Contamination of cachaca by pahs from storage containers

Cachaça is a distiled beverage obtained from the fermentation of sugar cane syrup that, depending on the production procedures, may be susceptible to contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These compounds present carcinogenic and/or mutagenic properties and offer a risk to human health. Sixteen PAHs were determined in cachaças that had been stored in glass bottles and in polyethylene tank by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The quantification of the PAHs utilised an internal standard. The limits of detection and quantification varied from 0.05 to 0.10 μg L−1 and 0.20 to 0.30 μg L−1, respectively. A total PAH concentration of 51.57 μg L−1 was found in the beverages that were stored in the tank, while the concentration in the cachaça stored in glass jugs was 6.07 μg L−1. These results indicate that the polyethylene tank is a source for PAHs in cachaça.

Electrochemical feasibility study of methyl parathion determination on graphite-modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode

A low-cost electrochemical method was developed for the determination of trace-level of methyl parathion (MP) based on the properties of graphite-modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (graphite-bppg). A combination of graphite-bppg with square-wave voltammetric (SWV) analysis resulted in an original, sensitive and selective electrochemical method for determination of MP pesticide in drinking water. The electrode was constructed and the electrochemical behavior of MP was studied. Immobilization is achieved via film modification from dispersing graphite powder in deionized water and through pipeting a small volume onto the electrode surface allowing the solvent to volatilize. The strong affinity of the graphite modifier for the phosphorous group of the MP allowed the deposition of a significant amount of MP in less than 60 seconds. The cyclic voltammetric results indicate that the graphite-bppg electrode can enhance sensitivity in current intensity towards the quasi-reversible redox peaks of the products of the cathodic reduction of the nitro group at negative potential (peak I = 0.077 V and peak II = –0.062 V) and that the cathodic irreversible peak (peak III = –0.586 V) in comparison with bare bppg electrode and is also adsorption controlled process. Under optimized conditions, the concentration range and detection limit for MP pesticide are respectively 79.0 to 263.3 mmol L-1 and 3.00 mmol L-1. The proposed method was successfully applied to MP determination in drinking water and the performance of this electrochemical sensor has been evaluated in terms of analytical figures of merit.