Flow injection system for hydrolysable tannin determination

A flow injection system was proposed to evaluate the transient product of a colorimetric reaction between hydrolysable tannin and potassium iodate (KIO₃) solution. The system optimization was accomplished by using statistical methods based on experimental design. Flow rate of KIO₃ solution, sample volume, carrier flow rate, and reaction coil were the selected factors for evaluation. On screening step, complete factorial 2⁴ was used and two levels for each selected factor were studied. For the optimization phase, a centered face composite design 2² + star was employed to evaluate sample volume and flow rate of KIO₃ solution, which were the factors identified in the screening phase as having more influence on the absorbance signal. After optimization, the proposed system was compared with batch determination. Some characteristics, such as analytical frequency, reagent consumption and chemical residues generation presented better results by the use of the proposed system if compared with batch method. The system presented good repeatability with standard deviation lower than 3%, for n = 10, linearity (R² = 0.9974) for tannic acid standard, analytical frequency of 15 injections h^− 1 and limit of quantification of 24 mg L^− 1 of tannic acid. Good results were obtained when the proposed system was applied to hydrolysable tannin determination in Stryphnodendron barbatimão, Eucalyptus citriodora and Phyllanthus niruri, samples of plants commonly used in popular medicine.     

Modelling Dynamics of Amperometric Biosensors in Batch and Flow Injection Analysis

A mathematical model of amperometric biosensors has been developed. The model is based on non-stationary diffusion equations containing a non-linear term related to Michaelis–Menten kinetic of the enzymatic reaction. Using digital simulation, the influence of the substrate concentration as well as maximal enzymatic rate on the biosensor response was investigated. The digital simulation was carried out using the finite difference technique. The model describes the biosensor action in batch and flow injection regimes.     

Determination of methylated dibenzothiophenes in environmental sarnples by on-line HPLC-CGC

Concurrent solvent evaporation with a loop-type interface was used for on-line HPLC-CGC in the analysis of methylated dibenzothiophene (DBT) isomers in oil samples. The chromatographic behavior of 20 methyl DBT's was studied by HPLC on an aminopropylsilane DBTA phase and by GC on a selective methyl-phenylsilicone phase. That provided a method for analyzing by GC-flame photometric detection, the individual components of the DBT family, previously picked out of the crude oil matrix by HPLC. The GC oven temperature was shown to be critical during HPLC eluent introduction into the GC pre-column. Too high a temperature induced a severe broadening of early eluted peaks whereas a temperature too close to the boiling point of the liquid at the inlet pressure induced double peaks. Optimized conditions were retained on this basis and may be used for the analysis of other families of polyaromatic hydrocarbons.     

SIAmate-a compact and modular sequential injection analysis controller

A number of sequential injection analysis (SIA) measurement methods have been developed during the last years. Almost all have been used in laboratory conditions with good results, but very few have been implemented as on-line methods, applied to non-stop measurements, producing immediate results for process control. The transfer of an SIA system from laboratory to an industrial facility [J. Ruzicka, Anal. Chim. Acta 261 (1992) 3] requires a whole new range of details to be taken into account. Some SIA platform related topics will be discussed. There are numerous ways of building an SIA system that meets the needs of the industry. One alternative, SIAmate, is presented.     

Evaluation of a PTV injector for quantitative analysis of volatile compounds at low concentrations

The performance of a PTV injector operated in the solvent venting mode with Tenax in the glass insert was evaluated with synthetic mixtures containing 5 to 50 ng of n-alkanes, ethyl esters, n-alcohols, and carboxylic acids. The influence of the sampled amount, the injected volume, and the nature of the solvent on accuracy and precision were studied. Coefficients of variation of relative (normalized) peak areas and absolute peak area ratios of each compound to the standard are of the order of 5 %.     

Electrochemical response of ascorbic acid at conducting and electrogenerated polymer modified electrodes for electroanalytical applications: a review

The present short review deals with electroanalytical aspects of electrochemical response of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) at conducting and electrogenerated polymer modified electrodes. Two main topics are considered: (i) electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbate at conducting polymer modified electrodes, leading to electroanalytical techniques for ascorbate assay, and (ii) retardation of ascorbate penetration through a layer of electrogenerated polymers, leading to permselective coatings and their diverse uses, especially for biosensing devices.     

Quantitative determination of chloride by means of flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection in the UV/VIS range

Chloride is determined indirectly by Spectrophotometric flow injection analysis. Two systems are compared, both based on the principle of ion exchange of easily detectable anions versus chloride from suitable mercury salts. The first method is based on the exchange of chloride with chloranilate which is detected at 332 nm or at 306 nm in neutral or in acidic medium respectively. In the second case, chloride reacts with Hg(SCN)₂. The liberated thiocyanate forms a strongly coloured complex with Fe(III) in acidic solution with an absorption maximum at 460 nm. Both methods have a detection limit of about 5 mol Cl^–/l (175 ng/ml). In the case of the thiocyanate method, the relative standard deviation is about 2% (7 measurements) in the range of 5 to 150 mol/l and decreases significantly to a value of approximately 0.2% at higher concentrations; for the chloranilate method it is 10% for lower and about 1% for higher concentrations respectively.     

Flow injection analysis of potassium using an all-solid-state potassium-selective electrode as a detector

The concentration of potassium was determined by a combination of flow injection analysis (FIA) with an all-solid-state potassium sensor detection. The all-solid-state potassium-selective electrode possessing long-term potential stability was fabricated by coating an electroactive polypyrrole/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) film electrode with a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membrane containing valinomycin. The simple FIA system developed in this laboratory demonstrated sensitivity identical to that in the batch system and achieved considerably rapid assay (150 samples h⁻¹). Analyses of soy sauce and control serum samples by this FIA system yielded results in good agreement with those obtained by conventional measurements.     

Flow injection analysis methods for determination of diffusion coefficients

Two flow injection analyses (FIA) methods for the determination of diffusion coefficients in a straight single tube FIA system were developed. Based on the analytical solution of the convection-diffusion equation, linear relationships of the logarithmic values of the dispersion coefficient (D) and the half-peak width (W_1/2) with the diffusion coefficient (D_m) were obtained. Experiments were designed to verify these methods. For example, for potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) a D_m value of 0.72 × 10⁵ cm² s⁻¹ was found versus a literature value of 0.76 × 10⁵ cm² s⁻¹ (error, 5%). For potassium hexacyanoferrate (II) a D_m value of 0.67 × 10⁵ cm² s⁻¹ was obtained versus a literature value of 0.63 × 10⁵ cm² s⁻¹ (error, 6%). The diffusion coefficients of some important biomedical compounds, such as dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine and ascorbic acid, were then determined. The values of 10⁵ D_m/cm² s⁻¹ are 0.60 ± 0.03, 0.44 ± 0.02, 0.60 ± 0.01 and 0.68 ± 0.06, respectively.     

Isolation of essential oils from tobacco by gas co-distillation/solvent extraction

Summary The essential oils have been isolated from tobacco leaves using a simple gas co-distillation apparatus. The method involves co-distillation with water under the continuous stream of an inert gas with subsequent single solvent extraction of the distillate. The extract is analysed on GC and GC/MS in splitless injection mode without further concentration. The method was evaluated for reproducibility using n-octadecane as an internal standard. The distillation-extraction procedure was reporducible with an average deviation of ±3% for the major constituents. The present method was applied to the analyses of the essential oils of other agricultural products.Dedicated to Dr. L. S. Ettre on the occasion of his 60th birthday.