Factorial design optimization of experimental variables in the on-line separation/preconcentration of copper in water samples using solid phase extraction and ICP-OES determination.

An on-line preconcentration procedure using solid phase extraction (SPE) for the determination of copper in different water samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is proposed. The copper was retained on a minicolumn filled with ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) at pH 8.0 without using any complexing reagent. The experimental optimization step was performed using a two-level full factorial design. The results showed that pH, sample loading flow rate, and their interaction (at the tested levels) were statistically significant. In order to determine the best conditions for preconcentration and determination of copper, a final optimization of the significant factors was carried out using a central composite design (CCD). The calibration graph was linear with a regression coefficient of 0.995 at levels near the detection limit up to at least 300 µg L(-1). An enrichment factor (EF) of 54 with a preconcentration time of 187.5 s was obtained. The limit of detection (3σ) was 0.26 µg L(-1). The sampling frequency for the developed methodology was about 15 samples/h. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for six replicates containing 50 µg L(-1) of copper was 3.76%. The methodology was successfully applied to the determination of Cu in tap, mineral, river water samples, and in a certified VKI standard reference material.

On-line arsenic co-precipitation on ethyl vinyl acetate turning-packed mini-column followed by hydride generation-ICP OES determination.

An alternative and new system for on-line preconcentration of arsenic by sorption on a mini-column associated to hydride generation--inductively coupled plasma--optical emission spectrometry determination was studied. It is based on the sorption of arsenic on a column packed with ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) turnings and the use of La(III) as co-precipitant reagent. This polymeric material was employed here for the first time as filling material for column preconcentration. It could work both as adsorbent and as sieve material. Sample and co-precipitant agent (lanthanum nitrate) were off-line mixed and merged with ammonium buffer solution (pH 10.0), which promoted precipitation and quantitative collection on the small EVA turnings. The arsenic preconcentrated by co-precipitation with lanthanum hydroxide precipitate was subsequently eluted with hydrochloric acid, which was the medium used for hydride generation. Considering a flow rate of 5 ml/min, three enrichment factors were obtained, 28-, 38- and 45-fold at three different sampling times, 60, 120 and 180s; respectively. The detection limits (3s) obtained for each case were 0.013, 0.009 and 0.007 microg/l. Additionally, the calculated precisions expressed as relatively standard deviation (R.S.D.) were 0.9, 1.3 and 1.1%. Satisfactory results were obtained for the determination of arsenic in standard reference material NIST 1643e Trace Elements in Water and drinking water samples.

On-line preconcentration and determination of mercury in biological and environmental samples by cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrometry.

An on-line procedure for the determination of traces of total mercury in environmental and biological samples is described. The present methodology combines cold vapor generation associated to atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) with preconcentration of the analyte on a minicolumn packed with activated carbon. The retained analyte was quantitatively eluted from the minicolumn with nitric acid. After that, volatile specie of mercury was generated by merging the acidified sample and sodium tetrahydroborate(III) in a continuous flow system. The gaseous analyte was subsequently introduced via a stream of Ar carrier into the atomizer device. Optimizations of both, preconcentration and mercury volatile specie generation variables were carried out using two level full factorial design (2(3)) with 3 replicates of the central point. Considering a sample consumption of 25mL, an enrichment factor of 13-fold was obtained. The detection limit (3sigma) was 10ngL(-1) and the precision (relative standard deviation) was 3.1% (n=10) at the 5microgL(-1) level. The calibration curve using the preconcentration system for mercury was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995 at levels near the detection limit up to at least 1000microgL(-1). Satisfactory results were obtained for the analysis of mercury in tap water and hair samples.

Preconcentration and speciation of chromium in drinking water samples by coupling of on-line sorption on activated carbon to ETAAS determination.

An on-line flow injection (FI) preconcentration-electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) method is developed for trace determination of chromium in drinking water samples by sorption on a conical minicolumn packed with activated carbon (AC) at pH 5.0. The chromium was removed from the minicolumn with 1.0% (v/v) nitric acid. An enrichment factor (EF) of 35-fold for a sample volume of 10ml was obtained. The detection limit (DL) value for the preconcentration method proposed was 3.0ngl(-1). The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 0.5mugl(-1) Cr level was 4.0% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), calculate with the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for chromium was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 50mugl(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in drinking water samples.

Trace element determination of Argentine wines using ETAAS and USN-ICP-OES.

The objective of this work was to develop a method to determine the metal content in wine samples from the province of Mendoza in Argentina. Ten samples of white wine and 10 samples of red wine available in the supermarket were analyzed for the metals aluminium, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, nickel, lead and zinc by electrothermal atomic spectrometry (ETAAS) and ultrasonic nebulization was coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (USN-ICP-OES). The aluminium, cadmium, calcium, copper, iron, lead, zinc, chromium concentrations were between 17.0-18.0 microg l(-1), 1.0-4.7microg l(-1), 10.0-15.0 mg l(-1), 23.0-28.0 microg l(-1), 480-790 microg l(-1), 50-90 microg l(-1), 24-130 microg l(-1), and <0.2-6.25 microg l(-1), respectively. The levels compare well with those reported for similar wines from some other parts of the world. A significant aspect in this paper is the samples mineralization step, which allowed the direct determination of the metals. Concerning to the Cd determination, a refluxing digestion system was used for the pretreatment of the samples.

Optimization of the preconcentration system of cadmium with 1(2-thiazolylazo)-p-cresol using a knotted reactor and flame atomic absorption spectrometric detection.

The present paper proposes an on-line preconcentration procedure for cadmium determination in drinking water samples. It is based on the precipitation of cadmium(II) ions on a knotted reactor (KR) using 1(2-thiazolylazo)-p-cresol (TAC) as complexing reagent. The optimization step was performed using a full factorial design involving the variables: pH, eluent concentration (nitric acid) and TAC concentration. The results of this experiment demonstrated that these variables at chosen levels are not statistically significant. Under optimized experimental established conditions, analytical parameters for the preconcentration method were: a detection limit of 40.0 ng/l, precision as relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.2 and 1.0%, for cadmium concentration of 2.5 and 20.0 microg/l, respectively. The preconcentration factor considering the slopes of the analytical curves with and without preconcentration is 23 for a sample volume of 10 ml. This system shows a sampling frequency of 25 h(-1). In order to check the accuracy, the standard reference material, NIST SRM 1643d trace elements in water was analyzed. A comparison, using t-test demonstrates that there is not significant difference among the achieved results with proposed method and the certified values. The addition/recovery experiments in the samples analyzed demonstrated the accuracy and applicability of the system developed for cadmium determination in water samples.

Factorial design for multivariate optimization of an on-line preconcentration system for platinum determination by ultrasonic nebulization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.

A system for on-line preconcentration and determination of platinum by ultrasonic nebulization (USN) coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was studied. It is based on the chemical sorption of platinum on a column packed with polyurethane foam loaded with thiocyanate reagent. The optimization step was carried out using two level full factorial design. Three variables (pH, loading flow rate (LFR) and eluent concentration) were regarded as factors in the optimization. Results of the two level factorial design 2(3) with three replicates of the central point for platinum preconcentration, based on the variance analysis (ANOVA), demonstrated that the factors and their interactions are not statistically significant. The proposed procedure allowed the determination of platinum with a detection limit of 0.28mugl(-1). The precision for 10 replicate determinations at 10.0mugl(-1) Pt level was 3.8% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), calculated from the peak heights obtained. A total enhancement factor of 100 was obtained with respect to ICP-OES using pneumatic nebulization (10 for USN and 10 for preconcentration). A sampling frequency of 50 samples per hour was obtained. The effect of other ions in concentrations agreeing with water samples was studied. The addition/recovery experiments in the samples analyzed demonstrated the accuracy and applicability of the system developed for platinum determination in spiked water samples.

On-line complexation/preconcentration system for the determination of lead in wine by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry with ultrasonic nebulization.

An on-line lead preconcentration and determination system implemented with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with ultrasonic nebulization (USN) in association with flow injection was studied. For the preconcentration of lead, a Pb-quinolin-8-ol complex was formed on-line at pH 6.8 and retained on Amberlite XAD-16 resin. The lead was removed from the microcolumn by countercurrent elution with nitric acid. A total enhancement factor of 225 was obtained with respect to ICP-AES with pneumatic nebulization (15.0 for USN and 15.0 for the column). The detection limit for Pb for the preconcentration of a 10 mL wine sample was 0.15 microg/L. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at a Pb level of 25 microg/L was a relative standard deviation of 2.5%, calculated from the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph obtained by using the preconcentration system for lead was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995 for levels near the detection limit up to > or = 1000 microg/L. The method was successfully applied to the determination of lead in wine samples.

Spectrophotometric determination of trace aluminium content in parenteral solutions by combined cloud point preconcentration-flow injection analysis.

A cloud point preconcentration and flow injection (FI) analysis methodology for aluminium(III) determination has been developed. The analyte in the initial aqueous solution was complexed with Chrome Azurol S (CAS) in the presence of the cationic surfactant benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride (BDTAC). The absorption spectroscopic characteristics of the ternary complex [Al(III)-CAS-BDTAC] were examined in detail. The preconcentration step was carried out by means of the non-ionic surfactant polyethylene glycol p-nonylphenyl ether (PONPE 7.5). The enriched analyte solution was injected into an FI system using an HPLC pump. The chemical variables affecting the analytical performance of the combined methodology were studied and optimised. The developed approach was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of aluminium in parenteral solutions without previous treatment. Under the optimum experimental conditions, 99.9% extraction was achieved for a preconcentration factor of 50. The limit of detection was 1.12 x 10(-7) mol(-1). The calibration plot was linear over at least two orders of magnitude of aluminium concentration. The developed coupled methodology, which thoroughly satisfies the typical requirements for pharmaceutical control processes, is appropriate for monitoring the aluminium concentration in parenteral nutrition.

Speciation and preconcentration of vanadium(V) and vanadium(IV) in water samples by flow injection-inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and ultrasonic nebulization.

An on-line separation, preconcentration and determination system for vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) comprising inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) coupled to a flow injection (FI) method with an ultrasonic nebulization (USN) system was studied. The vanadium species were retained on an Amberlite XAD-7 resin as a vanadium-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (V-5-Br-PADAP) complex at pH 3.7. Enhanced selectivity was obtained with the combined use of the formation on-line of the complexes and 1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) as masking agent. The vanadium complexes were removed from the microcolumn with 25% v/v nitric acid. A sensitivity enhancement factor of 225 was obtained with respect to ICP-OES using pneumatic nebulization (15-fold for USN and 15-fold for the microcolumn). The detection limit for the preconcentration of 10 mL of aqueous solution was 19 ng L-1. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 5 micrograms L-1 V level was 2.3% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated from the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the separation and preconcentration system for vanadium species was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 at levels from near the detection limits up to at least 100 micrograms L-1. The method was successfully applied to the speciation of vanadium in river water samples.

Flow injection spectrophotometric analysis of lead in human saliva for monitoring environmental pollution.

A new highly sensitive, simple and low-cost methodology for the direct determination of Pb (II) with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol in ethanolic medium has been developed. The absorption spectroscopy of the complex has been examined in detail, and the chemical variables affecting the sensitivity of procedure studied, optimized and applied to the determination of trace amounts of lead in human saliva. Under the optimal experimental conditions, a precision of 1.61x10(-4) mug cm(-2) was achieved, the molar absorptivity being (epsilon) 5.6x10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1). An FI technique is proposed, and it is possible to determine trace levels of lead by injection into a steam buffered at pH 7.15, containing 70% ethanol: 30% Tris buffer 3.5x10(-3) mol l(-1) (pH=7.2), 1x10(-4) mol l(-1) 5-BrDMPAP. The FIA configuration allows the analysis of 45 samples per hour. The lower limit of detection (LOD) was 1x10(-7) mol l(-1). The calibration plot was linear at least within two orders of magnitude of lead concentration. The use of an HPLC pump for the FI analysis led to a substantial improvement in the analytical performance of the method, which clearly satisfies the typical requirements for control processes.

On-line preconcentration system for bismuth determination in urine by flow injection hydride generation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.

An on-line bismuth preconcentration and determination system implemented with hydride generation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (HG-ICP-AES) associated to flow injection (FI) was studied. Quinolin-8-ol and Amberlite XAD-7 were used for the retention of bismuth, at pH 4.5. The bismuth complex was removed from the micro-column with nitric acid. The detection limit value for the preconcentration of 100 ml of aqueous solution was 0.02 ng ml(-1) with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 3.5%, calculated from the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for bismuth was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 100 ng ml(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of bismuth in human urine samples.

Determination of low cadmium concentrations in wine by on-line preconcentration in a knotted reactor coupled to an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer with ultrasonic nebulization.

An on-line cadmium preconcentration and determination system implemented with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) associated to flow injection (FI) with ultrasonic nebulization system (USN) was studied. The cadmium was retained as the cadmium-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol, Cd-(5-Br-PADAP), complex, at pH 9.5. The cadmium complex was removed from the knotted reactor (KR) with 3.0 mol/L nitric acid. A total enhancement factor of 216 was obtained with respect to ICP-OES using pneumatic nebulization (12 for USN and 18 for KR) with a preconcentration time of 60 s. The value of the detection limit for the preconcentration of 5 mL of sample solution was 5 ng/L. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 5 microg/L Cd level was 2.9% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated from the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for cadmium was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 1,000 microg/L. The method was successfully applied to the determination of cadmium in wine samples.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of phenobarbital, phenytoin and methylphenobarbital in pharmaceutical preparations by using partial least-squares and principal component regression multivariate calibration.

Two multivariate calibration methods, partial least squares (PLS-2) and principal component regression (PCR) have been applied to the simultaneous spectrophotometric analysis of ternary mixtures of phenytoin (DPH), phenobarbital (PBT) and methylphenobarbital (MPBT) in the Comital-L pharmaceutical formulation. The PLS-2 and PCR procedures were employed to evaluate the data of a variable number of calibration solutions measured over the wavelength range 400-700 nm. The concentration ranges used to construct the calibration matrix were varied between 5 and 30 microg ml(-1). The proposed methods were validated by applying them to the analysis of the Comital-L pharmaceutical formulation and the average relative errors were less than 6% for each one of the analyzed compounds. The results obtained by both proposed methods have been compared with the results obtained by application of a RPLC reference method.

On-line complexation of zinc with 5-Br-PADAP and preconcentration using a knotted reactor for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometric determination in river water samples.

An on-line zinc preconcentration and determination system implemented with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) associated with flow injection (FI) was studied. The zinc was retained as zinc-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Zn-(5-Br-PADAP)) complex at pH 9.2. The zinc complex was removed from the knotted reactor (KR) with 30% v/v nitric acid. An enrichment factor of 42 was obtained for the KR system with respect to ICP-AES using pneumatic nebulization. The detection limit for the preconcentration of 10 mL of aqueous solution was 0.09 microg/L. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 5 microg/L Zn level was 2.3% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated with the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for zinc was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 100 microg/L. The method was succesfully applied to the determination of zinc in river water samples.

Cloud point extraction of lead in saliva via use of nonionic PONPE 7.5 without added chelating agents.

A new micelle-mediated phase separation of metal ions to preconcentrate trace levels of lead as a prior step to its determination by flame atomic spectroscopy has been developed. The methodology is based on the cloud point extraction of lead with PONPE 7.5 in the absence of chelating agent. The chemical variables affecting the sensitivity of the extractive-spectrometric procedure were evaluated in detail, optimised and successfully applied to the determination of lead in saliva samples. Under the optimal conditions, a %E higher than 99.9 was achieved. The proposed method showed linear calibration within the range: 0.6-4 mug ml(-1) Pb(II). The sensitivity was 0.053 mug ml(-1). The method has been applied to the determination of lead in human saliva. The nature of the extracting species as well as the location of lead in the micelle were studied. The analytical performance of the proposed method clearly satisfies the typical requirements for control processes.

Determination of trace rare earth elements by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry after preconcentration on a new chelating resin loaded with thorin.

A very stable chelating resin was prepared by adsorption of (o-[3,6-disulfo-2-hidroxy-1-naphthylazo]-benzenearsonic acid) (thorin) on a macroporous resin Amberlite XAD-7. The optimal conditions for preparing it were obtained through the study of the adsorption properties of the resin and the thermodynamic quantities of the adsorption processes. Likewise, the behavior of the loaded resin with the rare earth elements (REE) were studied (pH of retention, sorption kinetics, etc). The conditions to prepare a thin film with this system were also evaluated. The loaded resin was successfully used for the separation and preconcentration of Sm(III), Eu(III) and Gd(III) prior to their determination by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. The preconcentration factor obtained was 500 and the concentrations at low detection limit were 13.8, 17 and 15.7 microg l(-1) for Sm, Eu and Gd, respectively.

Monitoring the elimination of gadolinium-based pharmaceuticals. Cloud point preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of Gd(III)-2-(3,5-dichloro-2-pyridylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol in urine.

An extraction methodology based on cloud point phase separation of non-ionic surfactants has been developed for the preconcentration of ppb amounts of gadolinium in urine as a prior step to its determination by an absorptiometric procedure. A method based on the formation of complexes with 2-(3,5-dichloro-2-pyridylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol was used for the extraction of Gd(III) in the surfactant-rich phase of non-ionic surfactant polyethyleneglycolmono-p-nonylphenylether (PONPE 7.5). The variables affecting the combined preconcentration-absorptiometric method have been evaluated and optimised. The extraction efficiency, linearity, and the limit of detection (LOD) of the method were determined. The optimised procedure was applied to determine total and free Gd(III) contents in real urine samples of patients after the NMR imaging diagnostic examination with contrast agent.

Continuous-flow/stopped-flow and rotating bioreactors in the determination of glucose.

The high sensitivity that can be attained by enzymatic amplification via substrate cycling has been verified by on-line interfacing of a rotating bioreactor and continuous-flow/stopped-flow/continuous-flow processing [Raba, J.; Mottola, H. A. Anal. Biochem. 1994, 220, 297-302]. The determination of glucose levels was possible with a limit of detection of 0.2 fmol·L(-)(1) in the processing of as many as 30 samples per hour. Determination at such low levels is of interest in several situations encountered in fermentation biotechnology and clinical chemistry, and this determination in culture broths illustrates the capabilities of the proposed approach. The glucose oxidase/glucose dehydrogenase coupled system was used by immobilizing glucose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4) on the top of a rotating disk while glucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.47) was immobilized on the top part of the flow-through cell. Substrate cycling was realized via NADH/NAD(+) that, in conjunction with glucose dehydrogenase, regenerates glucose, the substrate in the glucose oxidase-catalyzed reaction. This cycling permits generation of H(2)O(2) (detected at Pt ring electrode concentric to the rotating disk) beyond stoichiometric limitations. This permits a 100-fold increase in the sensitivity for glucose determination when compared with the determination involving no substrate cycling.