Sequential injection extraction based on restricted access material for determination of furosemide in serum

Restricted access material (RAM) column containing 25 microm C18 alkyl-diol support was integrated into the sequential injection analysis (SIA) manifold and the SIA-RAM system was tested for direct determination of furosemide in serum. LiChrospher ADS column based on restricted access material is proposed to direct injection of biofluids. The integration of RAM material into SIA enabled creation of a comprehensive on-line sample clean-up technique combined with fluorescence quantitation of analyte. Centrifuged and diluted serum sample was aspirated into the system and loaded onto the column using acetonitrile-water (2:98), pH 2.7. The analyte was retained on the column while proteins contained in the sample were removed to the waste without precipitation and clogging the column. Interfering substances complicating the detection were washed out by acetonitrile-water (15:85), pH 2.7 in the next step. The extracted analyte was eluted by means of acetonitrile-water (25:75), pH 2.3 to the fluorescence detector (emission filter 385 nm). The whole procedure comprising sample pre-treatment, analyte detection and column reconditioning took 20 min. The recoveries of furosemide from serum lay between 101.4 and 103.4% for three concentrations of analyte.     

Enhanced optical limiting performance of a nonlinear absorber in a solution containing scattering nanoparticles

The optical limiting performance of a water-soluble porphyrin derivative is shown to be improved when small-sized (400-nm-diameter) nonabsorbing polystyrene spheres are added to the solution. The optical limiting enhancement is attributed to absorption of diffusive photons that experience longer light pathways than ballistic photons. The effect is demonstrated for nanosecond laser excitation at 532 nm.     

Hadronic decays in the non-relativistic quark model and the properties ofs s\bar s,vector mesons

We develop a simple, but highly effective technique for evaluating three-meson couplings in the context of the³ P ₀ quark-pair-creation model. The method combines the use of realistic, numerical wave-functions with the ease of amplitude calculation associated with the harmonic-oscillator basis. As a first application we discuss the properties of 1^?? ‘strangeonium’ states between 1 and 2 GeV.     

Real‐time monitoring of the ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐lactide with in situ attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with conduit and diamond‐composite sensor technology

Polymerization rates were proportional to initial Sn(Oct)₂ concentration at low [Sn(Oct)₂]₀/[PrOH]₀ values, but began to level off at higher values. When [Sn(Oct)₂]₀/[PrOH]₀ was significantly greater than unity, the opposite behavior occurred. Tin(II) alkoxide concentration became limited by the initial PrOH concentration and independent of initial Sn(Oct)₂ concentration. Addition of 2‐ethylhexanoic acid caused polymerization rate retardation, without affecting molecular weight. A control polymerization was conducted in the absence of PrOH. The molecular weight of the resulting polymer was consistent with the measured water content (3.7 wt % by Karl Fisher titration) of the as‐received Sn(Oct)₂. The polymerization rate in the absence of PrOH was slow, and this suggested that water is less efficient than an alcohol in creating polymerization‐active stannyl ether bonds. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6238–6247, 2004     

Ab initio and molecular mechanics study of n-phenyl phthalimide and its crystal structure

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations are reported on the energetics for torsional motion of N-phenyl phthalimide using 3-21G, 6-31G, and 6-31G^** basis sets and incorporating electron correlation effects for selected geometries. With the largest basis set, a minimum energy is found for a torsion angle of 59.2°. Atomic charges are assigned to the molecules on the basis of a least-squares fit to the molecular electrostatic potential. This information is then used in molecular mechanics calculations of the crystal structure, where the calculated unit cell parameters are in good agreement with those observed experimentally.     

Analysis of impact-induced Fe2+ disorder in the pyroxene of the Ibitira meteorite

Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the only iron compound present in the Ibitira meteorite is the pyroxene (Mg, Fe, Ca)₂Si₂O₆ known as pigeonite [1]. The Mössbauer spectrum shows Fe²⁺ in the two different crystallographic sites, M₁ and M₂, and the population ratio Fe²⁺ (M₁)/Fe²⁺ (M₂) indicates a reasonable degree of cation order. Comparison between our results and results obtained from pyroxene shocked under controlled conditions in the laboratory [2] suggests that, the meteorite was subjected to a impact of low intensity.     

Computerized chromatographic peak detection using the trigg tracking signal. An application devised for use with an online analog to digital converter connected between an amino acid analyser and a personal computer

Manual integration of the amino acid peaks from physiological samples produced by conventional anion exchange liquid chromatography is a time-consuming process. This paper describes a combined unit, consisting of an analog to digital converter and a personal computer, which was connected in parallel with the chart recorder and the analyser's 570 nm channel of the colorimeter. The computer was programmed to log the digitized data, detect the start, maximum and end of each chromatographic peak, calculate the area under the peak and its retention time and provide a printout of the results at the end of the elution program. The computer program successfully exploited the Trigg Tracking Signal as both a peak detection and as a moving baseline monitoring device. This approach proved to have an equivalent performance to the manual method for 17 out of the 19 amino acids normally quantitated in physiological samples. The automated detection and quantitation of arginine was unsatisfactory due to its characteristically low profile peak shape, and proline was not measured because the device was not connected to the 440 nm channel of the colorimeter. The automated system provided economic and analytically acceptable solutions to the problem of providing an online integrator versatile enough to be used with the 255 min long amino acid analysis of physiological fluids.     

Aerobic immobilized cells in alginate gel particles of variable density

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Immobilized cells ofAcetobacter sp. were used as a model system of aerobic cells to study the influence of gel particle density in fermentation carried out...     

Direct determination of copper in urine using a sol–gel optical sensor coupled to a multicommutated flow system

In this work, a multicommutated flow system incorporating a sol–gel optical sensor is proposed for direct spectrophotometric determination of Cu(II) in urine. The optical sensor was developed by physical entrapment of 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) in sol–gel thin films by means of a base-catalysed process. The immobilised PAR formed a red 2:1 complex with Cu(II) with maximum absorbance at 500 nm. Optical transduction was based on a dual-colour light-emitting diode (LED) (green/red) light source and a photodiode detector. The sensor had optimum response and good selectivity towards Cu(II) at pH 7.0 and its regeneration was accomplished with picolinic acid. Linear response was obtained for Cu(II) concentrations between 5.0 and 80.0 g L^–1, with a detection limit of 3.0 g L^–1 and sampling frequency of 14 samples h^–1. Interference from foreign ions was studied at a 10:1 (w/w) ion:Cu(II) ratio. Results obtained from analysis of urine samples were in very good agreement with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS); there was no significant differences at a confidence level of 95%.