that it was possibly a phenylacetic acid residue or a residue with a similar structure.