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.     

Monitoring trace anion contamination in disk drive components

Ion chromatography was used to determine trace anionic contamination on the surface of hard disk drive components. These contaminants can have a detrimental effect on device reliability and yield. Disk drive components were soaked in deionized water and these extracts were analyzed for anions. The anions fluoride, acetate, formate, acrylate, methacrylate, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, benzoate, sulfate, oxalate, phthalate and phosphate were separated on a high-performance anion-exchange column and determined at concentrations less than 1 microg/l with suppressed conductivity detection. The extract solutions were analyzed either by injecting 1 ml or by preconcentrating 5 ml. We evaluated the performance of both methods.     

Polyphospha

The Eglinton reaction of diethynyl(2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl)phosphane (7a), that is, the oxidative coupling of 3, 4, 5, or 6 of these phosphane units, affords a mixture of the 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-membered macrocycles 8, 9, 10, and 11. Pure triphosphacyclopentadecahexayne 8 and pentaphosphacyclopentacosadecayne 10 were isolated by HPLC, while the mixture of 9 and 11 could not be separated. Multistep syntheses of open-chain polyphosphapolyynes are described, whose intra- or intermolecular coupling yields the phosphamacrocycles 8, 9, and 11. Eglinton coupling of bis(ethynylphosphanyl)butadiyne (17) gave a mixture of the 20-membered tetraphosphacycloicosaoctayne 9, the 30-membered hexaphosphacyclotriacontadodecayne 11, and the 40-membered octaphosphacyclotetracontahexadecayne 23 as result of a di-, tri-, and tetramerization, respectively. Intramolecular coupling of bis[(ethynylphosphanyl)butadiynyl]phosphane 25a gave 8, while intermolecular coupling gave 11; these two compounds were isolated by chromatography to give yields of 70 and 5%, respectively. The open-chain tetraphosphaeikosaoctayne 28 couples intramolecularly to give 9 and intermolecularly to give the 40-membered octaphosphacyclotetracontahexadecayne 23, which was isolated in the pure form. Octaphosphatetracontahexadecayne 32 cyclized to give 23, exclusively. The temperature-dependent 1H and 31P NMR spectra of the open-chain and cyclic ethynylphosphanes indicated a lowering of the inversion barrier of the tertiary phosphanes from the usual 130-140 kJ mol(-1) to 65-75 kJ mol(-1). Ab initio calculations proved that the dramatic reduction of the inversion barriers results from the interaction of the lone pair on phosphorus with the pi orbitals of the triple bonds in the planar transition state during inversion. The situation is comparable with the dramatic reduction of the P inversion barrier in phospholes, because of the planar, aromatic transition state. The polyphospha[m]cyclo[n]carbons may be considered as precursors to cyclic PmCn systems.     

Complex formation equilibria between 1-hydroxy-7-sulpho-2-naphthoic or 1-hydroxy-4,7-disulpho-2-naphthoic acid and iron(III) in 0.1M NaClO4 medium

The equilibria for formation of iron(III) complexes with 1-hydroxy-7-sulpho-2-naphthoic and 1-hydroxy-4,7-disulpho-2-naphthoic acids in aqueous 0.1M sodium perchlorate medium at 25 degrees have been studied by spectrophotometric and potentiometric methods. The data are well described in terms of a series of stepwise complexes, FeL((3-rn)+)(r) in both systems (L(n-) denotes the unprotonated ligand anion).     

Application of pressurized sample preparation methods for the analysis of steels and copper alloys

Pressurized sample preparation devices (High Pressure Asher, Pressurized Microwave Digestion system, compared with a PTFE decomposition vessel) were used to dissolve certified metal alloy samples (steel, copper) for ICP analysis. Based on the results of the analysis it was established that both up-to-date devices can be advantageously applied to quickly and quantitatively dissolve metal alloy samples. To dissolve the samples, two different kinds of acid mixtures (A: nitric and hydrochloric acid; B: nitric and hydrochloric and sulphuric and phosphoric acid) were used. The sample preparation is simpler and less time-consuming than the earlier commonly used methods, sample loss and degree of contamination are also reduced. Steel samples containing tungsten, titanium and niobium (less than 0.5%) can only be analyzed using a mixture of the four acids. By dissolving steel samples in the nitric and hydrochloric acid mixture, the concentration of their most common elements (Cr, Ni, Mn, V, Cu) as well as their S and P content can be determined. Copper alloy samples can be dissolved quickly by the pressurized microwave decomposition device using hydrochloric acid and diluted (1:1) nitric acid.