33 research outputs found
Method for determination of stable carbon isotope ratio of methylnitrophenols in atmospheric particulate matter
A technique for the measurement of the stable isotope ratio of methylnitrophenols in atmospheric particulate matter is presented. Atmospheric samples from rural and suburban areas were collected for evaluation of the procedure. Particulate matter was collected on quartz fibre filters using dichotomous high volume air samplers. Methylnitrophenols were extracted from the filters using acetonitrile. The sample was then purified using a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction. The final solution was then divided into two aliquots. To one aliquot, a derivatising agent, Bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide, was added for Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis. The second half of the sample was stored in a refrigerator. For samples with concentrations exceeding 1 ng μl<sup>&minus;1</sup>, the second half of the sample was used for measurement of stable carbon isotope ratios by Gas Chromatography-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. <br><br> The procedure described in this paper provides a method for the analysis of methylnitrophenols in atmospheric particulate matter at concentrations as low as 0.3 pg m<sup>&minus;3</sup> and for stable isotope ratios with an accuracy of better than &plusmn;0.5&permil; for concentrations exceeding 100 pg m<sup>&minus;3</sup>. <br><br> In all atmospheric particulate matter samples analysed, 2-methyl-4-nitrophenol was found to be the most abundant methylnitrophenol, with concentrations ranging from the low pg m<sup>&minus;3</sup> range in rural areas to more than 200 pg m<sup>&minus;3</sup> in some samples from a suburban location
The effects of neck flexion on cerebral potentials evoked by visual, auditory and somatosensory stimuli and focal brain blood flow in related sensory cortices
Postural control and contingent negative variation during transient floor translation while standing with the ankle fixed
Laboratory Studies of Carbon Kinetic Isotope Effects on the Production Mechanism of Particulate Phenolic Compounds Formed by Toluene Photooxidation: A Tool To Constrain Reaction Pathways
Laboratory studies of the stable carbon isotope ratio of particulate matter formed by the gas-phase oxidation of toluene
Method for the determination of concentration and stable carbon isotope ratios of atmospheric phenols
A method for the determination of the stable carbon isotopic composition of
atmospheric nitrophenols in the gas and particulate phases is presented. It
has been proposed to use the combination of concentration and isotope ratio
measurements of precursor and product to test the applicability of results of
laboratory studies to the atmosphere. Nitrophenols are suspected to be
secondary products formed specifically from the photooxidation of volatile
organic compounds. XAD-4TM resin was used as an adsorbent on
quartz filters to sample ambient phenols using conventional high volume air
samplers at York University in Toronto, Canada. Filters were extracted in
acetonitrile, with a HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) clean-up
step and a solid phase extraction step prior to derivatization with BSTFA
(bis(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide). Concentration measurements were
done with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas
chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry was used for isotope ratio
analysis.
The technique presented allows for atmospheric compound-specific isotopic
composition measurements for five semi-volatile phenols with an estimated
accuracy of 0.3–0.5‰ at atmospheric concentrations
exceeding 0.1 ng m−3 while the detection limits for concentration
measurements are in the pg m−3 range. Isotopic fractionation
throughout the entire extraction procedure and analysis was proven to be
below the precision of the isotope ratio measurements. The method was tested
by conducting ambient measurements from September to December 2011