Automated online preconcentration system for the determination of trace amounts of lead using Pb-selective resin and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

An automated sequential-injection online preconcentration system was developed for the determination of lead by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The preconcentration of lead was performed with a minicolumn containing a lead-selective resin, Analig Pb-01, which was installed between a selection and a switching valve. In an acidic condition ( pH 1), lead could be adsorbed on the resin. The concentrated lead was afterward eluted with 25 mu L of 0.06 M nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) solution ( pH 9) and was subsequently transported into the nebulizer of ICP-AES for quantification. The selectivity of the resin toward lead was examined using a solution containing a mixture of 61 elements. When a sample volume of 5 mL was used, the quantitative collection of lead ( &#62;= 97%) was achieved, along with an enrichment factor of 19, a sampling frequency of 12 samples hr(-1), a detection limit of 70 pg mL(-1), and a lowest quantification limit of 100 pg mL(-1). The linear dynamic range was 0.1 to 5 ng mL(-1), and the relative standard deviation (n = 9) was 0.5% at a 5 ng mL(-1) Pb level. The detection limit of 30 pg mL(-1) and lowest quantification limit of 50 pg mL(-1) could be achieved when 10 mL of sample volume was used. The accuracy of the proposed method was validated by determining lead in the standard reference material of river water (SLRS-4), and its applicability to the determination of lead in environmental river water samples was demonstrated.</p

Determination of trace amounts of bromide by flow injection/stopped-flow detection technique using kinetic-spectrophotometric method

A simple, sensitive and selective method for the determination of bromide in seawater by using a flow injection/stopped-flow detection technique was examined. The detection system was developed for a new kinetic-spectrophotometric determination of bromide in the presence of chloride matrix without any extraction and/or separation. The detection was based on the kinetic effect of bromide on the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) with hydrogen peroxide in a strongly acidic solution. Large amounts of chloride could enhance the sensitivity of the method as an activator. The decolorisation of the blue color of MB was used for the spectrophotometric determination of bromide at 746 nm. A stopped-flow approach was used to improve the sensitivity of the measurement and provide good linearity of the calibration over the range of 0-3.2 p,g ml(-1) of bromide. The relative standard deviation was 0.74% for the determination of 2.4 jig ml(-1) bromide (n=5). The detection limit (3 sigma) was 0.1 mu g ml(-1) with a sampling frequency of 12 h(-1). The influence of potential interfering ions was studied. The proposed method was applied to the determination of bromide in seawater samples and provided satisfactory results. </p

Elucidation of the liquid-liquid distribution behavior of ion associates of metal-halogeno complex anions with quaternary ammonium counter cations and its application to separation and analysis

第四級アンモニウムイオンを対イオンとする一価, 二価金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンのイオン会合抽出挙動を把握し, 分離・分析的応用を図るために, 炭素数及び形状の異なる第四級アンモニウム陽イオンを用いて, 水-各種抽出溶媒 {1,2-ジクロロエタン, クロロホルム (CF), クロロベンゼン (Cl-B), ベンゼン (B), トルエン (T) 及び四塩化炭素 (CTC)} 系での抽出定数を求めた. 得られた抽出定数から次の知見を得た. (1) 配位子の抽出性に及ぼす影響 : 配位子がCl-, Br-, I-と変わるにつれ, この順に抽出性は良くなる. (2) 配位子数の影響 : 配位子数が多くなるに従い, 抽出性も良くなる. (3) 中心金属の影響 : 配位子数が同じ場合には, 抽出性はほぼ中心金属イオンの大きさの順となる. (4) 金属錯陰イオンの電荷の影響 : 一般に二価陰イオンよりも一価陰イオンのほうが抽出されやすい. (5) 対陽イオンのアルキル鎖のメチレン基の寄与 : メチレン基一つ当たり, 大体0.4～0.8の抽出定数 (log K(ex)) の増大となる. (6) 抽出溶媒の影響 : 抽出溶媒の抽出能は次の順となる : CTC<T<B<Cl-B<CF. (7) 金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンの配位子の違いによる抽出定数の差 (Δlog K(ex)) は溶媒によらず, ほぼ一定である. これらの知見を基に, 金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンと疎水性陽イオンとのイオン会合抽出を利用する幾つかの金属の分離・定量法を開発した.The distribution behavior of ion associates of both monovalent and divalent metal-halogeno complex anions with various quaternary ammonium cations between the aqueous phase and several organic phases {1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform (CF), chlorobenzene (Cl-B), benzene (B), toluene (T) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC)} was examined, and the extraction constants (log Kex) were determined. The larger is the size of the ligand (Cl-<Br-<I-) and the coordination number, the greater is the ion associability. For the same coordination number, in general, the larger is the size of the metal ion, the greater is the ion associability. In general, the extractability of monovalent metal-halogeno complex anions is larger than that of divalent metal-halogeno complex anions. A linear relationship was obtained between log Kex and the number of carbon atoms in quaternary ammonium ion, and the contribution of a methylene group to the extraction constant (Δlog K(ex)/-CH(2-)) was found to be about 0.4∼0.8. Among the ion associates examined, the order of the extractability of the extracting solvent was generally CTC<T<B<Cl-B<CF. Also, the order of the extractability of the ion associates for dihalogenocuprate (I), tetrahalogenoaurate (III) and tetrahalogenothallate (III) complex ions was as follows, respectively : CuCl(2)-<CuBr(2)-<CuI(2)- ; AuCl(4)-<AuBr(4)- ; TlCl(4)-<TlBr(4)-<TlI(4-). The values of Δlog K(ex) between the complex anions were almost equal, even though the extracting solvents were changed. From these results, several extraction-spectrophotometric methods for the determination of metal based on the formation of an ion associate of metal-halogeno complex anion with hydrophobic cations were developed

A membraneless gas diffusion unit: Design and its application to determination of ethanol in liquors by spectrophotometric flow injection

This work presents new design of a gas diffusion unit, called 'membraneless gas diffusion (MGD) unit', which, unlike a conventional gas diffusion (GD) unit, allows selective detection of volatile compounds to be made without the need of a hydrophobic membrane. A flow injection method was developed employing the MGD unit to determine ethanol in alcoholic drinks based on the reduction of dichromate by ethanol vapor. Results clearly demonstrated that the MGD unit was suitable for determination of ethanol in beer, wine and distilled liquors. Detection limit (3S/N) of MGD unit was lower than the GD unit (GD: 0.68%, v/v; MGD: 0.27%, v/v). The MGD design makes the system more sensitive as mass transfer is more efficient than that of GD and thus, MGD can perfectly replace membrane-based designs

Application of chitosan functionalized with 3,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid moiety for on-line preconcentration and determination of trace elements in water samples

Chitosan resin functionalized with 3,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid (CCTS-DHBA resin) was used as a packing material for flow injection (FI) on-line mini-column preconcentration in combination with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for the determination of trace elements such as silver, bismuth, copper, gallium, indium, molybdenum, nickel, uranium, and vanadium in environmental waters. A 5-mL aliquot of sample (pH 5.5) was introduced to the minicolumn for the adsorption/preconcentration of the metal ions, and the collected analytes on the mini-column were eluted with 2 M HNO3, and the eluates was subsequently transported via direct injection to the nebulizer of ICP-AES for quantification. The parameters affecting on the sensitivity, such as sample pH, sample flow rate, eluent concentration, and eluent flow rate, were carefully examined. Alkali and alkaline earth metal ions commonly existing in river water and seawater did not affect the analysis of metals. Under the optimum conditions, the method allowed the determination of metal ions with detection limits of 0.08 ng mL(-1) (Ag), 0.9 ng mL(-1) (Bi), 0.07 ng mL(-1) (Cu), 0.9 ng mL(-1) (Ga), 0.9 ng mL(-1) (In), 0.08 ng mL(-1) (Mo), 0.09 ng mL(-1) (Ni), 0.9 ng mL(-1) (U), and 0.08 ng mL(-1) (V). By using 5 mL of sample solution, the enrichment factor and collection efficiency were 8-12 fold and 96-102%, respectively, whereas the sample throughput was 7 samples/hour. The method was validated by determining metal ions in certified reference material of river water (SLRS-4) and nearshore seawater (CASS-4), and its applicability was further demonstrated to river water and seawater samples.</p

The Vitamin B1 Metabolism of Staphylococcus aureus Is Controlled at Enzymatic and Transcriptional Levels

Vitamin B1 is in its active form thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), an essential cofactor for several key enzymes in the carbohydrate metabolism. Mammals must salvage this crucial nutrient from their diet in order to complement the deficiency of de novo synthesis. In the human pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, two operons were identified which are involved in vitamin B1 metabolism. The first operon encodes for the thiaminase type II (TenA), 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine kinase (ThiD), 5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole kinase (ThiM) and thiamine phosphate synthase (ThiE). The second operon encodes a phosphatase, an epimerase and the thiamine pyrophosphokinase (TPK). The open reading frames of the individual operons were cloned, their corresponding proteins were recombinantly expressed and biochemically analysed. The kinetic properties of the enzymes as well as the binding of TPP to the in vitro transcribed RNA of the proposed operons suggest that the vitamin B1 homeostasis in S. aureus is strongly regulated at transcriptional as well as enzymatic levels

The Contribution of Occult Precipitation to Nutrient Deposition on the West Coast of South Africa

The Strandveld mediterranean-ecosystem of the west coast of South Africa supports floristically diverse vegetation growing on mostly nutrient-poor aeolian sands and extending from the Atlantic Ocean tens of kilometers inland. The cold Benguela current upwelling interacts with warm onshore southerly winds in summer causing coastal fogs in this region. We hypothesized that fog and other forms of occult precipitation contribute moisture and nutrients to the vegetation. We measured occult precipitation over one year along a transect running inland in the direction of the prevailing wind and compared the nutrient concentrations with those in rainwater. Occult deposition rates of P, N, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Al and Fe all decreased with distance from the ocean. Furthermore, ratios of cations to Na were similar to those of seawater, suggesting a marine origin for these. In contrast, N and P ratios in occult precipitation were higher than in seawater. We speculate that this is due to marine foam contributing to occult precipitation. Nutrient loss in leaf litter from dominant shrub species was measured to indicate nutrient demand. We estimated that occult precipitation could meet the demand of the dominant shrubby species for annual N, P, K and Ca. Of these species, those with small leaves intercepted more moisture and nutrients than those with larger leaves and could take up foliar deposits of glycine, NO3-, NH4 + and Li (as tracer for K) through leaf surfaces. We conclude that occult deposition together with rainfall deposition are potentially important nutrient and moisture sources for the Strandveld vegetation that contribute to this vegetation being floristically distinct from neighbouring nutrient-poor Fynbos vegetation