Flow injection analysis-solid phase extraction (FIA-SPE) method for preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of penicillins using methylene blue grafted polyurethane foam.

A simple, fast, and fully automated FIA-SPE method with UV detection for the preconcentration and determination of the investigated penicillins has been developed. This paper provides adequate procedure for the preconcentration and determination of the studied compounds in pharmaceuticals and milk samples. Penicillins (penicillin G, amoxicillin, and ampicillin) are extracted in a mincolumn packed with methylene blue grafted polyurethane foam (MBGPUF) material. The antibiotics are eluted by hydrochloric acid solution to the flow cell of UV-vis spectrophotometer at 230 nm. The analytes are preconcentrated on the sorbent at pH 8.0-9.5 and sample flow rate 3.0 mL/min. Elution was performed with 200 microL 0.2 mol L(-1) hydrochloric acid at 2 mL min(-1). Sample throughput is 12h(-1) at 120 s preconcentration time. High selectivity of the sorbent for the analytes was achieved at the specified pH range. The enrichment factors achieved are 14, 16, and 11 with 3 sigma detection limits of 12, 15, and 19 ng mL(-1) for penicillin G, amoxicillin and ampicillin, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of these antibiotics in pharmaceutical control and contaminated milk samples with RSD

Preparation, characterization and applications of novel iminodiacetic polyurethane foam (IDA-PUF) for determination and removal of some alkali metal ions from water.

The new type of ion chelating resin (IDA-PUF) has iminodiacetic group that was prepared from polyurethane foam (PUF) by the reaction between primary amine of PUF and monochloro-acetic acid. The IDA-PUF was characterized using infrared spectra, elemental and thermal analysis. The exchange properties and chromatographic behaviour of the new chelating resin were investigated for removal of some alkali metal ions (lithium, sodium and potassium) using batch and column processes. The maximum distribution coefficient (KD) of trace alkali metal ions was in the pH range of 8-10. The kinetics of sorption of the alkali metal ions was found to be fast with average values of half-life of sorption (t1/2) of 4.93min. The values of DeltaG, DeltaS and DeltaH were -3.86kJmol(-1), 57.73Jmol(-1)K(-1) and 14.41kJmol(-1), respectively, which reflects the spontaneous and endothermic nature of ion exchanger process. The average sorption capacity of IDA-PUF is 4.8mmol/g for alkali metal ions, enrichment factors approximately 40 and the recovery 95-100% were also achieved with average value of RSD%=1.67. The proposed method has been successfully applied to preconcentrate, determinate and remove the alkali metal ions from different samples of water.

Separation and determination of trace amounts of zinc, lead, cadmium and mercury in tap and Qaroun lake water using polyurethane foam functionalized with 4-hydroxytoluene and 4-hydroxyacetophenone.

A stable chelating sorbent was synthesized by covalently linking 4-hydroxytoluene or 4-hydroxyacetophenone with the polyurethane foam (PUF) through -N=N- group. The synthesized chelating sorbents were characterized by IR and UV/vis measurements. The modified foams show excellent stability towards various solvents. Factors influencing the extraction process of Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) were studied and evaluated as a function of pH of metal ion solution and equilibration shaking time. The values of sorption capacity of metal ions (microg g(-1)) were determined with the two types of bonded foams. The two phenolic bonded foams were studied comparatively. The potential applications of the two newly synthesized foams for the removal and separation of the examined metal ions from two natural water samples (drinking tap water and Qaroun lake water at Fayoum City, Egypt) were investigated. Precision (assessed as a relative standard deviation, R.S.D.) was also evaluated and found to be < or =7.3% (N=5) with a detection limit under 0.46 microg L(-1).