The effect of dyes on photo-induced chemiluminescence emission from polymers

Weak photo-induced chemiluminescence (PICL) emission is observed when polymers are exposed to UVA or visible light. The presence of dyes can either increase PICL intensity via Type I photosensitisation which generates polymer free radicals, or reduce it via photo-protection. PICL studies on the eight Blue Wool Standards (BWSs) that are used commercially as lightfastness standards show higher PICL intensity from the least photostable BWSs that use triphenylmethane dyes and lower intensity from more photostable BWSs using UVA and visible wavelengths. The relative PICL intensities do not correlate in a stepwise manner with lightfastness ratings of the BWSs. However dye/polymer combinations that emit high levels of PICL relative to the undyed material are unlikely to have acceptable lightfastness. The xanthene dyes fluorescein and eosin Y are more strongly photosensitising than triphenylmethane dyes on wool and both produce higher PICL emission than undyed wool when irradiated with visible light.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of the total phenolics levels in plant-derived beverages using soluble manganese(IV)

This study established a flow injection (FI) methodology for the determination of the total phenolic content in plant-derived beverages based on soluble manganese(IV) chemiluminescence (CL) detection. It was found that mixing polyphenols with acidic soluble manganese(IV) in the presence of formaldehyde evoked chemiluminescence. Based on this finding, a new FI-CL method was developed for the estimation of the total content of phenolic compounds (expressed as milligrams of gallic acid equivalent per litre of drink) in a variety of wine, tea and fruit juice samples. The proposed method is sensitive with a detection limit of 0.02 ng mL⁻¹ (gallic acid), offers a wide linear dynamic range (0.5-400 ng mL⁻¹) and high sample throughput (247 samples h⁻¹). The relative standard deviation for 15 measurements was 3.8% for 2 ng mL⁻¹ and 0.45% for 10 ng mL⁻¹ of gallic acid. Analysis of 36 different samples showed that the results obtained by the proposed FI-CL method correlate highly with those obtained by spectrophotometric methods commonly used for the evaluation of the total phenolic/antioxidant level. However, the FI-CL method was found to be far simpler, more rapid and selective, with almost no interference from non-phenolic components of the samples examined.     

Establishment of an immunoaffinity chromatography for simultaneously selective extraction of Sudan I, II, III and IV from food samples

The establishment of an immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) for simultaneously selective extraction of four illegal colorants Sudan dyes (Sudan I, II, II and IV) from food samples was described. The IAC column was constructed by covalently coupling monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Sudan I to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B and packed into a common solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. It was observed that IAC column was able to separately capture Sudan I, II, III and IV with maximum capacity of 295, 156, 184 and 173ng, respectively. The extraction conditions including loading, washing and eluting solutions were carefully optimized. Under optimal conditions, the extraction recoveries of the IAC column for Sudan I-IV at two different spiked concentrations were within 95.3-106.9%. After 50 times repeated usage, 64% of the maximum capacity was still remained. Six food samples randomly collected from local supermarket without spiking Sudan dyes were extracted with IAC column and detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that there was no detectable Sudan II, III and IV in all six food samples, but Sudan I with the content of 2.7-134.5ngg(-1) was detected in three food samples. To further verify the extraction efficiency, other three negative samples were spiked with Sudan I-IV at the concentrations of 20ngg(-1) and 50ngg(-1), which were then extracted with IAC column. The extraction recoveries and relative standard deviation (RSD) were 68.6-96.0% and 4.8-15.2%, respectively, demonstrating the feasibility of the prepared IAC column for Sudan dyes extraction.     

A review of analytical techniques for determination of Sudan I–IV dyes in food matrixes

Sudan dyes are a family of lipophilic azo dyes, extensively used in industrial and scientific applications but banned for use as food colorants due to their carcinogenicity. Due to the continuing illicit use of Sudan dyes as food colorants their determination in different food matrices – especially in different chilli and tomato sauces and related products – has during the recent years received increasing attention all over the world. This paper critically reviews the published determination methods of Sudan I–IV dyes. LC–UV–vis and LC–MS are the dominating methods for analysis of Sudan I–IV dyes. Sudan dyes are usually found in food at mg kg⁻¹ levels at which it may be necessary to use a preconcentration step in order to attain the desired detection limits. Liquid–solid extraction is the dominating sample preparation procedure. In recent years it has been supplemented by ultrasonic-assisted extraction and pressurized liquid extraction. Various solid phase extraction types have been used for sample cleanup. The large majority of works use conventional C18 columns and conventional LC eluents. Traditionally the UV–vis absorbance detection has been the most frequently used. In the recent years MS detection is applied more and more often as it offers more reliable identification possibilities.     

Quantitative assessment of moisture damage for cacao bean quality using two-dimensional gas chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and chemometrics

Quality control of cacao beans is a significant issue in the chocolate industry. In this report, we describe how moisture damage to cacao beans alters the volatile chemical signature of the beans in a way that can be tracked quantitatively over time. The chemical signature of the beans is monitored via sampling the headspace of the vapor above a given bean sample. Headspace vapor sampled with solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) was detected and analyzed with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–TOFMS). Cacao beans from six geographical origins (Costa Rica, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama) were analyzed. Twenty-nine analytes that change in concentration levels via the time-dependent moisture damage process were measured using chemometric software. Biomarker analytes that were independent of geographical origin were found. Furthermore, prediction algorithms were used to demonstrate that moisture damage could be verified before there were visible signs of mold by analyzing subsets of the 29 analytes. Thus, a quantitative approach to quality screening related to the identification of moisture damage in the absence of visible mold is presented.     

应用ICP-MS和GFAAS测定藻类食品中铅、镉的方法研究及比较

建立微波消解-电感耦合等离子体-质谱法(ICP-MS)测定藻类食品中铅、镉含量的方法,并与国家标准方法石墨炉原子吸收光谱法(GFAAS)进行了比较.样品经过微波消解,分别使用ICP-MS和GFAAS测定藻类食品裙带菜和海带中铅、镉含量,各元素校正曲线的相关系数均大于0.9991,样品分析结果RSD均小于3.6%(n=6...     

Effect of temperature on the photobehavior of Rose Bengal associated with dipalmitoylphosphatidyl choline liposomes

The association and photobehavior of Rose Bengal (RB) in the presence of dipalmitoylphosphatidyl choline (DPPC) small unilamellar liposomes is determined by the temperature. At temperatures above the main phase transition of the bilayer, the incorporation of the dye is ca. 2.5 times more efficient than that taking place when the bilayer is in the gel state. In both temperature ranges, adsorption isotherms show a noticeable anti-cooperativity that can be related to electrostatic repulsion between bound molecules. The photophysics and the photochemistry of the bound dye molecules also depend on the bilayer status. In particular, in the liquid crystalline state the surrounding of the dye is more polar and production of singlet oxygen is less efficient (Φ∼0.1). This reduced singlet oxygen production is partially due to a low triplet yield (Φ_T=0.35) and triplet self-quenching due to a high local RB concentration. In spite of these, tryptophan is efficiently photobleached when RB is associated to liposomes in the liquid crystalline state, probably due to a Type I mechanism favored by its high local concentration in the sensitized surroundings.     

The Search for Highly Colored Organic Compounds

Until now the study of organic compounds in which the π-electron system is excited by absorbed light has been mainly concentrated on the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Various new applications, such as the use of conjugated organic compounds as dye lasers or as materitals for storing information with the help of diode lasers, led to the synthesis of new compounds which absorb light in the near in infrared (NIR). It is possible to use structure-color relationships to predict the properties of such new compounds when they belong to dyestuff classes which have already been studied in detail; in this case the approach involves decreasing the energy difference between the ground state and the first excited state. A less conventional starting point is provided by molecular structures in which from the outset there is only a very small energy difference between the lowest-energy electronic states; such diradicaloid molecules occupy a special position among the various types of organic compounds. It is possible by means of suitable structural modification to stabilize such molecules in a singlet from which absorbs light at very long wavelengths (i.e. at small wave numbers).     

Analysis of mono- and disaccharides in milk-based formulae by high-performance liquid chromatography with refractive index detection

A simple and reproducible method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of free mono- and disaccharides (fructose, glucose, galactose, sucrose, lactulose and lactose) in milk-based formulae by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with refractive index (RI) detection was developed and validated. The method showed good linearity with determination coefficients exceeding 0.99. The limits of detection (DL) in these sugars were 0.17, 0.13, 0.06, 0.16, 0.05 and 0.25 mg/ml, respectively; and the limits of quantification (QL), 0.27, 0.24, 0.20, 0.26, 0.22 and 0.38 mg/ml. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) for repeatability in fructose, sucrose, lactulose and lactose were 0.78, 0.99, 2.91 and 0.46 and the R.S.D.s for reproducibility were 4.8, 6.15, 7.04 and 2.49, respectively. Recoveries in all sugars were between 93 and 113%.     

Development of solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction methods for the determination of chlorophenols in cork macerate and wine samples

Tri-, tetra- and pentachlorophenol (TCP, TeCP and PCP) can be considered the precursors in the formation of corresponding chloroanisoles, known to be powerful odorants in corks and wine. Determining the presence of these chlorophenolic compounds in cork soaking solutions (ethanol/water mixtures, 12% (v/v) ethanol used for cork quality control testing), or in wine can be achieved by acetylation/gas chromatography electron-capture detection. In order to reach the required sensitivity, a previous preconcentration step is necessary. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) have given good results for the preconcentration of TCP, TeCP and PCP in such matrices. The use of Oasis HLB cartridges gives acceptable recoveries for the three compounds when different volumes (50-250 mL) of cork macerate with concentrations ranging from 20 to 150 ng/L are processed. Preconcentration based on HS-SPME has also been optimised with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fibre and in situ derivatization. The HS-SPME method allows chlorophenols in a cork soaking solution and in wine to be determined with a limit of detection of 1 ng/L for each compound (in cork macerate) and a repeatability of around 0.5%-5% (n=8) for a concentration level of 30 ng/L.