A Novel Method for the Background Signal Correction in SP-ICP-MS Analysis of the Sizes of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Cosmetic Samples.

We discuss the features involved in determining the titanium dioxide nanoparticle (TiO2NP) sizes in cosmetic samples via single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) in the millisecond-time resolution mode, and methods for considering the background signal. In the SP-ICP-MS determination of TiO2NPs in cosmetics, the background signal was recorded in each dwell time interval due to the signal of the Ti dissolved form in deionized water, and the background signal of the cosmetic matrix was compensated by dilution. A correction procedure for the frequency and intensity of the background signal is proposed, which differs from the known procedures due to its correction by the standard deviation above the background signal. Background signals were removed from the sample signal distribution using the deionized water signal distribution. Data processing was carried out using Microsoft Office Excel and SPCal software. The distributions of NP signals in cosmetic product samples were studied in the dwell time range of 4-20 ms. The limit of detection of the NP size (LODsize) with the proposed background signal correction procedure was 71 nm. For the studied samples, the LODsize did not depend on the threshold of the background signal and was determined by the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.

Data on the sensory evaluation of the dry red and white wines quality obtained by traditional technologies from European and hybrid grape varieties in the Krasnodar Territory, Russia.

The analysis of data on the sensory evaluation of the quality of wines obtained using traditional technologies in the Krasnodar Territory, Russia, was carried out using the statistical ranking criteria - the Spearman and Kendall correlation coefficients, as well as the positional analysis - Cronbach's alpha. Data on the sensory evaluation of 60 samples of natural dry red and white wines are presented, among which 20 are white wines, 40 are red wines produced in 2010-2015. Eleven specialists aged between 32 and 66 years (the average age was 50 years; 4 females and 7 males) participated in the sensory evaluation procedure. All participants are considered experts in the field of wine, work in the wine industry and have professional experience in the field of sensory analysis. The results of the consistency study of expert evaluations, the reliability of the general score scale, as well as the analysis of the loyalty of experts in the wine quality assessment are presented in the article. The reliability of the proposed loyalty scale is shown, i.e., the scale of the sum of scores given by each expert in the evaluation of the quality of wines. The database on the sensory evaluation of the quality of wines, obtained for all wine samples using positional analysis, makes it possible to assess the contribution of each of the 60 wine samples to their ranking by mean scores. The data may be of interest to scientists and oenologists for the wine quality assessment.

A novel photochemical vapor generator for ICP-MS determination of As, Bi, Hg, Sb, Se and Te.

A scheme of determination of As, Bi, Hg, Sb, Se and Te with photochemical generation of their volatile derivatives and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection was developed. The volatile compounds were produced using a novel photochemical reactor with direct contact of a sample with an ultraviolet (UV) lamp. Essential experimental parameters such as the concentrations of the reagents and the flow rates of the carrier gas and the sample were optimized. For each element, individual optimum values of these parameters were obtained. The detection limits in the optimal single element modes for As, Bi, Hg, Sb, Se and Te were 0.5, 13, 0.6, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.7 ng L-1 respectively. Compromise conditions were determined for simultaneous multielement analysis. The increase of the detection limit for each element in the multielement mode was experimentally estimated. The applicability of the proposed scheme was demonstrated by analysis of certified reference samples of water and fish muscle. Acceptable accuracy of determination of As, Se, Sb, Te and Hg in samples of local lake water was proved by spike recovery test. Possible matrix effects were screened using Placket-Berman design and further examined in detail.