Gas chromatographic determination of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and octyldimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid sunscreen agents in swimming pool and bathing waters by solid-phase microextraction

A method has been developed for the trace determination of two sunscreen constituents (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and octyldimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid) in water samples, which are commonly used in commercial formulations. The method employs solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. The technique was developed with headspace and direct sampling in order to demonstrate the applicability of these SPME extraction modes for the identification of these two UV absorbing compounds in waters. The main parameters affecting the SPME process, such as desorption time, extraction time profile, salt additives, pH, and temperature, were investigated. The poly(dimethylsiloxane) 100-microm and polyacrylate 85-microm fiber coatings were found to be the most efficient for the extraction of these compounds from aqueous matrices. Linear calibration curves in the wide range of 10-500 microg/l were obtained for both compounds yielding typical RSD values of 5-9% for both extraction modes. The recoveries were relatively high, 82-98%, with quantitation limits below 1 microg/l. A comparison between the proposed methods and the conventional multiresidue solid-phase extraction revealed that the proposed technique(s) can be reliably used for sunscreen residue measurement in water samples with satisfactory results.     

Molar extinction coefficients of some carbohydrates in aqueous solutions

Molar extinction coefficients of some carbohydrates viz. l-arabinose (C₅H₁₀O₅), d-glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆), d-mannose (C₆H₁₂O₆), d-galactose (C₆H₁₂O₆), d(-) fructose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and maltose (C₁₂H₂₄O₁₂) in aqueous solutions have been determined at 81, 356, 511, 662, 1173 and 1332 keV by gamma ray transmission method in a narrow beam good geometry set-up. These coefficients have been found to depend upon the photon energy following a 4-parameter polynomial. These extinction coefficients for different sugars having the same molecular formula have same values varying within experimental uncertainty. Within concentration ranges studied, Beer-Lambert law is obeyed very well.     

Measurement uncertainty arising from trueness of the analysis of two endocrine disruptors and their metabolites in environmental samples. Part II. Solid-phase extraction from environmental natural waters

In this work, a preconcentration method for the simultaneous determination of the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), diuron (1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-3,3-dimethylurea), and linuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea), as well as their metabolites DCPU (1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl) urea), DCPMU (1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-methylurea) and 3,4-DCA (3,4-dichloroaniline), present in natural waters was optimized and validated. Water was subjected to solid-phase extraction (SPE) and the influence of several experimental variables affecting the extraction efficiency of the target analytes was studied, including the sorbent material, elution solvents, pH and breakthrough volume, as well as some solution parameters that is, ionic strength and organic matter content. A high-performance liquid chromatography system coupled to UV-diode array detector (DAD) was used for the target analytes quantification at the optimum conditions described in Part I. The fully nested experimental design, adapted to the new experimental parameters, was used to study the measurement uncertainty arising from trueness by estimating proportional bias (in terms of recovery). The overall recoveries of the target analytes were in the range of 71.6-90.2%, except 3,4-DCA for which a low overall recovery of 51.4% was obtained. The analytical procedure was shown to be linear over the studied range of concentration (25-400 ng/l), exhibiting satisfactory repeatability and reaching limits of detection in the 1.3-11.2 ng/l range for all, quite different in nature, water types. The SPE method was further applied for the determination of the selected EDCs and their metabolites in water samples taken from selected study stations in the region of Epirus (N.W. Greece) corresponding to the sediment samples locations (Part I).     

A Markov-modulated model for stocks paying discrete dividends

We extend the model in [Korn, R., Rogers, L.C.G., 2005. Stock paying discrete dividends: modelling and option pricing. Journal of Derivatives 13, 44–49] for (discrete) dividend processes to incorporate the dependence of assets on the market mode or the state of the economy, where the latter is modeled by a hidden finite-state Markov chain. We then derive the resulting dynamics of the stock price and various option-pricing formulae. It turns out that the stock price jumps not only at the time of the dividend payment, but also when the underlying Markov chain jumps.     

Investigation of the Aquatic Photolytic and Photocatalytic Degradation of Citalopram

This study investigated the direct and indirect photochemical degradation of citalopram (CIT), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), under natural and artificial solar radiation. Experiments were conducted in a variety of different operating conditions including Milli-Q (MQ) water and natural waters (lake water and municipal WWT effluent), as well as in the presence of natural water constituents (organic matter, nitrate and bicarbonate). Results showed that indirect photolysis can be an important degradation process in the aquatic environment since citalopram photo-transformation in the natural waters was accelerated in comparison to MQ water both under natural and simulated solar irradiation. In addition, to investigate the decontamination of water from citalopram, TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic degradation was carried out and the attention was given to mineralization and toxicity evaluation together with the identification of by-products. The photocatalytic process gave rise to the formation of transformation products, and 11 of them were identified by HPLC-HRMS, whereas the complete mineralization was almost achieved after 5 h of irradiation. The assessment of toxicity of the treated solutions was performed by Microtox bioassay (Vibrio fischeri) and in silico tests showing that citalopram photo-transformation involved the formation of harmful compounds.     

Validation of an SPME method,using PDMS,PA, PDMS-DVB,and CW-DVB SPME fiber coatings,for analysis of organophosphorus insecticides in natural waters

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has been optimized and applied to the determination of the organophosphorus insecticides diazinon, dichlofenthion, parathion methyl, malathion, fenitrothion, fenthion, parathion ethyl, bromophos methyl, bromophos ethyl, and ethion in natural waters. Four types of SPME fiber coated with different stationary phases (PDMS, PA, PDMS-DVB, and CW-DVB) were used to examine their extraction efficiencies for the compounds tested. Conditions that might affect the SPME procedure, such as extraction time and salt content, were investigated to determine the analytical performance of these fiber coatings for organophosphorus insecticides. The optimized procedure was applied to natural waters - tap, sea, river, and lake water - spiked in the concentration range 0.5 to 50 micro g L(-1) to obtain the analytical characteristics. Recoveries were relatively high - >80% for all types of aqueous sample matrix - and the calibration plots were reproducible and linear (R(2)>0.982) for all analytes with all the fibers tested. The limits of detection ranged from 2 to 90 ng L(-1), depending on the detector and the compound investigated, with relative standard deviations in the range 3-15% at all the concentration levels tested. The SPME partition coefficients (K(f)) of the organophosphorus insecticides were calculated experimentally for all the polymer coatings. The effect of organic matter such as humic acids on extraction efficiency was also studied. The analytical performance of the SPME procedure using all the fibers in the tested natural waters proved effective for the compounds.     

Headspace solid phase microextraction for the analysis of the new antifouling agents Irgarol 1051 and Sea Nine 211 in natural waters

A simple and rapid extraction method based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been developed for the analysis of two antifouling agents, currently licensed for use in marine antifouling paints. Irgarol 1051 and Sea Nine 211 were extracted from aqueous solutions using polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene (PDMS-DVB) 65 μm fiber and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with flame thermionic, electron capture and mass spectrometric detection. The extraction time, addition of Na₂SO₄ and the influence of organic matter, such as humic acid on extraction efficiency were examined in order to achieve a sensitive method. The optimized procedure was applied to spiked natural waters, such as sea water, river water and lake water in a concentration range of 0.5-50 μg l⁻¹ in order to obtain the analytical characteristics. The linear calibration curve obtained (R²>0.990) for both analytes indicate that the presence of interfering compounds had no significant effect due to the high affinity of both analytes to the PDMS-DVB 65 μm fiber coating. Recoveries were in relatively high levels over >82% in all types of natural waters. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.002 to 0.030 μg l⁻¹, depending on the detector and the compound investigated, with relative standard deviations in the range of 3-12% at all concentration levels tested. Finally, the proposed method was applied in real water samples from different marinas of Epirus region (NW Greece) in order to investigate its performance in precise and routine environmental analysis.     

Homoconjugation in the adamantane cage: DFT/IGLO studies of the 1, 3-dehydro-5-adamantyl cation, its isoelectronic boron analogue 1, 3-dehydro-5-boraadamantane, and related systems(1)(,)

The structure of 1,3-dehydro-5-adamantyl cation and its isoelectronic boron analogue 1,3-dehydro-5-boraadamantane as well as some related adamantane systems, hitherto unknown as persistent long-lived species, were investigated by using the density functional theory (DFT) method. (13)C and (11)B NMR chemical shifts of the compounds were also calculated using the IGLO method. Stabilization of the systems due to homoconjugation is discussed.     

Theoretical study of relative width of photonic band gap for the 3-D dielectric structure

Calculations for the relative width (Δω/ω₀) as a function of refractive index and relative radius of the photonic band gap for the fcc closed packed 3-D dielectric microstructure are reported and comparison of experimental observations and theoretical predictions are given. This work is useful for the understanding of photonic crystals and occurrence of the photonic band gap.