Development of fast methodology for analysis and speciation of mercury and arsenic in foodstuff

Arsenic and mercury are toxic elements that can be present in foodstuff, but toxicity has been found to depend on the element species. Therefore, in addition to the total arsenic and mercury contents, the concentration of certain species such as inorganic arsenic (As(III) and As(V)) and methylmercury (speciation studies) are required. This Thesis summarises several analytical methodologies for the fast screening and speciation of inorganic arsenic and mercury (inorganic mercury and methylmercury) by using luminescent nanoparticles and molecularly/ionic imprinted polymer to enhance the sensitivity and selectivity of the analysis

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Dispersive (Micro)Solid Phase Extraction: A Review

The review describes the development of batch solid phase extraction procedures based on dispersive (micro)solid phase extraction with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and magnetic MIPs (MMIPs). Advantages and disadvantages of the various MIPs for dispersive solid phase extraction and dispersive (micro)solid phase extraction are discussed. In addition, an effort has also been made to condense the information regarding MMIPs since there are a great variety of supports (magnetite and magnetite composites with carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, or organic metal framework) and magnetite surface functionalization mechanisms for enhancing MIP synthesis, including reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Finally, drawbacks and future prospects for improving molecularly imprinted (micro)solid phase extraction (MIMSPE) are also appraisedThis research was funded by SecretaríaXeral de Investigación e Desenvolvemento—Xunta de Galicia Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (project number ED431C2018/19), and Development of a Strategic Grouping in Materials—AEMAT (grant ED431E2018/08)S

Synthesis and application of a surface ionic imprinting polymer on silicacoated Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots as a chemosensor for the selective quantification of inorganic arsenic in fish

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02405-1A novel room temperature phosphorescence chemosensor probe has been successfully developed and applied to the selective detection and quantification of inorganic arsenic (As(III) plus As(V)) in fish samples. The prepared material (IIP@ZnS:Mn QDs) was based on Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots coated with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane and an As(III) ionic imprinted polymer. The novel use of vinyl imidazole as a complexing reagent when synthesizing the ionic imprinted polymer guarantees that both inorganic arsenic species (As(III) and As(V)) can interact with the recognition cavities in the ionic imprinted polymer. After characterization, several studies were performed to enhance the interaction between the targets (As(III) and As(V) ions) and the IIP@ZnS:Mn QDs nanoparticles. The optimization and validation process showed that the composite material offers high selectivity (high imprinting factor) for inorganic arsenic species. The limit of quantification for total inorganic As was 29.6 μg kg-1, value lower than the EU/EC regulation limits proposed for other foodstuffs than fish, such as rice. The proposed method is therefore simple, requires short analysis times and offers good sensitivity, precision (inter-day relative standard deviations lower than 10%), and quantitative analytical recoveries. The method has been successfully applied to assess total inorganic arsenic in several fishery products, showing good agreement with the total inorganic arsenic concentration (As(III) plus As(V)) found after applying other advanced and expensive methods such those based on high performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometryThis work was supported by the Dirección Xeral de I+D – Xunta de Galicia Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (project number 6RC2014/2016 and ED431C2018/19), and Development of a Strategic Grouping in Materials - AEMAT (grant ED431E2018/08). Authors thanks to Dr. Bruno Dacuña-Mariño (Unidade de Raios X) at Rede de Infraestruturas de Apoio á Investigación e ao Desenvolvemento Tecnolóxico – University of Santiago de Compostela) for XRD technical support, to Eugenio Solla (Servicio de Microscopía Electrónica) at CACTI– University of Vigo for TEM/EDS technical support, and to Dr. María Celeiro (LIDSA, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology – University of Santiago de Compostela) for ASE technical assistance.S