Automated at-line solid-phase extraction-gas chromatographic analysis of micropollutants in water using the PrepStation

A fully automated at-line solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography procedure has been developed for the analysis of aqueous samples using the PrepStation. The sample extract is transferred from the sample preparation module to the gas chromatograph via an autosampler vial. With flame-ionization detection, limits of determination (S/N=10) of 0.05–0.13 μg/l were obtained for the analysis of HPLC-grade water when modifying the PrepStation by: (i) increasing the sample volume to 50 ml, (ii) increasing the injection volume up to 50 μl, and (iii) decreasing the desorption volume to 300 μl. The HP autosampler had to be modified to enable the automated “at-once” on-column injection of up to 50 μl of sample extract. The amount of packing material in the original cartridge had to be reduced to effect the decrease of the desorption volume. The total set-up did not require any further optimization after having set up the method once. The analytical characteristics of the organonitrogen and organophosphorus test analytes, i.e. recoveries (typically 75–105%), repeatability (2–8%) and linearity (0.09–3.0 μg/l) were satisfactory. The potential of the system was demonstrated by determining triazines and organophosphorus pesticides in river Rhine water at the 0.6 μg/l level using flame-ionization and mass-selective detection. No practical problems were observed during the analysis of more than 100 river water samples.     

Estimation of a quantile in some nonstandard cases

A necessary condition for the asymptotic normality of the sample quantile estimator isf(Q(p))=F(Q(p))>0, whereQ(p) is thep-th quantile of the distribution functionF(x). In this paper, we estimate a quantile by a kernel quantile estimator when this condition is violated. We have shown that the kernel quantile estimator is asymptotically normal in some nonstandard cases. The optimal convergence rate of the mean squared error for the kernel estimator is obtained with respect to the asymptotically optimal bandwidth. A law of the iterated logarithm is also established.This research was partially supported by the new faculty award from the University of Oregon.     

At-column injector for capillary GC — design and evaluation

The present paper describes constructional details and evaluations of an at-column injector for capillary GC. Injections were made via a sample loop on a 0.32 mm i.d. capillary column. Two rotary valves were employed to allow a wash of the sample loop and a backflush of the transfer line. Repeatability, calculated from absolute area counts for n-alkanes was between 0.3–1% RSD, for injected sample volumes between 5 and 100 μl. Promising results were also obtained with syringe-based injections on narrow bore (100 μ i.d.) columns. Repeatability on the basis of normalized area counts was in the order of 0.1–0.2% RSD, while solvent tailing was practically absent.     

Coupling of thermal desorption in modified closeable sampling columns with wide-bore capillary gas chromatography and mass spectrometric detection

In contrast to usability of Curie-point pyrolysis at 700°C directly attached to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for determination of organic wood preservatives in waste wood samples the investigation method reported here consists of thermal desorption at temperatures about 260°C in connection with GC-MS for peak identification or GC with flame ionization detection for quantitative analyses. So-called “modified closeable sampling columns” are used as batch-reactor in thermal desorption experiments. Desorbed vapours can be introduced on capillary columns without sample discrimination and without a disturbing lost of resolution. In this manner a lot of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determinated in waste wood samples, especially in railway sleepers.     

A new procedure for bovine milk digestion in a focused microwave oven: gradual sample addition to pre-heated acid

Milk samples can be efficiently digested using a focused microwave oven, however the conventional procedure of addition of concentrated acids to the liquid sample leads to digestates with elevated acidity and residual carbon concentrations. In this work a focused microwave oven was applied for acid digestion of bovine milk samples using a conventional and an alternative procedure based on gradual sample addition to hot and concentrated acids. A two-level 2³ full factorial design experiment with eight runs was carried out to evaluate the optimum experimental conditions for reducing both the residual carbon and the final acidity of digestates. The three studied parameters were: temperature of the digestion medium for sample addition, addition of sulfuric acid before the sample or during the first step, and number of aliquots of the sample gradually added. The best conditions were attained by adding small aliquots of milk (ten-fold a volume of 0.5 ml added during 5.0 min) to a digestion mixture containing 3.0 ml nitric acid plus 1.0 ml sulfuric acid heated at 105 °C. It was demonstrated that the digestion efficiency of the alternative procedure was better than the conventional procedure, i.e. 98 and 80%, respectively. The alternative procedure was applied for determination of Ba, Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Na, P, and Zn in whole and non-fat bovine milk. The accuracy was proved using two certified reference materials (whole and non-fat milk powder).     

Sample enrichment by using monolithic precolumns in microcolumn liquid chromatography

An on-line sample enrichment system was designed using monolithic precolumns in microcolumn LC. The monolithic ODS capillary columns were prepared via in situ sol-gel processes. The enrichment efficiency of the monolithic columns was tested by using phthalates as the analytes. The relative standard deviations (n = 6) for the retention time, peak area and peak height were between 0.4 and 1.2%, 0.9 and 5.5% and 0.4 and 3.9%, respectively. The system was linear (R2 > 0.99) within the working sample concentration and sample volume ranges. Comparing to 0.2 microl injection with a typical sample injector, the theoretical plate number of a same separation column was increased by 3-6-fold when the precolumn unit was used for sample injection. The recoveries of the analytes were between 88 and 120%, and the sample volume that could be injected into the system was increased up to 5000-fold. The limits of detection were improved by more than 2000-fold and were between 0.21 and 0.87 ng ml(-1) even with a UV absorbance detector. This system was applied to the determination of phthalates contained in laboratory distilled water and tap water samples.     

原子吸收光谱法测定拉伸断口铬镍钼钛钢样品中主成分

研究了毫克级铬镍钼风样品中主成分镍的火焰原子吸收光谱法（FAAS法）和铬、钼、钒、钛、铝的塞曼恒温平台石墨炉原子吸收光谱法（ZSTPF－AAS法）。采用了微波溶样技术作为防污染样品预处理技术，采用石墨管硅涂层改进技术提高了仪器的测试精度。其中铬、镍、钼、钒、钛、铝的相对标准偏差分别为2.7%,0.97%,8.6%,7.3%,1.7%,7.3%。其加标回收率分别为96.5%,97%,96.7%,93%,98%,91%。通过分析，发现在较低温度下铬镍钼钛钢断面上有轻微的钼偏析现象，可能是拉伸断裂的主要化学影响因素。     

全二维液相色谱（NPLC×RPLC）接口及其应用

用内径为0．53mm的填充毛细管正相液相色谱为第一维，用4．6mm（i．d．）×50mmRP-18e整体柱反相色谱为第二维，建立了定量环一阀切换接口的全二维液相色谱系统（NPLC×RPLC）．第一维色谱分离洗脱出的组分交替存储在十通阀上的两个定量环中，同时定量环中前一个组分被转移到第二维进行反相分离．因为第一维的流动相流量仅是第二维的1／500，自然解决了流动相兼容问题．采用芳香族化合物的混合物和中药丹参正己烷提取液对该全二维液相系统的分离能力进行了评价．     

Ultrasonic-assisted leaching of trace metals from sediments as a function of pH

The effects of ultrasonication on the leaching of trace metals form sediments as a function of pH have been investigated using atomic absorption spectrometry. Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn and Mn were leached from sediments by ultrasonic effect using phthalate buffers at pH values of 2.2-6.0. Parameters influencing leaching, such as leaching time, solution matrix, wet or dry sample and final pH were evaluated. Results from ultrasonic leaching experiments were comparable to those of conventional procedure. In addition, this ultrasonic-assisted leaching method reduces the time required for conventional method approximately from 12 h to 25 min. Depending on the metal and sample type, metal removal increased linearly or exponentially with decreasing pH. The accuracy of the method was tested by comparing obtained results with this of conventional method. The average relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of ultrasonic-assisted leaching method (ULM) varied between 1.71 and 3.00% for N = 36, depending on the analyte. This technique shows promise for studying chemical and biological availability and uptake/release processes for metals in sediment and soil as a function of pH.     

X射线荧光分析中熔融制样条件的研究

本文研究了熔融制样时熔融温度、熔融时间和脱模剂的加入量对分析结果的影响。研究结果表明,随着熔融温度的升高和熔融时间的加长,分析结果的总值将随之增大。相反,脱模剂量的增加会使分析结果降低。通过对熔融样品时产生的升华物的研究,发现在熔触过程中,四硼酸锂比样品以更大的比例逸出熔融体,从而造成了样品在分析圆片中的相对浓缩。而且在高温熔融时,钾和钠比样品中的其他元素例如硅、铝、铁、钛、钙、镁等更易于逸失。制样条件的不同引起样品和熔剂逸失的比例会有变化,它直接影响测定的结果,这证明了在X射线荧光光谱分析中保持制样条件一致的重要性。